Indian Army: News and Discussion

[nandu]

Bangla army chief visit may lead to joint drills

KOLKATA: The just-concluded visit of chief of Bangladesh army General Mohammed Abdul Mubeen may pave the way for joint exercises between Indian and Bangladesh armies, it was learnt from army sources in Kolkata. Mubeen was in the city before flying back to Dhaka on Saturday, after a week-long visit to Delhi, Kashmir and Rajasthan.

On Friday, he visited the Eastern Command headquarters in the city and had a talk with GOC-in-C Lieutenant General V. K. Singh, the army chief designate. Army chief General Deepak Kapoor's presence during a briefing added significance to the event. Mubeen had a meeting with Kapoor also in Delhi and visited field formations and army installations in Leh and some other parts of the country. He also visited some air force training establishments.

In the wake of improved relations with Bangladesh during the Sk Hasina regime in Dhaka, India wanted to improve defence ties with Bangladesh, with an eye on weaning the neighbour away from the sphere of Chinese influence, the sources said. Senior army officials found it strange that the Bangladesh army was having joint exercises with the Chinese army since long, but none with the Indian army.

About a year ago, a joint exercise had been planned between Indian and Bangladeshi special forces at Jorhat in Assam. For undisclosed reasons, the exercise was called off at the last moment. A reason for the mistrust could be the presence of training camps of rebel outfits from northeast India in Bangladesh and their getting help from organizations like Directorate General of Forces Intelligence. With the crackdown on these rebel outfits during Sk Hasina's regime and arrest of top United Liberation Front of Asom. the perception was changing, the sources said.
Mubeen's visit could lead to joint exercises between troops of the two countries at the elite Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School at Vairangte in Mizoram. Control of insurgency on the Indo-Bangladesh border continues to be a problem faced by India.

As a part of defence co-operation between Bangladesh and China, Bangladesh military is now equipped predominantly with Chinese hardware, but following the improvement in relations with India could consider helping the Bangladesh military with armament, sources said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

 

[sandeepdg]

Adding muscle: Army begins hunt for heavy machine guns


New Delhi: The Army has launched a hunt for heavy machine guns (HMGs), which can fire high-explosive, incendiary and armour-piercing rounds at a rapid clip, to further boost the high-volume firepower of its infantry battalions. Floating a global RFI (request for information) for armament majors, the Army wants the tripod-mounted 12.7mm HMGs to have an effective range of over 2,000-metre and be capable of firing over 450 rounds per minute.
‘‘The weapon should be robust enough to withstand rough usage and simple to maintain in operational conditions normally encountered in India like high-altitude areas, jungles and deserts,’’ said an officer. At present, while the over 350 infantry battalions (each with 800-1,000 soldiers) in the 1.13-million strong Army are equipped with assault rifles and anti-tank guided missiles, light and medium machine guns, rocket and grenade launchers, they do not have modern HMGs.
‘‘We used to have HMGs earlier but they have been weeded out...the old HMGs are used only in a few operational areas now to take on ‘soft’ targets like vehicles and bunkers,’’ said another officer. The Army wants the new HMGs, which should weigh less than 40 kg, to be also capable of being mounted on light strike vehicles and infantry combat vehicles, apart from their ground role with a three-man crew. The Army’s futuristic modernisation programme for footsoldiers, the F-INSAS (future infantry soldier as a system), has been in the pipeline for several years.
Though F-INSAS is yet to take concrete shape, as reported earlier, the Army remains keen about progressively transforming all its 3.5 lakh infantry soldiers into high-tech, self-contained killing machines by the next decade. Under it, infantry soldiers in the future will get equipment like light-weight integrated ballistic helmets with ‘‘heads-up display’’ and miniaturised communication systems; portable visual, chemical and biological sensors; hand-held computer displays, GPS and video links; ‘‘smart’’ vests with sensors to monitor vital body signs; and of course lethal firepower with laser-guided modular weapon systems.
F-INSAS basically aims at ‘‘converting an infantryman into a fully-networked all-terrain, all-weather, weapons platform with enhanced lethality, survivability, sustainability, mobility and situational awareness’’ for the digitised battlefield of the future.

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Defa...eLabel=15&EntityId=Ar01500&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T

 

[Anshu Attri]

Indian Robotic Army-India's Next Gen Soldiers.......

 

[plugwater]

Army to boost North Bengal infrastructure

JALPAIGURI: In a bid to increase its presence along the Sino-Indian border in the northeast, the Indian Army is looking for land in the area to match the infrastructure developed by the Chinese in their territory. Accordingly, Army officers held a series of meetings with district officials in Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri on key issues, beginning with an airbase at Bagrakote.

District officials have been asked to acquire land to strengthen the road network to the border in the entire east and the northeast. The plan will be taken up in a phased manner for the next 20 years.

First comes the widening of NH-31A connecting Sikkim with the rest of the country. The Army had decided to lay the road afresh for better mobility and also to prevent damage by recurrent landslides during rains. There is yet another proposal to construct a new road via Odlabari in the Dooars bypassing NH-31A. The proposed road will touch Gorubathan, Lava, Algara, Pedong, Rishi and Ranipur before it reaches Gangtok. This route is not prone to landslides and is also a shorter one to Sikkim. Besides, another road to Sikkim through Bhutan is under consideration.

"Look at the other side of the Sino-Indian border. China has built four-lane roads along the border on the other side of Nathu La. They have total road connectivity along the Sino-

Indian border and this has been a cause of concern for the Indian Army. The Army has thus decided to overhaul the road link. Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling districts are strategically very important for the Army," said a senior state government official.

Apart from developing the road links, the Army is also planning an air base at Bagrakote in Odlabari, spread over 400 acres. The new air base has been named Shaugaon Air Base. The Army has urged the Jalpaiguri administration to acquire about 300 acres. The remaining 100 acres is lying with the Army.

"We have asked the Army to deposit the money before we start the acquisition. Most of the land is vested and there are only 20-25 families that need to be compensated. The Army has conveyed it would deposit the money shortly. Once that is done, we will start the process of land acquisition," said a senior district administrative official.

In a meeting with the district administration, the Army has also sought for a piece of land to set up a modern armoury that can help them reinstate forces in exigency.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...Bengal-infrastructure/articleshow/5717601.cms

 

[nandu]

Indian army to deploy light tanks on China border

New Delhi: Indian army is set to deploy light tanks on China and Pakistan boarders. Reports say that more than 300 tanks would be deployed in the initial period to beef up capabilities on the frontiers.
The army wants the tanks to be able to penetrate highly protected armoured vehicles and Main Battle Tanks of the enemy from a distance of more than two kilometres and also be able to fire high explosive anti-tank shells and guided missiles.
Process for acquisition of the tanks has been initiated with the Request for Information (RFI) being issued for the same.
The tanks are intended to be deployed in the mountainous region of Jammu and Kashmir in the north and Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in the north-east, army sources said.
The tanks are expected to weigh around 22 tonnes and be capable of operating at heights of over 3,000 metres in hilly terrain, they said.
The light tanks are being considered for deployment as part of mechanised force in the high altitude regions as heavy tanks cannot reach there, they said.

http://www.thelatestnews.in

 

[A.V.]

Spy Stories!!!

thread about real time spy stories






Don't Follow That Girl

In 1986, Mordechai Vanunu, an Israeli technician who had worked in Israel's Dimona nuclear facility, went to the British newspapers with his claim that Israel had developed atomic bombs. His statement was starkly at odds with Israel's official policy of nuclear ambiguity -- and he had photos to prove it.

The period of negotiation among the newspapers was tense, and at one point the London Sunday Times was keeping Vanunu hidden in a secret location in suburban London while it attempted to verify his story. But Vanunu got restless. He announced to his minders at the paper that he had met a young woman while visiting tourist attractions in London and that they were planning a romantic weekend in Rome.

The newspaper felt it had no right to prevent Vanunu from leaving. It was a huge mistake: Soon after arriving in Rome with his lady friend, Vanunu was seized by Mossad officers, forcibly drugged, and smuggled out of Italy by ship to Israel, where he was eventually put on trial for treason. Vanunu served 18 years in jail, 11 years of it in solitary confinement. Released in 2004, he is still confined to Israel under tight restrictions, which include not being allowed to meet with foreigners or talk about his experiences. Britain has never held an inquiry into the affair.

The woman who set the honey trap was a Mossad officer, Cheryl Ben Tov, code-named "Cindy." Born in Orlando, Fla., she was married to an officer of the Israeli security service. After the operation, she was given a new identity to prevent reprisals, and eventually she left Israel to return to the United States. But her role in the Vanunu affair was vital. The Mossad could not have risked a diplomatic incident by kidnapping Vanunu from British soil, so he had to be lured abroad -- an audacious undertaking, but in this case a successful one.

 

[A.V.]

Take Favors from No One

One of the best-known honey traps in spy history involves Mata Hari, a Dutch woman who had spent some years as an erotic dancer in Java. (Greta Garbo played her in a famous 1931 film.) During World War I, the French arrested her on charges of spying for the Germans, based on their discovery through intercepted telegrams that the German military attaché in Spain was sending her money. The French claimed that the German was her control officer and she was passing French secrets to him, secrets she had obtained by seducing prominent French politicians and officers.

During the trial, Mata Hari defended herself vigorously, claiming that she was the attaché's mistress and he was sending her gifts. But her arguments did not convince her judges. She died by firing squad on Oct. 15, 1917, refusing a blindfold.

After the war, the French admitted that they had no real evidence against her. The conclusion by most modern historians has been that she was shot not because she was running a honey trap operation, but to send a powerful message to any women who might be tempted to follow her example. The lesson here, perhaps, is that resembling a honey trap can be as dangerous as actually being one.

 

[A.V.]

Beware the Media
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/03/12/the_history_of_the_honey_trap?page=0,3

Sometimes a country's entire journalism corps can fall into an apparent honey trap. Yevgeny Ivanov was a Soviet attaché in London in the early 1960s. He was a handsome, personable officer and a popular figure on the British diplomatic and social scene, a frequent guest at parties given by society osteopath Stephen Ward.

Ward was famous for inviting the pick of London's beautiful young women to his gatherings. One of them was Christine Keeler, a scatterbrained '60s "good-time girl" who supposedly became Ivanov's mistress. Unfortunately for everyone involved, Keeler was the lover of the married British MP and Secretary of State for War John Profumo, who was then working on plans with the United States to station cruise missiles in Germany.

In 1963, Profumo's affair with Keeler was exposed in the press. Britain's famed scandal sheets also blew up the Soviet spy/honey trap angle, for which there was no evidence. Profumo was forced to resign for lying about the affair to the House of Commons. His wife forgave him, but his career was ruined.

Ivanov was recalled to Moscow, where he lived out his days pouring ridicule on the whole story: "It is ludicrous to think that Christine Keeler could have said to John Profumo in bed one night, 'Oh, by the way, darling, when are the cruise missiles going to arrive in Germany?'" He was probably right: When the media gets hold of a potential honey trap, the truth is easily los

t

 

[nitesh]

something is not right but good thing there is no loss of life

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...-depot-in-West-Bengal/articleshow/5725658.cms

 

[nitesh]

now this is very interesting:

http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000549321&fid=1725

Military electronics and electro-optical equipment manufacturer Aryt Industries Ltd. (TASE: ARYT) and its Indian partner Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BSE: 500049) have passed to the next stage of a large tender for the supply of electronic artillery fuses to the Indian Army.

Bharat has been asked to supply electronic fuses for 105-mm artillery for a firing test by the Indian Army. The tender for the supply of 600,000 electronic fuses for 105-mm artillery is the largest of three tenders for the supply of one million electronic fuses for 105, 130, and 155-mm artillery for a total of $200 million.

Last August, Aryt announced that its subsidiary Reshef Technologies Ltd. (99.75% owned by Aryt) had signed a technological cooperation agreement with Bharat Electronics, a military electronics manufacturer. Bharat Electronics is India's second largest defense company, after Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd., and has 13,000 employees.

Last year, Aryt reported that, as part of a ten-year cooperation agreement with Bharat Electronics, Reshef would help Bharat bid in tenders for artillery fuses of various types, with Bharat financing 20% of the development and production costs.

Aryt's share price rose 8.7% by early afternoon today to NIS 0.85, giving a market cap of NIS 55 million.

 

[plugwater]

Major fire in Indian Army ammunition depot in Panagarh

A major fire broke out early on Friday in one of the largest ammunition depots of Indian Army at Panagarh in Burdwan district of West Bengal, gutting a store house containing a large number of small arms and ammunition. “The fire broke out in shed number 16 (store house) of the depot at 1.30 am. Within five minutes, the entire fire fighting machinery of the Army was activated to battle the blaze,” Wing Commander M. Upasani of Eastern Command told media. The fire was brought under control at around 3.30 am but the shed was totally destroyed, he said. There was no loss of life or injury, the defence spokesman said. A crisis management team of the Army, led by Colonel A.D. Sethi, rushed to the site and controlled the fire, which destroyed a large number of small arms and ammunition, he said. The Wing Commander said Maj Gen Chowdhury of the Eastern Command rushed to the site for an immediate probe. The cause of the fire was not known, he said. Panagarh, about 120 kms from here, has one of the largest ammunition depots of the Indian Army and is also an important air force base.

http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-n...e-in-Indian-Army-ammunition-depot-in-Panagarh

 

[sandeepdg]

India lines up Israeli drones in race with Pak

New Delhi: New battlelines are being drawn for a spy drone versus spy drone face-off between India and Pakistan. Even as Islamabad continues to badger Washington to give it armed drones like ‘Predators’, New Delhi is quietly working towards bolstering its fleet of reconnaissance and ‘killer’ unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
In the latest such contract inked with Israel Aerospace Industries a few days ago, India has ordered a few more ‘Heron’ MALE (medium-altitude, long endurance) drones, ground control systems and data terminals for around Rs 700 crore, defence ministry sources said on Thursday. While India is currently way ahead of Pakistan in the drone race, armed UAVs in the hands of Pakistan could change the ballgame altogether. As it is, most of the US military goodies like F-16s that Pakistan is getting for the war on terror are meant more for waging conventional warfare rather than counter-terrorism.

While India inked a drone deal with Tel Aviv, Pakistan has been after US to get ‘strategic’ UAVs like ‘Predators’. But Washington has so far only agreed to supply ‘tactical’ unarmed ‘Shadow’ drones for intelligencegathering missions. ‘Predators’ and ‘Reapers’, controlled from hundreds of miles away through satellites, can unleash havoc with their ‘Hellfire’ missiles, as is being witnessed in the ongoing American operations against Taliban in the Af-Pak region.
The importance of UAVs in modern-day warfare cannot be overstated, both for their snooping as well as targeting capabilities. Indian armed forces are slowly but surely emerging as big-time drone operators, having inducted well over 100 UAVs since the 1999 Kargil conflict. These primarily include Israeli ones like Searcher-II and Heron, as also some Harpy ‘killer’ drones designed to detect and destroy enemy radars by functioning like cruise missiles. Under the latest deal, Navy will now get two more Herons to add to its UAV fleet of eight Searcher-II and four Herons, which are being used for maritime surveillance up to 200 nautical miles.
There is also the ongoing Rs 1,163 crore joint IAI-DRDO project for NRUAVs (naval rotary UAVs) or unmanned helicopters operating from warship decks for advanced ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) missions. As reported by TOI, Army is also going in for two more ‘troops’ (8 birds each) of advanced Heron UAVs for Rs 1,118 crore after the Defence Acquisitions Council approved it in February 2009. Apart from using UAVs for spying and directing precision-guided munitions, IAF is now looking to induct Israeli Harop ‘killer’ UAVs from 2011 onwards.

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Defa...geLabel=1&EntityId=Ar00105&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T

 

[nandu]

Minister of State for defence visits bilateral armour exercise in India

SINGAPORE: The Singapore Armed Forces and Indian Army participated in a bilateral armour exercise in central India Saturday morning.

Codenamed "Bold Kurukshetra", the exercise was witnessed by Minister of State for Defence, Koo Tsai Kee.

MINDEF said Associate Prof Koo observed a live-firing exercise between the two armed forces, who interact regularly through policy dialogues, visits and courses.

This is the sixth collaboration in the month-long exercise.

MINDEF said the visit also underscores the warm defence relations between the two countries.

"The SAF and the Indian Army have been working together on bilateral army exercises since April 2005," Assoc Prof Koo said. "We appreciate the opportunity to train and exercise with the Indian Armed Forces. The successful conclusion of Exercise Bold Kurushektra 2010 demonstrates the capabilities and professionalism of both armies.”

http://www.channelnewsasia.com

 

[RPK]

Indian Army training yacht here for refuelling

An Indian Army Training Yacht named “Trishna,” which set sail from Cochin, arrived at the Colombo Port on Saturday for a refueling halt. The vessel Commanded by Colonel Deepak Berry is comprised of five Officers and one Probationary Officer and is used for training Indian Army personnel. Officers of the Indian yacht paid a courtesy visit on Director General Operations, Rear Admiral SMJ Perera and Deputy Area Commander-Western Naval Area, Commodore D.E.C Jayakody. Defence Attache to the High Commission of India in Sri Lanka Captain Pradeep Singh too was present at the occasion.

 

[youngindian]

Creation of armed forces space cell significant: Report

2010-03-29 23:00:00



The creation of an Integrated Space Cell (ISC) for the armed forces is 'a significant step forward towards modernisation', the defence ministry said in its annual report released Monday.

'The setting up of the Integrated Space Cell (ISC) under the Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Operations) as the nodal point for all space related activities of the tri-services was a significant step forward towards modernization,' the report says.


The ISC has worked out the overall satellite communication requirements of the three services till 2020 in coordination with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the report says.


It also notes that a contract was signed this month to equip two regiments of the Indian Army with the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile system.


On India's indigenous missile programme, the report says that the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) plans soon to conduct the fourth flight test of the long range Agni-III missile that is capable of carrying a 1,500 kg warhead.


The DRDO is also toying with the indigenous Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) System, based on the Embraer-145 aircraft platform. The first modified aircraft is expected in mid-2011, the report says.

http://sify.com/news/creation-of-ar...ificant-report-news-national-kd3xabeeafj.html

 

[RPK]

http://www.zeenews.com/news615102.html

Pakistani intruder held in Jaisalmer

Jaisalmer: A Pakistani intruder was Tuesday arrested by the Border Security Force from Kishangarh locality of this Rajasthan district.

According to a BSF spokesman, the Pakistani national has been identified as Javad Ashraf. He is under interrogation.

However, no incriminating document was recovered from him, the spokesman added.

The BSF personnel had yesterday shot dead a Pakistani intruder near the Indo-Pak border in Samba district

 

[nandu]

Post of Chief of Defence Staff is a must: Naik

New Delhi, Mar 30 Supporting the demand for creation of the post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) for the armed forces, Air Chief Marshal P V Naik today said the appointment, however, could be done only after the country decides on the best-suited CDS model for it.

"As a concept, I believe there should be a CDS. As to what model we should adopt that best suits our country, that we have to study," he said after taking over as Chairman, Chiefs of Staffs Committee, here today.

The Kargil Review Committee and the subsequent Group of Ministers report in 2001 on reforming the national security system had stressed the need for a CDS to provide single-point military advice to the government and manage the country's nuclear arsenal.

http://www.ptinews.com/news/587999_Post-of-Chief-of-Defence-Staff-is-a-must--Naik

 

[youngindian]

Modernisation is main challenge for new army chief

March 30th, 2010 - 7:23 pm ICT by IANS

New Delhi, March 30 (IANS) Lieutenant General V.K. Singh, who assumes office Wednesday as the new Indian Army chief, has many strategic and operational challenges ahead, including the long-delayed artillery modernisation programme that has significantly handicapped the forces’ firepower capabilities.
With the ghost of the Bofors payoff scandal of the 1980s still looming over weapon purchases, the army is now left with just about half of the 410 Bofors guns it had purchased in 1986, with normal wear and tear and cannibalisation accounting for the remaining howitzers.

After a decade-and-a-half, a $647 million deal is imminent for 145 M777 155mm ultralight-weight howitzers with Laser Inertial Artillery Pointing Systems (LINAPS) manufactured by BAE Systems but a decision has still to be taken on some 300 towed and self-propelled guns of the same calibre.

And therein lies the rub.

The defence ministry has given the go-ahead for field trials of the towed guns but with a caveat: Singapore Technologies Kinetics, the sole contender, has first to be cleared by the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) of corruption charges. The company, however, stoutly denies it is charged with corruption and says it is more than willing to open its books to the CBI or anyone else to prove this.

Then, the Indian Army has to take a call on just how many of the indigenous Arjun main battle tanks (MBTs) it wishes to purchase. As of now the army has ordered 124 and various officers have been quoted as saying it would stop at that.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) that developed the Arjun has protested and wants the army to buy more to make its decades-old labours worthwhile.

This apart, the army has to achieve closure on ongoing projects like arming the homegrown Dhruv advanced light helicopters, replacing its Cheetah and Chetak helicopters, purchasing intermediate-range helicopters and short- and medium-range air defense systems, as also improving the ability of soldiers to fight at night with night-vision sights and thermal imaging systems for tanks.

Thus, Singh has his hands more than full.

A third generation army officer, Singh was commissioned into the Rajput Regiment on June 14, 1970 and during his career spanning nearly 40 years has served in a variety of command, staff and instructional appointments.

He participated in the 1971 war with Pakistan and in the operations of the Indian Peace-Keeping Force in Sri Lanka in the mid-1980s.

An honours graduate of the US Army Infantry School at Georgia in the US, Singh is an alumnus the Wellington-based Defence Services Staff College, the Mhow-based Army War College and the US Army War College, Carlisle.

He is a recipient of the Param Vishist Seva Medal, the Ati Vishist Seva Medal and Yudh Seva Medal. He is also one of the honorary ADCs of the president of India, who is the supreme commander of the armed forces.

“Apart from being an outstanding soldier and a stern disciplinarian, what singles him out is his mania for fitness. He has a penchant for workouts and is regularly seen in the gym,” an officer who has observed Singh, 59, closely during his just-concluded stint as head of the Kolkata-based Eastern Army Command, said.

“He still takes part in a lot of outdoor games and used to regularly turn out for army-level football tournaments as the Eastern Command chief,” the officer added.


http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal...n-challenge-for-new-army-chief_100341292.html

 

[sandeepdg]

Future war on 2½ fronts?
Forces Working On Strategy To Tackle Pak, China & Insurgents


New Delhi: India’s worst-case scenario is a two-front war. Add the insurgencies in Kashmir and Northeast, and rampant Naxalism in other parts, and it becomes a complex twoand-a-half front situation.
Even as the top military brass undergoes a change, with Air Chief Marshal P V Naik becoming the new chairman of chiefs of staff committee on Tuesday and General V K Singh the new Army chief on Wednesday, the armed forces feel they have to be prepared to tackle any eventuality on either of the two fronts, as well as an asymmetrical warfare in the hinterland. Towards this end, in addition to the western front with Pakistan, India is now also concentrating hard on the longneglected eastern sector with China to swiftly build ‘‘capacities’’ and ‘‘capabilities’’ in tune with ‘‘threat perceptions’’.
The armed forces certainly do not want war even on one front, leave alone two. But they have to factor in worstcase scenarios. Pakistan, for instance, remains a worry, especially with the over $10 billion US military assistance to it for the so-called ‘global war on terror’, which ranges from new F-16 C/D Block 52 jets and refurbished P-3C maritime patrol aircraft to Harpoon and AIM-9M Sidewinder missiles.
‘‘It’s definitely a matter of concern for us. We have made it known (to the US),’’ said Naik. But should India not leverage its mammoth $10.4-billion project to acquire 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA), in which two of the six aviation majors in the fray are from the US, to register its protest? ‘‘There is no connection between the two at present. The MMRCA deal will be a fair and square one, with its field trials ending towards end-April,’’ replied the IAF chief.
China, with its rapidly modernising 2.25-million People’s Liberation Army, of course, is perceived to be the real long-term threat, even if India is reluctant to say so in as many words. ‘‘Yes, we are upgrading the eastern theatre. But it’s not country-specific ... We are developing capabilities, which were long overdue there ... I am glad,’’ said Naik.
Outgoing Army chief General Deepak Kapoor, in turn, also said while there was no possibility of a conflict with China as things stood now, ‘‘professional’’ armed forces had to ‘‘develop capabilities and infrastructure’’ to take care of all security challenges.
As was first reported by TOI last December, Army is already revising its five-year-old war doctrine to effectively deal with a possible ‘‘two-front war’’, with a new ‘‘proportionate focus towards the western and northeastern fronts’’. Army has already begun to post officers for the two new infantry mountain divisions and one artillery brigade being raised for the eastern sector, primarily Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.
The new divisions, with 1,260 officers and 35,011 soldiers, will be fully operational by 2012. Army, in fact, has infrastructure development plans worth Rs 11,652 crore for the eastern sector. Similarly, IAF is upgrading airbases and helipads in Northeast, which includes night-landing facilities, with Tezpur already getting the first lot of Sukhoi-30MKI fighters. ‘‘The aim is that the airfields should be able to support the most modern aircraft,’’ said Naik.

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Defa...geLabel=9&EntityId=Ar00900&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T

 

[RPK]

http://www.india-server.com/news/indian-army-chief-v-k-singh-marks-for-23726.html

Indian Army Chief V.K. Singh Marks For Modernization


Reflecting on the current challenges, Lieutenant General V.K. Singh, who is appointed as the new Indian Army Chief has cited that to make the defense operational activities more powerfully impactful the artillery modernization programme needs to be updated.

This is the significant factor which has not been concentrated for years and has developed a major setback in operational activities that has left the forces handicap with limitations.

The new Indian Army Chief is a graduate of the US Army Infantry School at Georgia in the US and is an alumnus the Wellington-based Defence Services Staff College, the Mhow-based Army War College and the US Army War College, Carlisle.

Recipient of the Param Vishist Seva Medal, the Ati Vishist Seva Medal and Yudh Seva Medal, considered as one of the honorary ADCs of the president of India, who is the supreme commander of the armed forces.

He sighted due to 1980’s Bofors payoff scandal it has impacted upon the weapon purchases and thus the army is now left with just about half of the 410 Bofors guns, with normal wear and tear and cannibalization.

Now after past half decades the government needs to reflect for its renovation in machinery equipments for the Indian army and should be empowered with $647 million benefit to access 145 M777 155mm ultra light-weight howitzers with Laser Inertial Artillery Pointing Systems (LINAPS) manufactured by BAE Systems .

To this view of Singh, the defense ministry gave a go-ahead signal for field trials of the towed guns but with a caution of the Bofors charges. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) that developed the Arjun had notified that the army should be given the privilege to go for sophisticated weapons in return to their decades-old effort.

Emphasizing the government to help purchase intermediate-range helicopters and short- and medium-range air defense systems for air operation as well as for further facilities for the ground operation to combat in night efficiently with night-vision sights and thermal imaging systems for tanks.