Indian Army's wargames to test reflexes against nuke,bio attacks

Indian Army's wargames to test reflexes against nuke,bio attacks
The Times of India ^ | 6 April,2007 | Rajat Pandit



Army's wargames to test reflexes against nuke, bio attacks


Rajat Pandit [ 6 Apr, 2007 0031hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
NEW DELHI: In one of the largest wargames of recent times, the Army is gearing up to launch a strike corps exercise in the deserts of Rajasthan later this month to test its "pro-active war strategy" and network-centric operations.


The huge exercise will see the Mathura-based 1 Corps unleash its armoured, artillery and infantry elements in full flow to practice operational concepts of being prepared for "short duration" battles of "high intensity" at "short notice", under an overall NBC (nuclear-chemical-biological) overhang.
The "training phase" of the exercise, codenamed Ashwamedh , is already underway and will be followed by mobilisation in "concentration areas" before the final culmination phase near Bikaner around April 24-May 1, say sources.


Incidentally, this will be the first time that 1 Corps, one of three "strike formations" of the 1.13-million strong Army (the others being the 2 Corps at Ambala and the 21 Corps at Bhopal), will be exercising after it was shifted to the new South-Western Command (SWAC), headquartered at Jaipur.
SWAC, the Army’s sixth regional command, came into existence in 2005 as part of the overall plan to restructure formations based along the Indo-Pak border to strengthen strike capabilities for multiple thrusts across the border.


The command is supposed to be the Army's test-bed for "high-tech weaponry and capabilities" and as such, the exercise will revolve around network-centric operations, with commanders in the simulated battle-field having access to "real-time" satellite and UAV (unmanned aerial vehicles) imagery through data-links.


Interestingly, Army chief General J J Singh, who is keen to maintain the "operational readiness" of his force, was commanding the 1 Corps during 'Operation Parakram', the 10-month forward troop mobilisation after the December 2001 terrorist attack on Parliament.


One of the most important lessons learnt during 'Operation Parakram' was that slow mobilisation - with strike formations taking almost a month to assemble at the "launch pads" along the border - will not do any longer.
"The idea is to mobilise and strike hard and fast. This will ensure surprise in enemy ranks. It will also give the international community less time to intervene," said a senior Army officer.


"This is where the concept of relatively smaller integrated battle groups for swift strikes across the border fits in. The strikes, of course, will have to be calibrated to ensure nuclear weapons do not come into play in any war scenario," he added.