Somewhere in Thar desert in Rajasthan, December 6, 2012: Indian
Army took close to eight months to get battle ready for the 1971 war, in 2001
it took three weeks to mobilize under Operation Parakram after Parliament
Attack and after 26/11 immediate retaliatory strikes were ruled out as
mobilization of troops would have taken long. Taking a lesson, the Indian Army
is now testing doctrinal changes in one of the biggest war-games going on here
that will to deploy swiftly, strike decisively and carry out ‘pre-emptive’
strikes if given a go-ahead by the political leadership.
The exercise carried out in the Southern Command of the
Indian Army in conjugation with the South-Western Command of the Indian Air
Force (IAF). The exercise is led by the Bhopal-based 21 strike corps and is the
first in the series of exercise conducted after the conclusion of its
“transformation study”.
“Time since 26/11 has changed. It has changed drastically.
Earlier we used to take 7-15 days to mobilize, now the time has been compressed
a lot. What we are following is a pro-active strategy which entails pre-emptive
strikes, if the need be,” a senior Indian Army official told the New Indian
Express.
The official added that movement and mobilization of troops
is directly related to the infrastructure development of the country. “We are
dependent on roads and railways. Over the period the infrastructure has
improved in the country and we have benefitted from it. Also with the
modernization of the military hardware it is easier to maintain and move,” said
the official. The acquisition of strategic airlifters like C-130 J Super
Hercules by the IAF will also help in inserting the troops behind the enemy
lines in a swift movement.
A reflection of the improvement is the increase in number of
trains in the border areas and also the speed and quality of the locomotive
engines. With the increase in number of canals on both sides of India and
Pakistan, the unhindered movement of tanks has become close to impossible. The
Southern Command, with 41 percent of the country’s landmass, has swathes of
land along Runn of Kutch that can aid movement of tanks in case of any
eventuality.
The Indian Army, which is has been carrying out
transformation study for the last few years. Following the study certain
conceptual, operational and structural changes have been recommended. “The
changes are more about how we conduct an operation and may include relocation
of forces as well,” another officer added.
As he spoke, about 60,000 troops were engaged in an exercise
across the Bikaner-Jaisalmer sector testing its concepts for nuclear,
biological and chemical (NBC) warfare; logistic systems and renergising of
Army’s Aviation Corps. In a joint operations with the IAF’s fighter jets Sukhoi
Su-30 MKI, Jaguars and MiG-21s, about 300 odd tanks including Russian-built
T-90s, T-72s and indigenous Arjuns, have been practicing the strategy of
striking hard by launching swift continuous armoured thrusts that won it the
1971 war. “While the basic technique might be the same, the new equipments and
improvisation gives it the edge,” the official added.
The network centricity of the army
second largest standing army in the world was also being put to test. Aided by
advent in technology, the army is using satellites, unmanned aerial vehicles,
fighters and other aerial means to gather intelligence. “Now all the
information is available at one common point. The synergy between different
forces is greater and the controlled flow of information to the executing
troops makes the decision making faster and comparatively error free,” another
official summed up the objective of the exercise.
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