Open display of protection parameters and resistance of personal protection equipment like bullet-resistant vests and headgears besides armoured troop carriers in billboards and literature for the upcoming Defence Expo at Lucknow has raised alarm bells ringing in the security establishment as such specifics can potentially compromise the safety of security personnel in counter-terror and anti-Naxal operations.
“Showcasing vital and sensitive information related to protection systems should be stopped forthwith and necessary directions be issued by Defence Ministry that only the finished products should be displayed without dishing out specific details of protection level,” a serving official in a lead counter-terror force said..
Intelligence insiders conceded that information collected from such expositions by the sleeper cells of terror organisations and over ground workers of Naxal outfits have in the past been exploited by the insidious groups to target the troops.
The billboards and literature of the defence equipment manufacturers display the level of armour resistance from different kinds of bullet fires and area weapons like grenade and the impact of firing from different distance. Terror groups as also Naxal outfits can suitably strategise to nullify the resistance provided by the armour by tweaking the distance of their fire on the target or increasing quantity and quality of explosives for ambushing the protective gears and vehicles of the troops, another official engaged in counter-terror operation in Jammu and Kashmir.
During the last Defence Expo in Chennai, Laboratory reports of reputed Terminal Ballistic Research Laboratory (TBRL) and Gujarat State Forensic Univerity were displayed by the private players engaged in manufacturing and marketing defence systems, including personal protection gears and troop carriers.
Government regulations prohibit displaying specific details of sensitive items even while issuing tenders for procurement of such items. The regulations clearly postulate that such details should not be displayed on the websites or otherwise in keeping with national interest.
Strategic interests of the security forces should not be undermined by the private players in the Defence industry or the Defence Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) or Ordinance Factory Board (OFB) to further their commercial interests as they can defeat the whole purpose of acquisition of protective equipment and vehicles, another senior official of an Central armed force said, adding complete confidentiality should be maintained while dealing with such equipment or systems.
Any protection system or equipment whose vital details have been leaked in open domain by the equipment manufacturers or suppliers should not be inducted in the forces as they can be compromised by the inimical elements, counter-terrorism expert Dr Rituraj Mate said.