I will be posting a lot of articles – some dated but still relevant and which have not been noted in this thread. But all of a relatively recent vintage.
Thursday April 15, 7:30 PM
Indian Army to induct modern hardware
By From Indo-Asian News Service
New Delhi, Apr 15 (IANS) The Indian Army will soon induct an array of sophisticated equipment, ranging from hi-tech helmets to bulletproof jackets, to boost its ability to wage counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast.
Plans to induct the equipment were discussed Thursday at the bi-annual Army Commanders Conference, with the heads of regional commands and various arms of the million-strong force outlining their needs for the battlefield of the future.
Maj. Gen. Deepak Samanwar, additional director general (public information), told reporters the army would soon acquire new “ballistic helmets”, over 350,000 bullet-proof jackets, night vision devices and improved tents.
While the new helmets would be provided to the entire force, troops engaged in counter-insurgency operations would get special versions equipped with radio sets and night vision sights, he said.
The army will soon conduct field trials of helmets supplied by various foreign firms to select one for its soldiers.
A total of 30 snow scooters would be inducted soon for the troops deployed on the Siachen glacier, the world’s coldest and highest battlefield. The army currently has over 100 scooters in the region.
“The commanders also discussed the need for high mobility vehicles for desert and strike formations. These will be 6×6 vehicles and will be locally procured,” Samanwar said.
To make up for a 40 percent deficiency in night vision devices, the state-owned Bharat Electronics Ltd will supply some 600 devices a year, he said.
The army chief, Gen. N.C. Vij, is chairing the four-day commanders’ conference. The chiefs of the five regional commands, the army training command, principal staff officers at army headquarters and the heads of the army’s various arms are attending it.
Samanwar said the army was taking steps to prevent accidents at its ammunition dumps, which had been hit by a series of blasts in the past few years that resulted in the loss of ordnance worth millions of rupees.
“By 2006, all the ammunition will be stored under cover. A majority of accommodation for storing the ammunition has been completed and we have put in place security and fire fighting systems at the ammunition dumps,” he said.
The commanders’ conference has also been discussing a new war doctrine, which revolves around the use of “integrated battle groups” with elements of the army, navy and air force that can be rapidly deployed in the event of hostilities.
Reports have suggested the doctrine would be built about eight rapidly deployable battle groups.
The doctrine would mark a radical change from the army’s current strategy of using three strike formations for war. These formations can take up to a month to be deployed.
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