Aiming to move swiftly and deliver the knockout punch, the Indian Army plans to set up Integrated Battle Groups by October this year on the border facing Pakistan. These groups would comprise the combined might of the long range guns, tanks and ground troops and would move in tandem to achieve the desired military objective in the shortest possible time.
Once these Integrated Battle Groups are functional, the Army would then move to have similar combined units in the areas facing China. The first four to five such groups will come up in the Western Command which guards the entire Punjab region and some adjoining parts of Jammu and Rajasthan where tanks can move at a fast pace given the rather flat terrain.
These groups are part of the overall move to make the Army lean and mean. Army Chief General Bipin Rawat is keen to have these groups start functioning as soon as possible, sources said here on Wednesday. In fact, the top commanders met in New Delhi some days back to review the performance of the IBGs which have already conducted exercises to test their efficacy. The results were found to be satisfactory and easily implementable, they added.
The concept of such groups involve artillery, armour involving tanks and infantry or ground troops, moving together in a synchronised manner and bringing effective fire on the enemy to gain victory in the shortest possible time without giving time to the adversary to regroup. It will do away with the artillery, infantry and armour working in silos and make the Indian Army battle-ready to fight modern day warfare where speed is of the essence, they said.
After reviewing the performance of the proposed groups, the Army top brass gave its nod and the service will now seek final approval by the defence ministry before going ahead with the setting up of these highly mobile groups by October, sources said. The groups will also be aided by attack helicopters to deny the enemy tanks and artillery to time and space to react, they added.
These composite units are likely to be headed by a Major General rank officer and will be equipped to perform offensive and defensive roles. While the offensive action means making quick and effective thrust into the enemy territory stealthily, the defence role will see these units guarding its own territory in case of retaliatory action from across the border. Each unit, both in defensive and offensive formations will have six battalions(one battalion has 1,000 men) trained to fight in a synergised manner and the recent exercises proved them to be effective, they said.