Indian Army - News Folder - March 2004

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Indian Army - News Folder - March 2004

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Please observe the following guidelines:

PLEASE DO NOT post a news article without the proper heading and the URL. Your HTML coding must enable the news link to open in a new browser/window. Click here to learn more on how to post a proper link. Also kindly refrain from posting links to other forums which are discussing a news story, as that does not count as news.

PLEASE DO NOT post an entire article unless there is no archiving available on the news site. In the absence of a link, kindly post the entire article providing the title, the source, the author (optional), and the date. This initial heading must be displayed in bold font.

PLEASE DO NOT paste excerpts from the news link in the news thread, as that violates copyright laws. Also kindly refrain from any comments and/or discussion on the news articles posted in the news folder.

PLEASE DO NOT add smilies, other animated graphics and pictures in the news folder.

Thanking You in advance for your cooperation.
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Army showcases firepower in Divya Astra
(HT Chandigarh, No archives)
Man Aman Singh Chhina
Mahajan Ranges (Rajasthan), 1 March

THE FIELD firing ranges at Mahajan reverberated with the sound of artillery gunfire, rockets launched by aircraft and the potent weaponry of the newly-inducted T-90 tank as the Indian Army showcased its firepower capability in Exercise Divya Astra here today.

The timing of the exercise, which was postponed twice earlier, encouraged mediapersons to ask Chief of Army Staff Gen N.C. Vij if this was a manifestation of the “feel good” factor (see box).

The daylong exercise showed an integrated fire power display by the Army and the Indian Air Force in the course of which MiG-21 BIS, MiG-23 BN and MI-35 helicopter gunships fired their weapons in perfect symphony with the infantry, artillery and armour.

The exercise was also witnessed by the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, Lt Gen J.J. Singh, GOC, 2 Corps, Lt Gen G.D. Singh, GOC-designate, 10 Corps, Maj Gen O..P Nandrajog and a host of divisional commanders falling under the Western Command.

The exercise showed how a combat group of the Army engages an enemy company location and ultimately captures it by using various weapons in its arsenal and the closer air support. The T-90 tank was also seen in operation as it engaged stationary armour with its anti-tank guided missiles.

The infantry weapons used during the display included the 84-mm Carl Gustav Rocket launchers, Automatic Grenade Launchers, Multiple Grenade launchers and the BMP-II infantry combat vehicles.

The artillery support which devastated the designated enemy area with accurate fire consisted of 155-mm Bofors gun, 105-mm field guns, 130-mm guns and GRAD BM-21 multi-barrel rocket launchers. The GRAD BM-21 unleashed a terrifying salvo of rockets justifying their name as the Terror Weapon of the Army and were definitely the piece de resistance of the day.

The Air Force showed off the accurate firepower of its aircraft including a complement of eight MiG-21 which performed impeccably and achieved direct hits with their shallow dives and well-aimed 57-mm rockets.

Four MiG-23 aircraft dropped 250-kg bombs on the target area with pinpoint accuracy. The Air Force rounded up its display with two MI-35 helicopter gunships belonging to 104 Helicopter Squadron which flew in at treetop level and neutralised the target with 80-mm rockets.

The Army also conducted abridging exercise during the latter half of the day which consisted of BMP-II vehicles fording the Indira Gandhi canal and the Sappers establishing a pontoon bridge to help the armour cross over to the other side.

Feel good factor extends to Forces?

INTERACTING WITH the media after the firepower demonstration, Army chief Gen N.C. Vij made a specific comment that the firepower capability of the Army had gone up “50 times in the last couple of years”. When asked if the “feel good factor” of the government had extended to the services also, Gen Vij commented with a smile that the factor was all over the country. It is pertinent to mention that an airpower demonstration, Vayu Shakti, is also scheduled to be held later this month giving rise to the speculation that the armed forces are promoting the “feel good factor” in their own way.
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After J&K, Armoured regiments off to HP

(HT Chandigarh, March 15, no archives)
Man Aman Singh Chhina
Chandigarh, March 14

IN A departure from tradition, the Indian Army has started deploying Armoured regiments in Infantry locations at high-altitude field areas. To begin with, a Cavalry regiment and a Mechanised Infantry battalion based in plains of the Western Command have been moved to the Sugar Sector (Kinnaur district) in Himachal Pradesh.

The Cavalry regiment and Mechanised battalion could not, of course, take their tanks and Infantry combat vehicles along with them and the armour has remained in its respective permanent locations. A contingent of troops has stayed back to look after them, while the tank men meander around in the mountains sans their iron steeds. Their tenure would last six months each, inform sources.

Army sources say the concept is the brainwave of Chief of Army Staff General N.C. Vij, who thought that the Dogra Scouts based in the Sugar Sector had remained there for long enough. The Dogra Scouts have been moved to Jammu and Kashmir.

The Army Chief, who is also the Colonel of the Dogra Regiment and Dogra Scouts, decreed that Armoured regiments and Mechanised Infantry battalions would now have to take turns in holding the fort, while Dogra Scouts do their J&K tenure.

Needless to say, the move has attracted criticism and applause alike from military circles. While senior officers of the Armoured Corps are shaking their heads in dismay, wondering what good an Armoured regiment can do in the high-altitude desert of the Sugar Sector, the Infantrymen say the rough terrain will do the Cavalry boys some measure of good.

Meanwhile, the Armoured and Mechanised troops are reportedly undertaking only short patrols along the Indo-Tibetan borders, as they are not equipped or trained for long-range border patrols. Also, if any conflict-like situation were to take place, these Armoured and Mechanised units would come back to their peace stations and be replaced by the Infantry.

However, there is one small detail that has been overlooked while moving the Dogra Scouts out.

The concept of Scouts, which includes Dogra, Kumaon, Garhwal and Ladakh Scouts, is that the troops are recruited from the local populace and serve in the border states overlooking the Indo-Tibet border. This logic has been turned on its head by the new directives of the Army Headquarters. In a similar move a few years back, the Army had started sending Armoured regiments into Jammu and Kashmir for counter-insurgency operations after mothballing their tanks. However, the practice was stopped due to its ineffectiveness.

Also, the mobilisation during the Kargil conflict in 1999 led to these units being reverted to their conventional roles. Now, officers and jawans from the Armoured corps are sent on extra-regimental assignments to the Rashtriya Rifles in batches.
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