Army conducts fire power display at Pokhran

Jaipur, March 21: The Indian Army conducted a fire power display at Pokhran in Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan marking the centenary celebrations of its participation in the first World War.

Showcasing the Army's capabilities, proficiency and preparedness, the 'Fire Power Display' was held on Friday at the Pokhran field firing range and involved integrated firing during day and night as well as the exhibition of equipment, according to defence spokesperson Lt Col Manish Ojha.

"As part of Southern Star Information Campaign, Black Mace Brigade, under the aegis of Konark Corps, organised the information visit cum fire power demonstration. "The information visit was conducted at 4 Mechanised Infantry Battalion at Jaisalmer," Ojha said in a release.

"Most modern equipment in the inventory of the army fired with precision in cohesion with each other, with the main attraction being T-90 tanks in the demonstration," he said.

A synchronised attack by three divisions of the Infantry - Armored, Artillery and Mechanised - was also conducted to capture a mock enemy location.

The demonstration started with the artillery bombarding the enemy location from a distance of 18-20 kms. The tanks then assaulted on the enemy location with speed and pin-point accurate firing which was soon followed by a dismounted attack by the Mechanised Infantry following the Tanks.

A similar attack was launched during the night wherein artillery guns, T-90 Tanks and the amphibious fighting vehicle Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty (BMP) tracked and destroyed the mock enemy targets.

The period between 2014 and 2018 is being commemorated as the centenary of the First World War (1914-1918) which also saw participation of 1.5 million Indian soldiers, of whom at least 74,187 got martyred.

PTI