mkb95
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NEW DELHI: India is conducting a major military exercise, the 'Defence of Gujarat Exercise (DGX)', on the west coast geared towards tackling both conventional military as well as terror threats emanating from the sea.
Over 30 warships, including frontline destroyers, stealth frigates and submarines, as well as scores of fighter jets, maritime patrol aircraft, helicopters and drones are engaged in the intensive manoeuvres that extend all along the coasts of Gujarat and Maharashtra.
"High-intensity firing and combat drills are currently underway between the 'red' (enemy) and the 'blue' (friendly) forces for the naval exercise, which also includes IAF's maritime strike Jaguar fighters and air superiority Sukhoi-30MKI jets letting loose laser-guided missiles and bombs at simulated targets," said an official.
Interestingly, the sea manoeuvres come at a time when the Army is also conducting a massive 'strike corps' exercise in Rajasthan to practice swift, multiple attacks into enemy territory under the "proactive war strategy", colloquially called Cold Start doctrine, as was first reported by TOI earlier.
Pakistan has often recklessly brandished its short-range Nasr missile armed with low-yield nuclear warheads as an effective counter to India's conventional military superiority on the battlefield. Just last month, for instance, Pakistani foreign secretary Aizaz Chaudhry said his country had developed tactical nuclear weapons to "deter" any attack from India.
The DGX is an annual operational exercise of the Mumbai-based Western Naval Command to test operational readiness off the littorals of Gujarat and Maharashtra. But this time, the exercise has been "substantially scaled up" to ensure "theatre-level state of readiness" by integrating all coastal and maritime security operations, officials said.
Testing the "layered defence" is critical due to the vast array of ports and ship-building facilities, oil refineries and offshore platforms. Gujarat, for instance, has a 1,600-km coastline interspersed with 43 ports, which handle 300 million tonnes of cargo every year.
"At present, around 120 million tonnes of crude, which is 71% of the country's oil import, comes through the Gulf of Kutch. The aim of the DGX is to practice combat manoeuvres to defend coastal areas as well as vital offshore assets like oil refineries from any threat, be it a state or a non-state actor," the official said.
All stakeholders, ranging from Navy and Coast Guard to local police and customs, are involved in the endeavour. After the 26/11 terror strikes in Mumbai exposed gaps in the country's coastal security architecture, several measures have been taken to build capabilities and boost "coordination" in intelligence-sharing and operational matters among different agencies, with joint operation centres being set up in Mumbai, Visakhapatnam, Kochi and Port Blair.
