The largest-ever ground combat joint exercise between India and the US is in its final stages near Jhansi. At the grand finale today, there will be a massive demonstration of firepower by mechanised forces of both the armies.

The focus of Exercise Yudh Abhyas, which kicked off at Babina near Jhansi on October 12, was on mechanised infantry operations for counter-insurgency/counter-terrorism in semi-urban terrain.
The aim is to further enhance the inter-operability already built through a series of exercises with the US.

The US, anxious to grab a major chunk of the lucrative Indian arms market, has demonstrated live-fire operations of its high-tech weaponry like the Stryker infantry armoured vehicles and Javelin anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) during the war games.

The eight-wheeled armoured combat vehicles, 17 Strykers, have been deployed in the current exercise. This is believed to be the largest overseas deployment of the Strykers after Iraq and Afghanistan.