Officers from College of Defence Management undergoing HDMC visited Brahmastra Corps at Binnaguri Military Station at Siliguri in West Bengal. Officers from the Tri Services were briefed about the operational preparedness and strategic leverages to enhance Synergy.
The Indian Army’s operational strategy includes a variety of initiatives, including:
Modernization:
The army is modernizing its combat arms, combat support arms, and logistics units, and is absorbing new technologies to improve its inventory and capabilities.
Reorganization:
Army is reorganizing its headquarters and other key formations to improve efficiency and operational readiness.
Joint operations:
The army is working to improve joint operations and integration with the Navy and Air Force to better prepare for future challenges.
Indigenization:
Army is supporting the domestic defense industry to help India become a leading defense exporter.
Tethered drones:
Indo army is using tethered drones, which are unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) connected to a ground station by a tether. These drones can provide video and data feeds to improve border security.
Simulators:
The army is using simulators to train drivers of tanks and infantry combat vehicles (ICVs). This helps reduce wear and tear on the vehicles during training.
The vision is to “transform into a modern, agile, adaptive, technology-enabled, and self-reliant future-ready force, capable of deterring and winning wars in a multi-domain environment across the spectrum of operations, to protect our national interests in synergy with the other include land, air, cyber and space.”
The Indian Army also has a military doctrine called *Cold Start*, which was developed in case of a war with Pakistan. This doctrine involves the military’s branches working together in unified battlegroups to conduct offensive operations. The goal is to allow India’s conventional forces to perform holding attacks to prevent Pakistan from retaliating with nuclear weapons.
The doctrine was developed after a military standoff between India and Pakistan in 2002, which was a result of an attack on Parliament by Pakistan-backed Kashmiri militants. However, as of 2017, the doctrine was still in the experimental stage and some say it risks escalating a crisis on the subcontinent.
In response to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the Indian military has rebalanced its forces from the Pakistan front to the LAC. The military is also considering other strategies to combat the PLA, including:
Drone warfare:
The military needs to create AI algorithms to update machines using terrain and meteorological data from potential battlefields. It also needs to standardize the identification friend or foe (IFF) system between drones, helicopters, and aircraft to avoid fratricide.
Surveillance:
The military can increase its intelligence-collection capabilities by procuring more surveillance devices, such as drones, quadcopters, and night-vision devices. It can also focus on unmanned and remote intelligence collection methods, such as micro-UAVs, the Long-Range Reconnaissance and Observation System (LORROS), and high-tech sensors.
Aircraft-heavy navy:
The military could use an aircraft-heavy navy to execute its strategy. It could also vary the areas where it exercises Malabar and other Quad joint forums to signal to China that its SLOCs are safe if China follows a rule-based order. In the event of an aggressive expansionist move by China, the military could hold its oil as hostage.
(Author is a Senior Journalist working for British Media with 20 years of experience in covering the east and northeast, with specialisation in Defence and Sports.In her illustrated career she has covered many major events and achieved International and National media awards for Journalism)
