WMD
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India's elite anti-terror force NSG plans to go hi-tech
New Delhi, June 12
India's elite anti-terror force, the National Security Guard (NSG), is planning to acquire the technology and equipment used by the United States Navy Seals in the operation that killed Osama Bin Laden, the most wanted man in the world.
The technology had enabled US President Barack Obama to watch the live footage of the Al-Qaida leader being shot in the head. The footage was taken from a camera attached to the helmet of a Navy Seal. The Seals are Special Operations Force of the US.
Taking a cue from the operation, codenamed "Neptune Spear", that took place in Abbottabad, Pakistan, on May 1, 2011, the NSG has now planned to use the same technology for their Special Force operations as well. The state-of-the-art equipment includes voice-data-video transfer, "mesh variety" communication devices, health-monitoring system, and body and head armour that is capable of protecting a man from the bullets fired from an AK-47 rifle. All these technologies have been integrated to form the "Future Black Cat Commando System".
The system is presently under consideration by the government. The NSG will soon have a "test bed" to check the functioning of the system, which will be done by a "hit" (a squad of six to seven commandos) right up to the highest level of the top-level commanders.
In a "hit," each troop will be equipped with a computer. The helmets have night vision goggles, which also have a night-vision camera that can be switched on or off. "The computer will send the live camera footage to the command centre via a commercial satellite. The commanders, who are monitoring the "hit," can change the plans of an operation in real time," said an official.
This will also allow commanders sitting at the command centre to pass orders directly to the "hit" as well as receive requests from the commandos through the latest communication system called the "mesh or gridded variety".
"The mesh variety allows the commandos of different "hits" to communicate simultaneously with each other and their commanders sitting thousands of miles away. They all are on the same radio channel. It is like a conference call over a telephone that will enable coordination of effort in case there are more than one "hit" operating. The radio devices that are presently with the NSG allows only one person to communicate at a time," explained the official.
A mesh variety radio is attached to a commando's uniform. The radio is connected by a wire to the headphones and a mouthpiece close to the jaw. The communication device uses the bone conduction technology, which is the conduction of sound to the inner ear through the skull bones. "They will allow hands-free operations enabling the commando to fire his weapon even while communicating," said the official.
The video transfer and the communication devices have been approved by the government for digital secrecy, implying that a conversation cannot be monitored or the system penetrated. "Messages being passed on the present radio handsets with the NSG can be intercepted easily. So radio silence or restricted conversation has to be maintained when the enemy is nearby," said sources.
The future commando system will also use the state-of-the-art "level-3 alpha" helmet and body armour, capable of taking the hits from the 7.62 mm bullets of the AK-47 assault rifle. The Glock pistols and MP5s, the two primary weapons of the NSG, will also be equipped with the latest sights.
The commandos will also have a health-monitoring system in the form of a wrist band. "It monitors the vital organs such as the heart and the brain. The commanders will have a monitoring system, which will show if a commando has been killed or is still alive," said the sources.
Bharat Electronics Limited has been tasked to procure the equipment. "The system is in a good stage of development. Until now, we have tested individual pieces. After the "test bed," there will be further trials. Once the trials are complete, the entire NSG force will be equipped with it," informed the official.
Future Commandos
- The state-of-the-art equipment includes voice-data-video transfer, "mesh variety" communication devices, health-monitoring system, and body and head armour that is capable of protecting a man from the bullets fired from an AK-47 rifle
- The NSG will soon have a "test bed" to check the functioning of the system, which will be done by a "hit" (a squad of six to seven commandos)
- In a "hit", each troop will be equipped with a computer. The helmets have night vision goggles, which also have a night-vision camera that can be switched on or off
The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Nation
