Singapore and India Armies Conclude Bilateral Artillery Exercise

The Singapore Army's Singapore Light Weight Howitzers (SLWH) firing off during a joint live-firing with the Indian Army.

The Singapore Army and the Indian Army successfully concluded Exercise Agni Warrior (XAW) 2022, in Devlali, India, from 13 November to 30 November 2022. This year's exercise, the twelfth in the series, involved about 270 personnel from both armies. The exercise culminated in a joint live-firing exercise involving the Singapore Armed Forces' (SAF) Singapore Light Weight Howitzer, Field Artillery Meteorological System, and the Indian Army's 155mm Field Howitzer 77B.

The SAF's Chief Artillery Officer, Colonel (COL) Devieash James highlighted the importance of the bilateral exercise, and said, "The exercise provided an excellent platform for both armies to not only have professional exchanges on tactics and procedures, but also allowed our gunners to train together in the field, culminating in a joint live firing exercise. For the conduct of complex and realistic training for the Singapore Artillery, we need vast training spaces, for which we are deeply appreciative of Indian Army's long-standing support for such training opportunities."

Held in India since 2004, XAW is conducted under the ambit of the Army Bilateral Agreement, and testament to the warm and long-standing defence relationship between Singapore and India. The SAF and the Indian Armed Forces share a long history of military cooperation, with regular interactions through exercises, military exchanges, staff talks and the cross-attendance of courses.

A soldier from the 23rd Battalion, Singapore Artillery briefing Lt Gen Baggavalli Somashekar Raju, Vice Chief of the Army Staffs, during his visit to the exercise.