13e DBLE: Exercise Shakti 2024 in India | French Foreign Legion Information

Earlier this year, legionnaires from the 13th Foreign Legion Demi-Brigade (13e DBLE) participated in a joint military exercise in India, Shakti 2024. See some images.

Exercise Shakti 2024 took place at Umroi in Meghalaya, a state in northeastern India, from May 13 to May 26, 2024. However, the French army only released images and detailed information about the event a few days ago. It was the seventh edition of the Shakti joint exercise series, conducted alternatively in India and France. The last edition took place in France in November 2021.

The military exercise was organized by India’s Eastern Command Joint Training Node. It focuses on training for ground control operations in semi-urban and mountainous terrain under United Nations mandate (like that one in Lebanon). Its objectives included achieving a high level of physical fitness, drills for tactical operations, and sharing best practices. The training covered various scenarios such as counter-terrorist actions, establishing Joint Command Posts and Intelligence & Surveillance Centers, securing helipads/landing sites, conducting Small Team Insertion & Extraction, Special Heliborne Operations, Cordon & Search Operations, and employing drones and counter-drone systems, among others.

The Indian contingent comprised personnel from the 22nd Battalion The Rajput Regiment. France was represented primarily by three combat platoons of the 13e DBLE, supported by artillery elements from the 3rd Marine Artillery Regiment (3e RAMa) and specialists from the 6th Light Armored Brigade (6e BLB).

13e DBLE legionnaires talking to their Indian colleagues, May 2024. Many more nice pictures can be found here: *En Inde avec l’exercice Shakti*.

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