Devlali. 11 January, 2016.   “Ex Sarvatra Prahar” was conducted by the School of Artillery at Devlali on 08 & 11 January 2016, where a plethora of equipment showcasing the Regiment of Artillery was employed and its firepower displayed. The exercise was conducted through a tactical situation requiring an appreciation of the operation and preparation of an Artillery fire plan in support of the operation.

During   the   exercise   the   entire   range   of   guns,   from   the   indigenous   120   mmMortars,  155   mm   Soltam,   105  mm  Indian Field   Gun,   105   mm   Light   Field   Gun,   130   mmMedium Gun to the sophisticated 155 mm FH 77B Bofors and 122 mm Multi Barrel RocketLauncher GRAD BM 21, demonstrated their destructive power. The ‘Gunners’ demonstratedaccuracy, consistency and the overwhelming power of the Artillery by simultaneous engagementof targets with a number of guns.           An array of new generation rocket and missile systems like Pinaka, Smerch and amodel of Brahmos missile were also displayed. Surveillance and Target Acquisition equipmentlike the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Surveillance Sensors and Weapon Locating Radars were alsoshowcased during the exercise.

These Surveillance and Target Acquisition devices, when used inconjunction with the guns, are capable of enhancing the effect of fire power, thereby acting asForce multipliers.   A special draw was the Combat Free Fall by Special Forces team and Cheetah and Chetak helicopters flown by Army Aviators, which airlifted a 120 mm mortar as part of the exercise for delivering firepower resources to inaccessible areas.

dir=”ltr”>The event was witnessed by officers of Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, Cadets   from   National   Defence   Academy   (NDA),   Young   Officers   from   College   of   Military Engineering (CME) and Military Institute of Technology, Pune. Lieutenant General J George, Commandant,   School   of  Artillery,   interacted   with   various   participants   and   delegations   who attended the event. Apart from this, a large number of school children and NCC cadets also attended the display, which gave them  a glimpse of the might  of the Indian Army’s arm of Artillery and motivated the young minds.