Modernisation of Indian Army Infantry

Kunal Biswas

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Why the army's changed mindset on indigenous technology is a relief | India Today Insight

Vice-Chief of Army Staff Gen. M.M. Naravane said that the army would accept indigenous technology even if they didn't meet the 'best' parameters. Improvements, he said, could be made later. In any other country, army officials endorsing home-grown technology would not have been a non-sequitur. But in the Indian context, these major endorsements signal a welcome shift in the thought process.
Indian industry officials say the army has been the slowest of the three services to embrace indigenous technology. This could also be explained by the fact that it is the least technology-intensive of the three services. The army is manpower intensive. It does not operate hundreds of fighter aircraft over vast airspaces nor does it have platforms as technologically intensive as an aircraft carrier or a nuclear-powered submarine. Army testing procedures are rigorous and trials of critically required equipment like bulletproof jackets often go on for years without achieving results.
The navy has worked closely with the DRDO to perfect indigenous sonars. The army can only claim a handful of successful collaborations such as the Dhanush which fielded an indigenous 155 mm howitzer from blueprints supplied by Bofors in the 1980s. Three critical systems-the Tactical Communications System (TCS), Battlefield Management Systems (BMS) and the Future Infantry Combat Vehicle (FICV) have been on for over a decade without a prototype in sight.
In recent years, the army has embarked on what could only be called Quixotic pursuits. A bizarre contest to buy a multi-caliber rifle-a single rifle firing two different types of ammunition-was scrapped after seven long years. Last year, it shut down a BMS project that would seamlessly link all its fighting formations, citing high project costs.

Yet, nothing compares in the scale of neglect to the army's now-shelved Beta battle computer project. The Kargil War of 1999 exposed how little the infantryman's kit had changed since the 1971 war. Project Beta, flagged off in 2003, then, seemed astonishingly ahead of its time by army standards.
Among the early projects initiated by the Army Technology Board, the aim was for every soldier to field a hand-held computer. It was the army's leap into the digital battlefield of the future, bringing the Indian soldier on par with counterparts in the US and Israel who were racing to develop the same capability.

Project Beta's hand-held or body-worn PDA would enhance a soldier's situational awareness in the battlefield by answering three basic questions: where am I, where is the enemy, and where are my comrades?

The answers would blip on the screen of a hand-held device, rugged-proofed for military use. The device was meant to equip infantry companies (100 or more soldiers) engaged in counter-insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir.
The project combined the expertise of Bengaluru's IT industry with academia, defence scientists along with end-users. Bengaluru-based Encore software collaborated with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and the DRDO. The Indian Army's Directorate General of Information Systems worked as co-developers and end-users on the project. "It was a unique partnership and it would have been a fantastic base for us to build on for the army's future projects," says Colonel D.P.K. Pillay (retired) who coordinated Project Beta at Army HQ, New Delhi.
By 2005, the team had produced an integrated battlefield computer that would allow a soldier to pinpoint his exact location on a Geographical Information System (GIS) powered map, allow friendly troops to see his position on their screens and allow communication between them. The Situational Awareness and Tactical Handheld Interface (SATHI) packed a lot into an 875-gram rugged set that was smaller than a brick. The solar-powered PDA ran on a 128-bit encrypted system, a Linux programme and was capable of withstanding temperatures between -20 degrees C to + 70 C. It had a 5 km range and a GPS receiver-with a 24 hour battery life. It supported both voice and text for devices deployed in the mission area. Its software-controlled radio allowed regular updates of device positions, messages and map markings over the entire network, directly, or by relay. The password-protected device, its manufacturers say, could even act as a decoy if it fell into enemy hands. If unauthorised attempts were made to log in, the unit could actually reveal the position of the person attempting the break-in to friendly troops.
When the first 120 units were tested, it was a formidable game-changer. Infantry closing in on the enemy knew their location and those of friendly forces in real time. Troop movements could be monitored by commanders on a laptop several kilometres away. Each Sathi unit theoretically had unlimited range because each unit acted as a relay station, bouncing signals to the next unit and thus doing away with the need to erect signal relay stations to boost range. The system was successfully demonstrated to President A.P.J Abdul Kalam. The developers drew up plans for a series of devices using the same core and operating systems which could scale up the Sathi's capabilities and be used by decision-makers up the command chain.
In 2008, a proposal for a second batch of 1,300 Beta-2 devices came up before the Army Technology Board for funding approval. The project team wanted to test it across a wider area. That's when the army pulled the plug on the project. The decision took the project team by surprise. It was almost inexplicable, says one officer who worked on the project. "We don't need to reinvent the wheel," a three-star officer who headed the army's Information Systems (IS), reportedly told the project team when they protested. Project Beta was closed down. The Sathis already manufactured were consigned to the almirahs in the office of the D-G, IS. It was a move that would have delighted the dozens of foreign equipment manufacturers who are now offering their own solutions to the Indian Army.
Cut to 2019. The army still does not have a hand-held computer. Special forces operatives crawling up on the enemy at the Line of Control have no way of knowing where their comrades are at. Infantrymen engaged in combing operations operate just as they would do several years ago--through radio, mobile phone or hand signals. The Sathi project remains a wistful reminder of what might have been.

Could the project be revived? Quite easily, says Colonel K.P.M. Das (retired) who worked on the project and is now with Cisco Systems. "The technology has gone through four or five cycles since then, with the result that today's start point can be achieved in a matter of months. A Sathi for 2020 can do a hundred times more than what it did 15 years ago and a large number of military-grade systems can be fielded in a year." A resurrected Sathi could well be the biggest statement of the army's indigenisation intent.
Source : https://www.indiatoday.in/india-tod...ous-technology-is-a-relief-1611391-2019-10-21
 

Noname34

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No thanks, i want these garbage PSUs sold off and their idiotic workforce kicked out, while the paperweight made by them is melted and sold for scrap.

Why is it that every time the talk of indegenisation happens the arguments almost always revolve around these incompetent DPSUs which kill soldiers with impunity and amost never around the excellent startup culture being nurtured in the private sector which has started to put some good stuff in the market.

Take an example of the optic made by the BEL chutiyas.
EJkdw8qU4AARNcJ.jpg


This has to be some form of mental disorder, to have those big ass sights which will be absolutely laughed out off any competition held by any organisation that calls itself an armed outfit.

On the other hand here is what TONBO has to say on the matter.

The problem is as clear as day here.

The only thing these overgrown employment schemes(thats what DPSUs are) gives is that it allows some indians to derive some form of illogical pride from stuffing this hot garbage down the throat of the average soldier. Wrong(and dangerous as people depend on these equipments to save lives) mentality i'd say.
 
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ezsasa

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No thanks, i want these garbage PSUs sold off and their idiotic workforce kicked out, while the paperweight made by them is melted and sold for scrap.

Why is it that every time the talk of indegenisation happens the arguments almost always revolve around these incompetent DPSUs which kill soldiers with impunity and amost never around the excellent startup culture being nurtured in the private sector which has started to put some good stuff in the market.

Take an example of the optic made by the BEL chutiyas.
View attachment 40183

This has to be some form of mental disorder, to have those big ass sights which will be absolutely laughed out off any competition held by any organisation that calls itself an armed outfit.

On the other hand here is what TONBO has to say on the matter.

The problem is as clear as day here.

The only thing these overgrown employment schemes(thats what DPSUs are) gives is that it allows the some indians to derive some form of illogical pride from stuffing this hot garbage down the throat of the average soldier.

DPSUs are nothing more than the abominations of the 21st century.
In the specific example, what’s the point in blaming DPSU when the RFI by IA wanted 1 kg weight...
 

Noname34

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In the specific example, what’s the point in blaming DPSU when the RFI by IA wanted 1 kg weight...
You sure?
In that case i take it back, the blame lies on those who made the parameters then.

Can you quote the RFI please, i am curious as to what gives when they make such absurd choices.
 

ezsasa

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You sure?
In that case i take it back, the blame lies on those who made the parameters then.

Can you quote the RFI please, i am curious as to what gives when they make such absurd choices.
I think RFI is available is indianarmy website..
 

Noname34

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Bleh

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I want Indian Army to accept Arjun tanks, Insas Mk1C rifles, OFB 7.62x51 mm rifles and helicopters.
Yep you are right, thanks for correcting me

Here is the RFI for those who are wondering.
https://indianarmy.nic.in/Site/FormTemplete/RFIView.aspx?MnId=ZksK1ySUqv8H7qlI5Z4Zxg==

Weight mentioned is 1kg or less.
Goodness what were they thinking.

I am curious whether TONBO submitted their sight or not and if they did why weren't they selected given the low weight and enhanced capability of their product.
:facepalm::facepalm::facepalm::facepalm: what a shame !
What's worse is they don't have any vision, for anything! Every R&D organisation has some success & failures, but Indian Army's capability to ignore the ones with actual potential is astonishing.

Any tech that needed temporary backing by them for eventual improvement, was shat on. But what to they buy in hundreds of thousands? The one that everybody unanimously agrees to be a refined, weapons-grade pure piece of crap, the INSAS rifle.
Even that was completely static, other than ironing out of some teething issues. All over its production for 15 years, they didn't ask for a single feature to be inserted. Not p-rails, not adjustable buttstock, not ergonomic handguards, not scopes, not even a suppressor... let alone actual mechanism upgrades!
 

Gautam Sarkar

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US is pitching India to be a part of the new rifle program(LSAT) and adopt the 6.8 mm round as standard. The are pushing for it under the DTTI.
Screenshot (761).png
 

MIDKNIGHT FENERIR-00

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......................................................
US is pitching India to be a part of the new rifle program(LSAT) and adopt the 6.8 mm round as standard. The are pushing for it under the DTTI.
View attachment 43034
Yes US Army is Adopting new 6.8x44mm and 8.7x70mm Intermediate Round for there Weapons. 6.8x44mm and 8.7x70mm will be the new NATO Standard Round which will replace 5.56, 7.62mm and 12.7mm Rounds.

 
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Chinmoy

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Lol, DRDO has already pre-empted this IA about-face

I thought it was by OFB. But whoever did it, it is commendable. In long run, whether we go towards the Grendel round or not, but we should not run around like headless chicken in matter of platform.
 

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