INSIDE EXCLUSIVE

The Indian Army is planning to acquire 300 light tanks for deployment in the mountainous regions of the border with China and Pakistan, a move seen as part of efforts to beef up capabilities on the frontiers.Process for acquisition of the tanks has been initiated with the Request for Information (RFI) being issued for the same.

The tanks are intended to be deployed in the mountainous region of Jammu and Kashmir in the North and Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in the Northeast, army sources told PTI.

The tanks are expected to weigh around 22 tonnes and be capable of operating at heights of over 3,000 metres in hilly terrain, they said.

Deployment of the light tanks is being considered as part of mechanised force in the high altitude regions as heavy tanks cannot reach there, they said.

The army wants the tanks to be able to penetrate highly protected armoured vehicles and main battle tanks of the enemy from a distance of more than 2km and also be able to fire high explosive anti-tank shells and guided missiles.

Conventionally, tanks are deployed only in plains and it is very rare to station such armoured detachments in mountainous areas.

Heavy tanks face problems in mobility as narrow and spiralling roads make their movement very slow and the bridges there are also not built to bear heavy load of above 40-45 tonnes, they said.

At present, the only mountainous region in India where tanks are deployed is the Finger Area in Sikkim along the China border.

The army has been maintaining a squadron of heavier T-72 and T-55 tanks here since mid-80s. Finger Area, a few kilometre tract, has been known to have witnessed incursions by Chinese army. In one such incident last year, Chinese troops had threatened to destroy a structure of stones erected by India there.

India had protested the Chinese aggression and the matter was raised at the flag meeting between the two armies.

India has also strengthened defences in the Finger Area by converting its positions into a permanent post to keep watch over troop movements. The army earlier used to send in
only regular patrols and had a few traditional defensive positions in the area.

China has made rapid strides in building infrastructure close to the border with India. Viewing the developments with concern, India has also lately started matching up by
improving roads and other transportation network.

The last Army Commanders' Conference held here recently discussed the issue of infrastructure building along the China border, including a proposal to lay a railway line.

Defence minister AK Antony made it clear earlier this week that efforts were being made to bolster capabilities along the China border. "Just as China is doing, we are also
trying to strengthen our capabilities in our part of the country. Earlier, we were not doing anything but in the last few years, our government is also strengthening our capabilities in our areas by strengthening Army, Air Force and the infrastructure," he said.

ARMY- TABLE TOP EXERCISES

New Delhi, Sep 23: To counter terror threats in the backdrop of the Mumbai attacks, top army generals have evolved detailed plans to secure the country's coastline from Gujarat to Orissa and refine the force's amphibious warfare tactics.

The strategies were fine-tuned by top brass including Army chief General Deepak Kapoor during a two-day table-top war game in Pune last week, army sources here said today.

Plans for the Southern Command to protect the coastline from both conventional and asymmetric threats were discussed threadbare, they said.

The war game was a closed-door conceptual exercise conducted by top commanders with the help of sand models and large-scale maps, which do not involve troops on the ground.

The Pune drill follows a similar exercise by the Kolkata-based Eastern Command a fortnight back for area in the North-eastern states along the borders with China, Bangladesh and Myanmar, apart from its counter-insurgency operations.

Special Forces face shortage of officers

Facing an acute shortage of officers in its Special Forces, the Indian Army has decided to send two passing-out officers each from its academies to these elite units. “We have shortage of over 60 per cent officers in our Para (SF) units. We would now be sending two volunteer officers each to these battalions right after they pass out from our academies such as the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun and Officers Training Academy (OTA) in Chennai,” a senior Army official said here. Out of the sanctioned strength of around 35 officers, the official said, these units have only 10—12 officers. “More than half of the officers on the strength of these units are out doing their mandatory courses in our various schools and centres. So, these units are left only with four to five officers at any time to manage the affairs,” he said. At the moment, the Army has seven Para (SF) units, which are deployed in different locations across the country. The tough and strict physical and mental parameters for qualifying into the SF battalions are attributed as main reasons behind the shortage of officers. Infantry and other units are also facing a shortage of 30-35 officers but problems of SF units become more acute because not many officers are able to qualify the physical tests and 90 days probation that they have to go through before they join the SF, army sources said.