New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday witnessed the tri-service exercise 'Bharat Shakti' at the Pokhran field firing range in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer. Apart from PM Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Army Chief General Manoj Pande were also in attendance.
The exercise was conducted to demonstrate the prowess of indigenously manufactured equipment of all three defence forces. The exercise was held for about 50 minutes.
LCA Tejas, ALH Mk-IV, LCH Prachand, mobile anti-drone system, BMP-II and its variants, NAMICA (Nag Missile Carrier), T90 tanks, Dhanush, K9 Vajra, and Pinaka rockets were among the platforms that were being demonstrated at Pokhran.
Speaking at the Exercise Bharat Shakti in Pokhran, PM Modi said "India becoming self-reliant in defence needs is also a guarantee of confidence in the armies. At the time of war, when the armies know that the weapons they are using are their own and will never fall short, then the energy of the armies increases manifold."
"In the last 10 years, India has developed its own fighter aircraft. India has built its own aircraft carriers, C295 transport aircraft are being built in India. Modern engines are also going to be manufactured in India. Some days the cabinet has taken another big decision, now we are going to design, develop and manufacture the fifth generation fighter aircraft in India itself," he added.
Earlier, while speaking about the 'Bharat Shakti' exercise, Additional Director General, Army Design Bureau, Major General C S Mann had said, "Synergised joint operations will be decisive in the Indian context. Through live firepower and manoeuvre demonstration, it is endeavoured to showcase the tri-services operational capabilities to counter any threat leveraging indigenous capability and the ability to undertake conflicts in the face of global upheavals."