Indian Army: News and Discussion

VayuSena1

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If it were not for the government procedures of terrorist interrogation and imprisonment until verdict, I cannot express in words what I would like to do to this rascal if I get my hands on him. Or as a matter of fact to these "stateless" agencies...
 

Flint

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The massive amount of weaponry, ammunitions and explosives being brought into that place is astonishing. Kudos to IA.
The tough job they've been doing, without the use of any artillery or armoured vehicles is really fantastic.
In contrast, the PA is shelling indiscriminately and killing thousands in the process with no regard, and creating a million refugees.
 

VayuSena1

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The massive amount of weaponry, ammunitions and explosives being brought into that place is astonishing. Kudos to IA.
The tough job they've been doing, without the use of any artillery or armoured vehicles is really fantastic.
In contrast, the PA is shelling indiscriminately and killing thousands in the process with no regard, and creating a million refugees.
Even though it would be unprofessional to use my language here, I would say that the Indian security forces consider operating on a completely different mindset and doctrine as compared to our Pakistani counterparts. While I am not too sure about the ground forces' tactics, I can for sure say that all the joint drills they have been having along with foreign militaries is coming in handy.

In my opinion, the army should turn these weapons to the police forces of different states of the country so that our police forces can also be equipped with state-of-the-art AK-47s. In short, these terrorists are just simply saving us the costs of manufacturing additional modern weapons for security forces by lending us theirs.
 

nitesh

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Some interesting points, requesting the TT members to look here:

Army on high alert, claims terrorist waiting across to infiltrate

After foiling two major intrusion bids in the last month, Army said on Wednesday that more terrorists are waiting at "launch pads" across the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir for a chance to infiltrate and troops have been "redeployed" to thwart any such attempt.

Over the last month, terrorists have made two major infiltration bids, which were partly successful, Vice Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Noble Thamburaj told reporters in New Delhi.

However, most of the infiltrators were neutralised in the second tier of security along the LoC, he added.


"We have realised that there are some more terrorists who are waiting in their launch pads and training camps, ready to be launched (into India)," he said.

"The Indian Army has done redeployment (of troops to counter infiltration)...We have built in additional surveillance capabilities to look across LoC ... We have deployed more technical equipment for surveillance even at most difficult places keeping the LoC under active patrolling and surveillance at all times," the Army Vice Chief said.

Thamburaj said infiltration bids have been "timed around" Lok Sabha elections.

After a visit to forward areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Army Chief Gen Deepak Kapoor said on Tuesday that 54 militants had infiltrated into India in March.

Sources in the government said the infiltration was being supported by the Pakistani establishment.
 

nitesh

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nitesh

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step in right direction:

The Pioneer > Online Edition : >> Number of yrs for becoming full Col reduced to 15 yrs

Number of yrs for becoming full Col reduced to 15 yrs

PNS | New Delhi

The Government, in a far-reaching decision to improve the career prospects of armed forces officers, on Friday reduced the number of years needed to become a full colonel from 20 to 15. This would give the armed forces a younger age profile at the level of commanding officers needed to fight modern day warfare.

"The Government on Friday fixed 15 years of commissioned service as the minimum qualifying service for substantive promotion to the rank of Colonel in the Army, Captain in the Navy and Group Captain in the Air Force. The decision of the Government has been received at the Service headquarters," sources said here.


Until now, Lieutenant Colonels in the Army, Commanders in the Navy and Wing Commanders in the Air Force had to put in a cumulative qualifying service of 20 years after commissioning for promotion to substantive Colonel and equivalent ranks.

However, they became unit commanding officers even with just 16 years of service, as per the cadre management policies of the tri-services, but had to wait for another four years to be confirmed as substantive Colonels and to receive the salary of a Colonel. In effect, it would mean that there would be no more 'acting' ranks of Colonel, Captain and Group Captain in the services.

Sources, however, clarified that the ranks of acting Colonels, Captains and Group Captains would be picked up by officers only in exceptional and operational situations, such as war or counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and North East.

Moreover, the Government decision would have no fresh financial implications as the posts of Colonel were approved posts, sources said.

Usually, armed forces officers picked up the Colonel rank when they crossed 40 years of age. But with the new Government decision, officers would become commanding officers when they are of 35 years. The Kargil Review Committee, set up in 1999, had recommended that the age profile of commanding officers of units be brought down to let younger lot of officers to assume command of fighting troops.

Also, the implementation of the Ajai Vikram Singh Committee (AVSC), which reviewed the career prospects and cadre restructuring in the armed forces, last year had resulted in a need to reduce the qualifying service for grant of substantive rank of Colonel. The AVSC proposals had aimed at lowering the age profile of battalion commanders.
 

Yusuf

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Officers to become Col after 15 yrs of service

NEW DELHI: In a major decision impacting the age profile of Army, Navy and Air Force commanding officers, the government on Friday fixed 15 years of commissioned service for substantive promotion to the rank of colonel, instead of the existing 20 years.

‘‘The government today fixed 15 years of commissioned service as the minimum qualifying service for substantive promotion to the rank of colonel in the Army, captain in the Navy and group captain in the Air Force. The decision of the government has been received at the Service headquarters,’’ sources said here.

Until now, lieutenant colonels in the Army, commanders in the Navy and wing commanders in the Air Force had to put in a cumulative qualifying service of 20 years after commissioning for promotion to substantive colonel and equivalent ranks. However, they became unit commanding officers even with just 16 years of service, as per the cadre management policies of the tri-services, but had to wait for another four years to be confirmed as substantive colonels and to receive the salary of a colonel. In effect, it would mean that there would be no more ‘‘acting’’ ranks of colonel, captain and group captain in the services.
Good news for the men in uniform.
On a lighter note, we at DFI can become Colonels in 15 months :)
 

Shiny Capstar

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This doesn't by any chance have anything to do with the shortage of officers does it?
 

Yusuf

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This doesn't by any chance have anything to do with the shortage of officers does it?
I dont think so. More to do with the salaries and also the perks involved with being a full Colonel.
 

Auberon

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This doesn't by any chance have anything to do with the shortage of officers does it?
Sir AFAIK the shortage is more prominent at the middle rung of officers and there are sufficient no. of officers at CO level.

I dont think so. More to do with the salaries and also the perks involved with being a full Colonel.
Also to do with various review committee's recommendation of lowering the age profile of battallion commanders.
 

nitesh

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The Hindu Business Line : Armed with information

Armed with information

Oren Barkai

In the civilian sector, a network failure may cause inconvenience and monetary loss in most cases. In the case of the military and defence corps, the slightest system downtime may translate into a national security threat - an intolerable reality..

Communication infrastructure that can keep the troops talking and moving is the key to victory.

On the night of November 26, 2008, ten heavily armed terrorists reached Mumbai's shores and carried out coordinated attacks in India's financial capital, leaving nearly 200 people dead, stunning the nation, and spurring the country to further spruce up its defence infrastructure.

Although India has emerged as a Civilian IT power, this power is yet to be fully exploited for national security and defence.

Defence forces today face difficulties that jeopardise military operations due to the vast amount of voice, data and video that must be transported and shared, to give troops a complete picture of any particular battle.

In the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks, India has realised the importance of communication infrastructure as an integral component of military strength.

India now has the opportunity to look to other countries, facing similar challenges, for insight into improving its military infrastructure.

Every military faces the painful reality that it is cheaper, easier and faster to bring down an army's communication network than it is to fight it.

"An army that cannot talk cannot move. An army that cannot move cannot fight."



Own your networks

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), as well as many other leading military forces globally, have, therefore, opted to own and operate their own communication networks rather than depend on civilian operators' infrastructure.

These militaries are able to design, plan and protect their infrastructure to handle the capacity, flexibility and security key to their defence operations.

The army's communication capabilities have become crucial to a successful military agenda, which leads governments to apply a network-centric warfare (NCW) doctrine as an integral part of their military might.

The IDF went a long way in building its own cellular network (known as "Mountain Rose") and WiMax network (known as "Broad Channel").



Network-Centric Warfare

With the ability to provide real-time evaluation of the battlefield, NCW infrastructure is built to handle a rapid move from routine communication activities to wartime operations.

A case in point was the Second Lebanon War, in July 2006, when the IDF had to rapidly transport and gather troops to the country's northern border.

It became clear that rapid and effective communication was a top priority, with two main requirements: high bandwidth and redundancy. The army's communication network had to be upgraded quickly while under constant artillery attack.

Within hours, mobile communication units - operating in exactly the same way as fixed sites - were moved to the required areas and received instant connectivity based on "point-and-click" allocations.

The use of the fixed COTS-based wireless networks was done in the same way. This capability contributed greatly to the army's field superiority throughout the 34-day conflict.


Implementing NCW

India needs to adopt NCW, but this move will require flexibility, scalability and redundancy.

The first priority in implementing NCW is connectivity, or bandwidth.

A robust NCW communication infrastructure must be able to support and transport the vast amounts of voice, data and video-based services to enable decision makers to gain a complete picture of the battlefield in real-time.

Second, there is redundancy. In the civilian sector, a network failure may cause inconvenience and monetary loss in most cases.

In the case of the military and defence corps, the slightest system downtime may translate into a national security threat - an intolerable reality. The industry benchmark of "five nines" for network reliability, which is usually acceptable for non-military service providers, is not reliable enough for an organisation that demands "always up and running" systems.

Flexibility is another necessity, as the information transmitted must keep up with the rapidly changing battle realities and manoeuvring forces.

Wireless is not the only issue in this case, as Wireline flexibility is mandatory to allow the information flows to the stationary bases.


One may argue that flexibility is also important in civilian telecom scenarios. However, no operator has ever prepared itself for a scenario in which an entire city moves from one side of the country to the other. The level of flexibility demanded in the defence sector is significantly higher.

Another important aspect is cost-effectiveness. The task of building a converged infrastructure for communication applications is not a new practice.

The first converged infrastructures were based on several distinct platforms.

The idea of building a converged infrastructure has arisen from the capital expenses fiascos of building multiple infrastructures per service and then struggling to keep them alive and working together, in order to utilise them for newer, more advanced services.

To become an advanced military power, both in terms of strength as well as technologically advanced machinery, communication and networking infrastructure (both wireline and wireless) will become a top priority.

India will have to look to telecommunications companies with vast experience in worldwide military operations to build NCW infrastructure.

These companies must be capable of developing solutions with an overall approach to building NCW architecture that guarantees the high-level of expertise necessary for the provision of optimal infrastructure.

The foundation of this architecture rests not only on telecom vendor platforms but also on third-party best-of-breed interoperable products that come together to form an ideal NCW infrastructure solution.

Only then will militaries and, indeed, countries, be able to operate at maximum efficiency to protect their citizens from attack.

The author is Director, Government and Defence Solutions, at ECI Telecom. He can be reached at [email protected].
 

Auberon

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Oren Barkai raises valid concerns but they have already been addressed, I ll try to get back to this article when I get the time later.
 

nitesh

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PIB Press Release

Exercise Hind Shakti begins

The Indian Army begins its major training exercise, aimed at validating and enhancing operational effectiveness of its premier corps, the KHARGA Corps. Codenamed Exercise HIND SHAKTI, it commenced yesterday in Punjab. The Exercise is being conducted as a two- sided exercise to practice the elite KHARGA Corps in their operational task. Army aims to validate its doctrine of proactive strategy through the Exercise.

Various formations of KHARGA Corps are being exercised both as BLUE LAND forces and with some representative depiction as RED LAND forces, the exercise is based on Blue land launching an offensive deep within enemy territory. The Exercise commenced in the afternoon with massed mechanised manoeuvres undertaken as part of offensive operations in the plains of Punjab. A large No of tanks, BMPs, artillery guns and specialist vehicles continued these manoeuvres by day and night under near war like conditions. A parachute drop by airborne troops and other heliborne operations were also undertaken to supplement the offensive by the mechanised forces.

As part of the Army’s modernization programme, a wide variety of State of the Art equipment has been inducted into the KHARGA Corps and has been fielded in the exercise. The KHARGA Corps, exploiting the new age technology available to it including commercially available off-the-shelf technology in the field of IT, has developed a concept of Networked Operations which exploit real time surveillance means like Unmanned Aerial vehicles (UAVs), satellite imagery, ground –based surveillance resources and mission reports from Air Force / Attack Helicopters. This allows for rapid decision making at the Corps Headquarters and and its lower Headquarters.

Special efforts have been made by the Army to minimize inconvenience to the public during this Exercise in close cooperation with the civil administration, which has been appreciated by the general public. The Army tanks, Paratroopers and the Heliborne operations were a big draw for the general public and the youth in particular.
 

nitesh

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Oren Barkai raises valid concerns but they have already been addressed, I ll try to get back to this article when I get the time later.
Well if you can elaborate "up to what extent". Like for IAF the AFNET is up and running is IA got the same? Are they exploiting the VoIP now (I don't think so).
 

nitesh

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Sad state of affairs:

Battle-hardy CRPF fights diseases
The numbers are startling. In the last four years, from 2005 to 2008, almost half of its 2.6 lakh-strong workforce has suffered serious ailments. Close to 50 per cent of these—almost 60,000 of the entire force—is suffering from diseases, which are either long-term or permanent afflictions and potentially life-threatening, like cancer, hepatitis, hypertension, heart problems, AIDS or psychiatric symptoms (see box). The most common problem, however, relates to the skin.

In these four years, the force has lost 1,425 men to diseases. The number is only marginally less than the total number of casualties it has suffered in combat operations since 1946—1,659 men, including the 25 who died this year.
Though this is a reserve force, of late it has almost permanently been deployed in troubled regions. According to data obtained from the CRPF, more than 80 per cent of its personnel, including 6,000 officers of assistant commandant level and above, have not got a peaceful/static posting in the last 20 years.
 

dave lukins

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This is a common sense move. How frustrating it must be to be a Commander and not being payed for that responsibility for four years. Responsibility should reap its rewards.
 

Auberon

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Well if you can elaborate "up to what extent". Like for IAF the AFNET is up and running is IA got the same? Are they exploiting the VoIP now (I don't think so).
Indian army has been using AWAN and ASCON since five years.
 

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