NEW DELHI - The Indian Army is adding numerous capabilities that were only on the drawing board five years ago, but the slow pace of acquisition has frustrated service leaders.
Army doctrine underscores the possibility of simultaneous conflict with Pakistan and China, so new assets are sought to increase firepower, including reconnaissance, surveillance and network-centric systems, a senior Army official said. For instance, the Army has sought to purchase a variety of 155mm howitzers for 10 years but without success. A government-to-government order has been struck to buy light howitzers from BAE's U.S. subsidiary through the Foreign Military Sales route, but the Army is still waiting. The $1 billion Tactical Communication System, an ambitious project that will integrate the soldier on the battlefield to the command center, is still in preliminary stages of procurement, even though the Army demanded the system nearly five years ago.
India must prepare for the growing Chinese threat, said the Army official.
"China's White Paper 2010 very clearly outlines jointness, informationization and mechanization as the three components of a force that would be fielded in 2020," said Rahul Bhonsle, retired Indian Army brigadier and independent defense analyst here. "There would also be high reliance on air and heliborne assets for mobility and firepower. India's armed forces will have to focus on attaining seamless network centricity to retain deterrence."
Not only will the Army have to add assets, but it will have to incorporate lessons learned from battles in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, the Army official added.
"The over-reliance on the Russian air defense systems has to go," is the immediate lesson the Indian Army should learn from the current battle in Libya, the Army official said.
"Iraq and Afghanistan have indicated the importance of unmanned aerial vehicles and attack helicopters as means of surveillance and target acquisition and rapid targeting without being vulnerable to the ubiquitous improvised explosive device," Bhonsle said. "The importance of IED protection, active and passive in urban as well as rural roads, has also been highlighted."
Even as the Army has drawn an ambitious plan to buy weapons and equipment worth more than $30 billion in the next five to seven years, the most important hardware acquisition, the 155mm self-propelled guns, is still pending, another Army official said.
Other planned Army purchases during the next five to seven years include air defense, missiles and UAVs, and introduction of command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems to integrate the battle theater with headquarters through dedicated satellite and information technology systems, a senior Indian Defence Ministry official said.
Army doctrine underscores the possibility of simultaneous conflict with Pakistan and China, so new assets are sought to increase firepower, including reconnaissance, surveillance and network-centric systems, a senior Army official said. For instance, the Army has sought to purchase a variety of 155mm howitzers for 10 years but without success. A government-to-government order has been struck to buy light howitzers from BAE's U.S. subsidiary through the Foreign Military Sales route, but the Army is still waiting. The $1 billion Tactical Communication System, an ambitious project that will integrate the soldier on the battlefield to the command center, is still in preliminary stages of procurement, even though the Army demanded the system nearly five years ago.
India must prepare for the growing Chinese threat, said the Army official.
"China's White Paper 2010 very clearly outlines jointness, informationization and mechanization as the three components of a force that would be fielded in 2020," said Rahul Bhonsle, retired Indian Army brigadier and independent defense analyst here. "There would also be high reliance on air and heliborne assets for mobility and firepower. India's armed forces will have to focus on attaining seamless network centricity to retain deterrence."
Not only will the Army have to add assets, but it will have to incorporate lessons learned from battles in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, the Army official added.
"The over-reliance on the Russian air defense systems has to go," is the immediate lesson the Indian Army should learn from the current battle in Libya, the Army official said.
"Iraq and Afghanistan have indicated the importance of unmanned aerial vehicles and attack helicopters as means of surveillance and target acquisition and rapid targeting without being vulnerable to the ubiquitous improvised explosive device," Bhonsle said. "The importance of IED protection, active and passive in urban as well as rural roads, has also been highlighted."
Even as the Army has drawn an ambitious plan to buy weapons and equipment worth more than $30 billion in the next five to seven years, the most important hardware acquisition, the 155mm self-propelled guns, is still pending, another Army official said.
Other planned Army purchases during the next five to seven years include air defense, missiles and UAVs, and introduction of command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems to integrate the battle theater with headquarters through dedicated satellite and information technology systems, a senior Indian Defence Ministry official said.
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