They will share experiences & best practices in planning and operational tactics

The 13th Edition of the annual Indo-US Joint Special Forces exercise “Ex Vajra Prahar 2022” began in Himachal Pradesh on Monday.

Special Forces personnel from India and the US have come together for the exercise which is being conducted by the Special Forces Training School (SFTS), Bakloh (HP).

The US contingent is represented by personnel from the 1st Special Forces Group (SFG) and Special Tactics Squadron (STS) of US Special Forces and the Indian Army contingent is formed by drawing Special Forces personnel under the aegis of SFTS, the Ministry of Defence said.

The Vajra Prahar series of joint exercise aims to share best practices and experiences in areas such as joint mission planning and operational tactics as also to improve inter-operability between the Special Forces of both the Nations.

During the exercise, teams of both armies would jointly train, plan and execute a series of Special Operations, Counter Terrorist Operations, Air Borne operations in simulated conventional and unconventional scenarios in mountainous terrain.

This annual exercise is hosted alternatively between India and the United States. The 12th edition was conducted at Joint Base Lewis Mcchord, Washington (USA) in October 2021.

"This joint exercise is a significant step in strengthening the traditional bond of friendship between the special forces of both Nations as well as improve bilateral defence cooperation between India and the USA," the defence ministry said.