Exercise Cyclone: Army contingents from India & Egypt come together for special operations, tactical drills
| 2024-01-22
A 25-member Indian Army contingent arrived in Egypt on January 22, 2024 to take part in bilateral Exercise Cyclone.
Exercise Cyclone will involve planning and execution of special operations in sub-conventional domain
An Indian Army contingent is in Egypt to take part in the 2nd edition of India-Egypt Joint Special Forces Exercise Cyclone. The exercise is being conducted at Anshas January 22, 2024 to February 1, 2024. The first edition of the exercise was conducted in India last year.
The 25-member Indian contingent is being represented by troops from The Parachute Regiment (Special Forces); the Egyptian contingent also comprises 25 personnel and is being represented by Egyptian Commando Squadron and Egyptian Airborne Platoon.
According to information provided by India's Ministry of Defence, the aim of the exercise is to acquaint both the sides with each other’s operating procedures in the backdrop of Special Operations in desert/semi desert terrain under Chapter VII of United Nations Charter.
"Exercise Cyclone is designed to develop bilateral military cooperation and strengthen bond between two armies through conduct of discussions and rehearsal of tactical military drills," the ministry said.
Exercise Cyclone will involve planning and execution of special operations in sub-conventional domain and conducted in three phases:
1. The first phase will include Military Exhibitions and Tactical Interactions.
2. The second phase will focus on training on Improvised Explosive Device (IED), counter IED and Combat First Aid.
3. The third and final phase will encompass Joint Tactical Exercise based on Fighting in Built-up Area and Hostage Rescue Scenarios.
The exercise will provide an opportunity to both the contingents to strengthen their bond and share best practices. It will also act as a platform to achieve shared security objectives and foster bilateral relations between two friendly nations, the Ministry of Defence said.
Forging Stronger Defence Ties
In recent years, defence ties between the Indian and Egyptian militaries have been growing steadily. This is evident from the fact that the Egyptian Armed Forces made their maiden appearance at India's 74th Republic Day celebration in 2023, while Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi was the event's chief guest.
It is worth recalling that in September 2022, during Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's visit to Cairo, India and Egypt had signed a pact on defence cooperation thereby signalling their intent to forge closer ties in this sphere.
This was followed by Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Manoj Pande's visit on May 16–17, 2023.
When it comes to defence and security relations between India and Egypt, several bilateral institutional mechanisms are in place, including:
* Joint Defence Committee (JDC) to oversee the overall defence cooperation.
* Joint Working Group (JWG) on Counter-Terrorism.
* Security dialogues at the level of National Security Advisors (NSA) and deputy NSAs.
The 25-member Indian contingent is being represented by troops from The Parachute Regiment (Special Forces); the Egyptian contingent also comprises 25 personnel and is being represented by Egyptian Commando Squadron and Egyptian Airborne Platoon.
According to information provided by India's Ministry of Defence, the aim of the exercise is to acquaint both the sides with each other’s operating procedures in the backdrop of Special Operations in desert/semi desert terrain under Chapter VII of United Nations Charter.
"Exercise Cyclone is designed to develop bilateral military cooperation and strengthen bond between two armies through conduct of discussions and rehearsal of tactical military drills," the ministry said.
Exercise Cyclone will involve planning and execution of special operations in sub-conventional domain and conducted in three phases:
1. The first phase will include Military Exhibitions and Tactical Interactions.
2. The second phase will focus on training on Improvised Explosive Device (IED), counter IED and Combat First Aid.
3. The third and final phase will encompass Joint Tactical Exercise based on Fighting in Built-up Area and Hostage Rescue Scenarios.
The exercise will provide an opportunity to both the contingents to strengthen their bond and share best practices. It will also act as a platform to achieve shared security objectives and foster bilateral relations between two friendly nations, the Ministry of Defence said.
Forging Stronger Defence Ties
In recent years, defence ties between the Indian and Egyptian militaries have been growing steadily. This is evident from the fact that the Egyptian Armed Forces made their maiden appearance at India's 74th Republic Day celebration in 2023, while Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi was the event's chief guest.
It is worth recalling that in September 2022, during Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's visit to Cairo, India and Egypt had signed a pact on defence cooperation thereby signalling their intent to forge closer ties in this sphere.
This was followed by Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Manoj Pande's visit on May 16–17, 2023.
When it comes to defence and security relations between India and Egypt, several bilateral institutional mechanisms are in place, including:
* Joint Defence Committee (JDC) to oversee the overall defence cooperation.
* Joint Working Group (JWG) on Counter-Terrorism.
* Security dialogues at the level of National Security Advisors (NSA) and deputy NSAs.
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