Indian Army thread

[su-47]

the article still doesnt say whether T-90M can take a hit without exploding. the 1.5 times more effectiveness might be in its lethality, rather than defence.

 

[Contrarian]

FORCE isnt really credible. Prasun Sengupta has been known to print articles that have been wayy off mark.

 

[jaison]

i am afraid t-90 does not have multi shot capability due to its era but it should be capable of giving us an edge over our adverseriesi think the t-90 is the most capable eastern mbt after type-90(japan),type-10,xk-1 and xk-2,arjun(let alone its defects)

 

[nitesh]

Guys check these:

rediff.com: Independence Day 2008 Images: The icons that make India
rediff.com: Independence Day 2008 Images: The icons that make India
rediff.com: Independence Day 2008 Images: The icons that make India
rediff.com: Independence Day 2008 Images: The icons that make India
rediff.com: Independence Day 2008 Images: The icons that make India

 

[nitesh]

Guys check this:

Enhancing life

 

[nitesh]

Guys, this can be an interesting read:
I think this should be included in F-INSAS program
Intelligence: How Iraq Changed The Game

The war in Iraq has changed the way military intelligence operations are conducted. This came about because smaller combat units were now able to pass more information to the intelligence specialists, and these troops now have more powerful hardware and software to do something with the flood of new data. In the past, the brigade, division and higher level intelligence shops conducted a lot of their own intelligence gathering (and had their own aircraft and reconnaissance units for that purpose). In theory, they were supposed to be getting a lot of information from subordinate units. But that was a paperwork nightmare. The smaller units had lots of good intel, but they were out there getting shot at, and had a hard time filling out reports. Intelligence specialists were supposed to debrief patrols and troops involved in other combat operations. But, as always, there were shortages of manpower to collect the information and put it to use.

That began to change in Iraq, where a lot of the debriefing got automated, and even the smallest infantry patrol, could easily report their findings electronically. By capturing the data electronically at the lowest level, and building database tools to handle it, information did not expire (as battlefield information tends to quickly do).
With lots more fresh battlefield data available, it was now possible to do things that, only a few years earlier, were believed the province of much larger, and better funded, organizations. For example, there is data fusion. This is collecting intelligence from many sources, and sorting through it for useful patterns and items that, in seen in the right context, are very valuable. The first of these fusion centers were set up at the national level two decades ago. But during the course of the Iraq war, the concept moved down the food chain. Cheaper, and more powerful, computer hardware was able to use analysis software to speed the fusion process, even in the hands of a relatively inexperienced operator. (MAACs in Indian Context )
Some of the most effective intelligence tools used in combat today, data mining and predictive analysis, were invented a century ago along with the development of junk mail. Who knew? For decades, the statistical tools used to determine who to send junk mail to (so the sender would make a profit) were not much use to the military. Then came cheaper, and more powerful computers, and the development of data mining and analysis tools. This made a big difference, because the more data you have to work with, the easier it is to predict things. This has been known for centuries.

Now, with thousand dollar laptop computers equipped with hundred gigabyte (or more) hard drives, you can put large amounts of data in one place, do the calculations, and make accurate predictions. This wasn't possible thirty years ago, when a 75 megabyte hard drive cost $45,000, and the computer doing the calculations cost even more than that. You also didn't have digital photography (more data you can store for analysis), or a lot of data, in general, stored electronically. It's all different today. That hundred gigabyte hard drive (holding over a thousand times more data than the $45,000 one of yore) costs less than a hundred bucks.

In the last few years, intel analysts have realized how powerful their tools are. And for those who studied math, statistics or business in college, they know the power of data mining, because it has become a very popular business tool. In places like Iraq and Afghanistan, lots of data is being collected all the time. It was data mining that led to the capture of Saddam, and the death of Zarqawi. Actually, over a hundred senior (team leader and up) al Qaeda terrorists have been killed or captured in Iraq using these techniques.
Data mining is basically simple in concept. In any large body of data, you will find patterns. Even if the bad guys are trying to avoid establishing a pattern to their actions, they will anyway. It's human nature, and only the most attentive pros can avoid this trap. Some trends are more reliable than others, but any trend at all can be useful in combat. The predictive analysis carried out with data mining and other analytic tools has saved the lives of hundreds of U.S. troops, by giving them warning of where roadside bombs and ambushes are likely to be, or where the bad guys are hiding out. Similarly, when data was taken off the site of the Zarqawi bombing, it often consisted only of names, addresses and other tidbits. But with the vast databases of names, addresses and such already available, typing in each item began to generate additional information, within minutes. That's why, within hours, the trove of data generated dozens of raids, and even more leads.
Speed has always been an advantage in combat, but, until recently, rarely something intelligence analysis was noted for. No longer. Predictive analysis is something the troops depend on, not only to tips on what to avoid, but for names and places to go after.

 

[nitesh]

Guys check the picture provided in the link:

At I-Day gala, SPG men turn heads-India-The Times of India

Even as the gala Independence Day celebrations unfolded at the Red Fort on Friday morning, many were left gawking at the SPG commandos accompanying the Prime Minister. Armed with automatic weapons and wearing bulletproof vests, these commandos almost looked like movie stars as they evoked much awe among the audience.

Sure he looks like one

 

[nitesh]

This is bad news:

2 army majors, soldier killed in chopper crash

 

[nitesh]

Guys check this, this is a good step

NDTV.com: Gujarat to have India's first anti-terror varsity

Gujarat to have India's first anti-terror varsity
Joydeep Ray, Bhanu Joshi
Friday, August 15, 2008, (Ahmedabad, Palanpur)

If national security was one of the key points raised by the Prime Minister in his independence day speech, the Gujarat Chief Minister took it one step further by announcing the creation of an anti-terror university with experts from around the world.

With the National Institute of Design, Gujarat already has top-notch educational institutes. But now it will be home to India's first anti-terror university -- Surakha University. Chief minister Narendra Modi made the following announcement on the Independence day:

"We are now going to setup this university dedicated for the education of security aspects and various other aspects to handle the rising shadow of terrorism. The university will be dedicated to people across the globe, fallen prey to terrorists and this will help us to kill the terrorist ideas more effectively.."

Suraksha University will be set up in the state capital Gandhinagar. The government is drafting the syllabus in consultation with security experts across the country. The faculty will include anti-terror experts, while retired police officers have also been asked to participate. To counter terrorists who use sophisticated weapons, the state has also asked the Forensic Science laboratory in Gandhinagar to take classes.

Security experts have welcomed the plan.

M M Mehta, former Commissioner of Police, Ahmedabad, says: "The idea once implemented will help security agencies immensely and also taking the note of lack of terrorism combat experts in government agencies, this university can contribute a lot developing a much better manpower to handle terrorism and terrorist activities across the nation."

A formal proposal from Gujarat Government is now being forwarded to University Grants Commission for its approval to start the first batch of the anti-terrorism studies university in the country and if everything goes well, the first batch of intending graduates will be in the classrooms by first quarter of 2010.

 

[mushabrum]

 

[nitesh]

This is a significant step towards joint operations:

Army, Navy merge war schools- Economy-The Sunday ET-Features-The Economic Times


Army, Navy merge war schools
17 Aug, 2008, 0115 hrs IST, IANS

KOCHI: In an effort to enthuse greater synergy in their operations, the Indian Army’s School of Artillery and the Indian Navy’s gunnery and missile weapons training establishment, INS Dronacharya, signed an affiliation charter here on Saturday. The School of Artillery is located at Deolali in Maharashtra while INS Dronacharya is based in Kochi.

Senior army and navy officers signed the charter, which lays down the vision and blueprint of the affiliation. Mementos, flags and insignia were also exchanged between Lieutenant General B S Pawar, Commandant of the School of Artillery, and Captain Sanjiv Issar, Commanding Officer of INS Dronacharya.

Vice Admiral Sunil K. Damle, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Southern Naval Command, and Lieutenant General I J Koshy, the Director General of the Regiment of Artillery, were among those present on the occasion.

Previous instances of affiliations between the army and the navy include those of INS Viraat with Garhwal Rifles, the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry with INS Ganga, the Maratha Light Infantry with INS Mumbai and more recently, the Grenadiers with INS Beas.

The close interaction serves to maximize the combat potential of the Indian armed forces at the time of reckoning. It also fosters camaraderie and a deep understanding of each others’ customs and traditions. It would also help sharing of new operational concepts, training methodology, infrastructure and faculty, an officer said.

INS Dronacharya provides broadbased and integrated training to gunnery officers and sailors of the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard. It achieves this through hands-on practical exposure on live equipment, simulators and emulators.

The School of Artillery is a prestigious institution with a great legacy, having been established in the pre-Independence era. It serves as the seat of learning for all aspects of artillery warfare.

 

[nitesh]

VOA News - India Assures UN It Will Punish Errant Peacekeepers

By Steve Herman
New Delhi
13 August 2008


India is assuring the United Nations that it will severely punish peacekeepers found to have engaged in sexual abuse while serving in Africa. VOA Correspondent Steve Herman reports from New Delhi on reaction there to a U.N. investigation raising concerns about the behavior of the Indian troops deployed as so-called "blue helmets."

United Nations peacekeepers from India wait to board an helicopter in Muhanga, DRC (file photo)
United Nations peacekeepers from India wait to board an helicopter in Muhanga, DRC (File)
India's army says it is conducting a fresh inquiry into the behavior of troops deployed as United Nations peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Officials here say any soldier found to have engaged in sexual or child abuse will be severely reprimanded.

United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon, in a harshly worded statement, has called for India to take maximum disciplinary action against any soldier involved in such misconduct.

The world body has not made details of its investigation public but media reports say the U.N.'s Office of Internal Oversight Services uncovered abuse of young children by at least 100 Indian peacekeepers during a period of several years.

The U.N. says India's government has assured it that the allegations will be "promptly and thoroughly investigated and, if proven, strict and exemplary action would be taken€"

Dipankar Banerjee
Dipankar Banerjee
Retired Major General Dipankar Banerjee, now director of the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, says some Indian soldiers may have become caught up in the social anarchy prevailing there at the time. He says Indians are not the only ones who have committed such violations while wearing the U.N. blue helmets.

"In a whole range of African countries where there are factional fightings, there are paramilitaries operating all over and serious violations of human rights by everybody, the U.N. peacekeepers have also been tempted and fallen prey to this utterly unacceptable standard of behavior," he said.

Indian and Pakistani peacekeepers have also been accused of trafficking in gold for guns in Congo.

India, along with neighbors Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal, is among the top contributors in terms of troops to U.N. peacekeeping operations.

The head of the United Service Institution of India, retired Lt. General Satish Nambikar, commanded a U.N. peacekeeping operation in the former Yugoslavia with 28,000 blue helmets under his command. He tells VOA News such illegal behavior is rare.

"I certainly can speak for the Indian Army with my just under 40 years in uniform," he said. "When you have such large numbers deployed in such circumstances, not that I'm condoning it, but they're really aberrations. One must take note of it and make sure that they're severely dealt with."

Both retired generals agree that India's military establishment will severely punish those involved as demanded by the U.N. secretary general.

India has participated in U.N. peacekeeping operations for more than a half century and has lost nearly 100 soldiers and officers.

 

[nitesh]

This is good development

D for Daksh, for Detection and Defusing - Newindpress.com


D for Daksh, for Detection and Defusing
Wednesday August 20 2008 01:11 IST

KOCHI: It can tow a car bomb away; it can climb stairs to track a piece of suspicious baggage; it can x-ray the bag and defuse an improvised explosive device (IED) concealed inside.

Named Daksh, this DRDO-developed remotely operated vehicle (ROV) used for bomb detection and defusing is in great demand after the series of serial blasts that rocked the country.

The Research and Development Establishment (R&DE), Pune, is in talks with private players for the mass production of Daksh for deployment in sensitive areas, including Kashmir. Apart from the Army, para-military agencies and police have evinced interest in the ROV.

The Centre for Technology Extension & Cooperation (C-Tech), DRDO’s commercial arm, has held discussions with Godrej, Theta Control and Dinalog for transferring the technology to manufacture Daksh. “There are more private companies interested in adopting the technology. But we will transfer it to one or all of the three short-listed firms who were involved with us for the production of the technology demonstrator,” R&DE sources told to this website's newspaper.

“Daksh is very versatile. Its robotic arm can reach beneath cars or around difficult corners to pluck out an IED. It can handle 20 kg from a distance of 2.5 metres. The Army did extensive trials in Kashmir and has given us a good feedback,” says B Rajagopalan, director of R&DE. The R&DE has packed Daksh in a special carrier vehicle designed for real-life field operations. The vehicle also carries the control console and necessary spare parts.

“It can be operated from a console some 500 metres away. Daksh has two cameras onboard which allow the operator to take a close look at the suspect object. It’s then picked up and x-rayed for confirmation,” says Rajagopalan. Once an object is confirmed as an IED, Daksh carries it to a safe place.

“It is armed with a shotgun and a water cannon, either of which can be used to blast the IED. The gun can be used to break open locked doors to allow commandos to charge into terrorist hideouts,” sources add. Daksh, including its carrier vehicle, costs about Rs 1.30 crore.

“It is easy to handle.We can train even a civilian worker to operate Daksh. Mass production and increasing demand will bring costs down and make it affordable even for civic bodies like corporations,” sources point out.

manoj_k_das@epmltd.com

 

[nitesh]

Army unit headed for UK for war games-India-The Times of India

Army unit headed for UK for war games
22 Aug 2008, 0258 hrs IST, Rajat Pandit ,TNN

NEW DELHI: The Indian army is all set to storm British shores. No, India has no plans to colonize UK. Instead, a large army mechanized infantry contingent is headed for UK to participate in month-long wargames with the British army.

In keeping with this first-ever such combat exercise with the British army, army chief General Deepak Kapoor is likely to witness the wargames to be held at the high-tech Land Warfare Centre in Warminster, near Salisbury, from August 27.

"A full-fledged Indian mechanised infantry 'combat team' will be taking part in the wargames which will culminate in two exercises named 'Lion's Strike' and 'Wessex Warrior' towards end-September," said an officer.

"The British army, in turn, will be fielding its 3 Marcian Group mechanised infantry. The two contingents will share experiences and exchange best operational practices," he added.

Indian troops will also get the opportunity to "experience" the state-of-the-art training and simulation systems at the Land Warfare Centre, which is the British army's "main combined arms training centre".

Though the Indian armed forces are busy holding a flurry of exercises with their US counterparts, India had hosted British Royal Marine commandos in the high-altitude "Himalayan Warrior" counter-terrorism exercise at Ladakh in September-October last year.

It's time now for UK to return the compliment. "This is the first time in 60 years that an Indian army contingent of this size will be exercising in UK at this level," said the officer. The youngest regiment of Indian army, the mechanised infantry became a force to reckon with under late army chief General K Sundarji's leadership after the need was felt to provide matching mobility to infantry units operating with tanks of the armoured corps.

The army is now also moving towards modernizing and reorganizing its mechanized forces of 63 armoured corps regiments and 26 mechanized infantry battalions to achieve an optimum balance of strategic mobility and enhanced firepower.

 

[nitesh]

Guys check this:

The Daily Star - Politics - Indian peacekeepers forge ties with Southerners by providing social services

Indian peacekeepers forge ties with Southerners by providing social services

[EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the first in a series of articles that profiles, in detail, contingents of countries serving as part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)]

IBL AL SAQI: Chief veterinarian for the Indian UN battalion (INDBATT) Lieutenant Colonel Satvir Singh, in full uniform, lowers himself on one knee on the side of the road in the southern Lebanese town of Shebaa. He reaches under the goat as the shepherd's wife holds it by the scruff of its neck and pulls the heaving udder toward him.

"Its healing well but the stitches need another few days" he says, referring to one of the partially ripped nipples, which Singh had stitched up a few days earlier. He walks over to his white UN 4-runner and returns with a handful of medications and syringes, which the shepherd's grateful wife takes as she pulls the goat, a primary source of milk for this family, back towards the house.

When one thinks of the United Nations troops this is probably not the image that comes to mind, especially in southern Lebanon, in a place where the disputed border is a stone's throw away and armed conflict happens about as often as the Olympic Games.

This is the tenth Indian Battalion operating as part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to be stationed in this area of southern Lebanon and their participation in peacekeeping operations here has been ongoing since 1998. Under UN resolution 1701, these peacekeepers, who arrived in January, are stationed to prevent hostile activity with their assigned region and to prevent violations of the "Blue Line," the disputed border area between Lebanon and Israel.

But these days things are generally peaceful in the area, with Hizbullah and the Israeli military both keeping a relatively low profile. This group of soldiers, like those of earlier battalions, has used this time to forge close ties with the surrounding communities by provide valuable social services to the neighboring villages.

The veterinary services are one example of a Winning Hearts and Minds (WHAM) campaign that the Indian Battalion seems to do with the greatest of ease. As Singh observes, "we provide the only veterinary care in the area, and though the gesture of helping a shepherd treat his goat may seem small, it is significant when you realize that these villagers live mainly on agriculture and livestock. Many can't afford to bring their animals to the UN compound, so we come to them."

In a similar light, INDBATT offers a number of other services. Last week was the celebrated Jaipur Foot Camp, an ongoing initiative by INDBATT during which technicians from the Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti hospital in Jaipur work with the battalion to fit needy Lebanese with prosthetics. They provide the service free of charge and every patient walks out with a fitted limb on the same day he came.

Technicians work around the clock using equipment and materials brought from India to make this level of service possible. Shibli Mattar, a 48-year-old man who lost his leg when he stepped on a land mine, traveled to INDBATT from Saad Nayel in the Bekaa Valley. He is one of many who have been brought to the camp by the Lebanese Physical Handicapped Union, a nonprofit that has been bringing needy patients to the Jaipur Foot Camp from all over Lebanon for a number of years.

"When I lost my leg I felt like incomplete, but when I was fitted with an artificial limb I felt like I could work and help my family again," he said.

INDBATT will provide artificial legs, artificial hands, and braces for those affected by polio for over 200 civilians during this camp alone, and hope to serve an even greater number next year.

INDBATT also provides free primary medical and dental services to the local population through clinics in each of the 11 villages in the batallion's area of operation. In past six months the medical team has treated approximately 3,500 patients and the dental team about 2600.

As senior Medical Officer Lieutenant Colonel Anupam Tuteja says, "health care in Lebanon is very expensive and thus at times there is a tendency to neglect it."

Dental officer Major KS Jamwal added that dental health suffers from the same neglect, with 35 years being the average age of persons requiring dentures. He stressed that there must be a sustained effort to educate people on good health and hygiene practices. The equivalent cost of treatment for the civilians treated by INDBATT this year alone is estimated to be about $300,000, money that can be used by the people of the region to improve their standard of living.

Beyond the numbers, the qualitative effects of these services are quickly evident. Villagers wave and shout greetings at the soldiers as their patrols pass through the winding streets of the mountain towns. Families come out of their homes smiling in anticipation as the white UN vehicles approach for a visit.

As Colonel Gurbir Pal Singh, the commanding Officer explains, "We have a similar family culture in India and that is why it is so easy for us to get along. The humility with which our soldiers interact with the locals is a key to how we approach all of our duties."

At a time when many armies are focusing great resources on formally implemented sensitivity training in their own hearts and minds campaigns, soldiers in the Indian Battalion seem to have it already figured out. - The Daily Star