A 350-strong contingent of Indian infantry troops left for Alaska on Thursday to carry out joint military exercises with the US army as part of the growing defence co-operation between the two countries.

The exercise aims at enhancing understanding, cooperation and inter-operability between the Indian and US armies. The joint exercise will focus on Combined Arms Manoeuvres in cold climatic conditions and is primarily aimed at sharing tactical level drills and learning best practices from each other. The exercise will culminate after a 48-hour long validation, the defence ministry said in a statement.

Also read:  Indian Navy chopper flies Covid-hit chief officer of Philippines merchant ship to safety

As part of the ongoing India-US defence cooperation, the joint military training exercise “Ex Yudh Abhyas 2021” will be conducted at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson, Alaska (USA) from 15 to 29 October 2021, the defence ministry said.

This will be the 17th Edition of the joint exercise which is hosted alternately between both countries.

The previous version of this exercise was held at Mahajan Field Firing Ranges in Bikaner, Rajasthan in February 2021. This exercise is another step in the growing military cooperation between the two countries.