No compromise on communications during combat, says Indian Army after IBG drill

Soon after the Indian Army carried out the Integrated Battle Groups (IBG) drills, it learnt that there can be no comprise on communications, especially at higher altitudes.

Soon after the Indian Army carried out first of its kind war games to test the capabilities of a fresh war strategy involving a "leaner and meaner" force, one of the biggest lessons learned was the fact that there can be no comprise on communications, top army sources said.

A month after the Indian Army completed the exercise at 14,000 feet in Sela, Arunachal Pradesh, around 90 km from the Line of Actual Control, various assessments are underway to understand the functioning of the Integrated Battle Groups (IBGs) in difficult terrains at high altitudes.

"There was a thought that decreasing the signals component will help in maintaining a lean and mean force for better agility and manoeuvrability. But during the exercise we released these could this wasn't possible as there could be a communication cut off in some areas," said a top army officer.

The Indian Army Corp of Signals handles military communication and plays a key role in operations like intelligence gathering and electronic warfare.

The IBGs are new formations that the Indian Army is in the process of setting up to enhance its combat capabilities by being swift and more potent while launching assaults on the enemy.

IBGs will comprise brigades and will be armed with capabilities specific to terrain and threats.

The IBGs will do away with the army functioning in separate wings and will bring together all fighting capabilities like infantry, artillery, air defence under one command at the Corp level formations of the army.

Various arms of the army are preparing reports which will be complied and as a final assessment be sent to the Army HQ by the Eastern Command.

The Kolkata-based Eastern Command is responsible for operations at the China frontier along the Line of Actual Control.

Army Chief General Bipin Rawat visited Sela to review war games to test the readiness of the newly conceived IBG last month.

Another aspect that was immediately noticed was the use of animals for transport during the exercise. To keep the numbers less, better tracks are needed to speed up transportation by animals that are not accessible by roads.

The army had earlier conducted a similar exercise to test IBGs in the Western Sector against Pakistan.

After making assessments of both drills in different terrains, the army is focussed on a strategy where combat strengths would be based on topography, climate and environment and other specific and requirements, sources addd.

In the mountains it will be artillery that needs to be synergised with infantry battalions and in deserts it would mean bringing armoured corp units armed with tanks with other wings.

Source Link : https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/no-compromise-on-communications-during-combat-says-indian-army-after-ibg-drill-1622605-2019-11-26