NEW DELHI: With instability in the neighbourhood and terrorists gaining ground in Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Indian Army is considering the need to make its infantry capable of being an "expeditionary force" in case of an "out of area contingency".
This bid, in line with the US Marines engaging in battle in war theatres situated in remote locations at short notice, indicates an ambitious intent. This would still need adequate platforms like large transport aircraft and possibly naval support but shows a preparedness to think ahead.
US forces are the only ones capable of real-time power projection and India is still way behind other armed forces as well. But with a large army and an unstable neighbourhood, Indian military planners might be shedding some of the traditional reluctance to look behind the borders.
So far, India has steadfastly refused to commit its troops in Afghanistan -- where US would anyway be careful of Pakistani sensibilities -- and stuck to building roads and other infrastructure.
The top Army commanders discussed how the force can be made more "lean, agile and versatile capable of conducting operations at short notice across an entire spectrum", Army sources said.
A three-day infantry commanders' conference in Mhow, which concluded on Thursday with Army chief Deepak Kapoor and all the top commanders and battalion heads in attendance, took stock of the force's war-waging materials and deliberated on how it can be prepared for an "out of area" role.
A major part of the three-day deliberations, held at the Infantry School, was spent on discussing the future outlook of Indian Army. The commanders stressed the need to review the training of middle-level officers and the need to improve the force's future firepower and surveillance mechanism.
Senior infantry officers from operational theatres shared their personal experiences pertaining to transformation of infantry to meet new challenges. The main emphasis was on adaptation as per the changing geopolitical environment, threat perception and emergence of new technologies and dovetail the same into the transformation process, a senior officer added.
The conflict in Afghanistan with spillover of battle-hardened terrorists from the Af-Pak theatre into India has already been engaging the armed forces considerably at home soil.
The Army has intensified its counter-insurgency operations in the higher reaches along the Line of Control in J&K with increased attempt of militants to infiltrate on the Indian side from across the border. It is estimated that about 300 militants are waiting at launch pads, a senior Army officer said here.
In the last two months, at least 10 to 12 infiltration bids have been made in each month, an Army officer said. In fact, India has taken up the matter with the US -- which is highly engaged with Pakistan with its anti-Taliban operations -- to put pressure on the latter to dismantle terrorist training camps in PoK.
Terrorist handlers from across the borders have made multiple launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC) to divert attention of Indian troops while trying to push in militants inside India.(TOI)
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