Monthly Archives: August 2018

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman approved their dismissal. File photo

New Delhi, January 24

In a punitive action, the Defence Ministry has sent five officers of the Military Engineering Services (MES) on compulsory retirement on the grounds of poor performance, official sources said Thursday.

They said the orders for their removal were issued on Tuesday following approval by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.The sources said performance of the officers was found “poor” in an internal performance audit.

The officers were serving in the rank of assistant engineers and they are being given three months’ salary and post retirement benefits as per laid down guidelines.

The officials had either crossed 55 years of age or completed 30 years of service. Performance of around 500 officers was analysed by an internal committee and the action was taken based on its report.

In August 2017, the ministry had sacked 13 officers of the Ordnance Factory Board for poor performance following a review of the employees’ performance.

The MES is a premier construction agency which provides engineering and infrastructure support to the Indian Army. It is one of largest construction and maintenance agencies in India with a total annual budget to the tune of approx Rs 13,000 crore.

The sources said government may continue to crack down on those showing “unsatisfactory performance”. PTI

Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, January 21

Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba will on Tuesday kick off the biggest search operation at sea to hunt for enemies aiming to attack India through sea route, exactly the way Mumbai was attacked by terrorists in November 2008.

The tw-day drill is part of an unprecedented exercise, ‘Sea vigil’, which will test and validate India’s coastal security architecture set up after the attack on the Maharashtra capital, infamous as 26/11.

Admiral Lanba will send out a “signal”—military parlance for a message—to commanders along the coast and given “targets” that will need to be found. No time has been given as to when this signal will go out as the surprise element has to be maintained. These targets will be vessels at sea which Admiral Lanba designates as “enemy” and will have to be found and “terminated” using all resources. It will cover the entire spectrum of maritime security.

Involved in these search operations will be the Navy, Coast Guard, Customs, marine police and state police forces, warships, helicopters, fast-attack crafts and a chain of radars set up all along the coast, UAVs and satellites.

The National Command Control Communication and Intelligence Network with the Information Management Analysis Centre at Gurugram will be operational. A total of 51 nodes of the Navy and Coast Guard are integrated—all will provide comprehensive maritime domain awareness. The exercise will be undertaken along the entire 7,516-km coastline and exclusive economic zone.

Tribune News Service/PTI

Jammu, January 17

Describing 2018 as a “remarkable” year for the Army as it neutralised a number of militants, Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, Northern Command chief, on Thursday said the forces had given a befitting reply to the Pakistan army along Line of Control (LoC) whenever there were instances of any ceasefire violation or sniper firing.

The Northern Command chief said more than 250 militants were killed, 54 arrested and four others surrendered in the Kashmir valley.

“In the past 10 years, the Army, along with other forces, has killed many militants while many have surrendered under pressure,” Lt Gen Ranbir Singh said.

He also said the Army was replying befittingly to Pakistani aggression along the LoC. “Our operation has been successful. We have been able to eliminate a number of militants, who were targeting security forces and civilians. We have foiled their designs,” he said.

Lt Gen Ranbir Singh was addressing the media after inaugurating the Kalai Bridge constructed by the Border Roads Organisation.

The bridge spans over the Suran river and connects the Kalai area to the Chandak area in Poonch district.

A great year if no youth joins militancy: Omar

Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday questioned Army officials boasting about the number of militants killed in the state last year, saying it would have been a “great year” if no youth had joined militancy.“I beg to differ, a great year would be one in which no young man would join militancy, no terrorists would be killed and no security personnel would lose their lives in encounters. The compulsion of killing militants/terrorists shouldn’t be treated as a cause for celebration,” Omar wrote on Twitter.

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Army Chief Bipin Rawat’s grand plans need course correction in order to succeed.

While Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat has planned a virtual transformation with ambitious military reforms, they may misfire given the fundamental flaws in his approach. Such reforms have been pushed after four decades—and deserve course correction in order to succeed.

In this piece, I discuss the flaws and how General Rawat can prevent his transformation from being a non-starter.

What is military reform?

The process of military reforms is a continuum with reviews necessitated by emerging threats, changing patterns of conflicts and new technology. When the change in these factors is very radical, it calls for transformation or Revolution in Military Affairs (RIMA)—an all encompassing military theoretical hypothesis about the future of warfare connected with technological, structural and organisational changes to enable the armed forces to fight wars of the future.

General K.V. Krishna Rao and General Sundarji planned transformational reforms in the late 1970s which were largely executed in the 1980s. The political and military leadership were on the same wicket and the required budget was made available. What the Indian Army is today is based on these reforms, even though due to subsequent budgetary constraints, 15-20 per cent of the objectives are still to be achieved.

Also read: Indian Army set to push through with General Bipin Rawat’s reforms for a leaner force

The Rawat RIMA

General Rawat has taken it upon himself to ‘sell’ the reforms not only to the Army’s rank and file, but also to the media, defence analysts and veterans.

He has tasked his top brass with discussing, analysing, formalising and, where necessary, testing the envisaged reforms.

In his own words, the aim of the reforms is ‘to be better prepared for future warfare by strengthening our capabilities, become more efficient and better manage our budgetary allocations.’

Four time-bound studies are nearing finalisation to make recommendations with respect to the creation of an agile and operationally effective field force capable of fighting a hybrid war across the entire spectrum of conflict. The agenda includes the restructuring of the Army Headquarters, maintaining a youthful profile for the officer cadre, and formulation of optimum terms of engagement and colour service for Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs) and Other Ranks (ORs).

It is premature to speculate about the final recommendations but the hierarchy is committed to downsizing/rightsizing the Army by shedding 1,00,000 – 1,50,000 soldiers to reduce the burden on the revenue budget.

By far the most far-reaching reform is envisaged in restructuring of the field formations. Divisions and Brigades, part of the conventional armies for 200 years, are being merged to create mission and terrain specific all-arms Integrated Battle Groups which will operate directly under the Corps Headquarters.

Also read: General Bipin Rawat explains why restructuring the Indian Army is his top priority

Taking it from the top

Logically, reforms with respect to national security are a top-down process—they begin with a ‘strategic review’ carried out by the government. This leads to the formulation or revision of the national security strategy encompassing all measures, diplomatic, economic and military, the government needs to undertake to secure the nation.

The government then budgets and creates the wherewithal to implement the national security strategy. For the military, it formulates the force development strategy. In consultation with the armed forces, the government decides the broad size and composition of the force, budgets for it, and leaves it to the military to develop the strategy.

Transformational reforms for our elephantine army have been a subject close to my heart, in and out of the Army. I salute the Army chief for initiating the process for RIMA. However, there is a fundamental flaw in his approach and all his efforts will come to naught if course correction is not carried out.

RIMA threatens to be a non-starter

If RIMA is to succeed, it must be government-owned, tri-service in nature and the defence minister should be its prime mover.

Without a formal national security strategy on which is contingent the force development strategy and firm long-term financial commitment from the government, RIMA is non-starter. In our case, none of these aspects is formalised and, financially, RIMA is not on the government’s radar.

When you downsize/rightsize to reduce manpower, it has to be replaced with high-end technology—a costly exercise. Therefore, in the absence of the above prerequisites, General Rawat’s plan will remain a standalone exercise for internal restructuring/reorganisation without technology infusion and nothing more.

In the last six months, despite endless coverage of the RIMA in the media, not a word has been spoken on the subject by the otherwise outspoken defence minister or the defence secretary who virtually functions as a de facto Chief of Defence Staff and is ‘responsible for the defence of India and the Armed Forces’, as per the Government of India (Transaction of Business) Rules 1961.

Also read: Indian Army reforms: Cutting administrative flab or needless downsizing?

Fixing RIMA

However, there is a silver lining. Militaries rarely initiate reforms to reduce their size, even though they continue to clamour for higher budgets to modernise. The three chiefs must work together to make the RIMA a tri-service venture and prevail upon the government to own it. General Rawat’s earnest endeavour has also provided the media, public, defence analysts and the veterans with an opportunity to exert pressure on the government to initiate national security reforms.

We must not let this opportunity slip by.

Lt Gen H S Panag PVSM, AVSM (R) served in the Indian Army for 40 years. He was GOC in C Northern Command and Central Command. Post retirement, he was Member of Armed Forces Tribunal.

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Islamabad, January 18

Pakistan’s Supreme Court has ordered the federal government to promulgate a new law within a fortnight to grant more rights, including fundamental human rights, to the people of Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

A seven-judge bench headed by Justice Saqib Nisar issued a detailed order on Thursday in response to several petitions filed against constitutional issues and previous reforms in the region.

The bench wrote that the jurisdiction and power of the Supreme Court extended to Gilgit-Baltistan.

The Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi last year conveyed its stand to Pakistan that the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir, which also included the so-called ‘Gilgit-Baltistan’, is an integral part of India by virtue of its accession in 1947.

It further said that the region’s courts did not have constitutional power to deal with issues within Pakistan but the people from the region would be able to challenge their top court’s decisions in the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

It also ordered that the people of the region should be given fundamental human rights as provided in the proposed constitutional order, which was made part of the detailed order.

Noting the international status of Kashmir, of which Gilgit-Baltistan is a part, the order said that “as and when the promised plebiscite is organised by the parties to the dispute, it would be up to the people of all of Jammu and Kashmir, and of Gilgit-Baltistan, to make their choice”.

It also said until the plebiscite, “it is surely incumbent upon both India as well as Pakistan to ensure that the people of this region enjoy maximum rights for areas within each country’s control”.

However, it noted that until the plebiscite is held, a proper arrangement must be provided by Pakistan for the people of Gilgit-Baltistan for the purposes of governance within a framework of a constitutional nature, including most importantly the enjoyment of fundamental rights. PTI

Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat addressing during Army Day parade in New Delhi on Tuesday. Tribune photo: Manas Ranjan Bhui

New Delhi, January 15

NThe Indian Army will not hesitate to take strong action to deal with terror activities along the border with Pakistan, Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat said on Tuesday.

The country along India’s western border is providing support to terror groups and the Indian Army is dealing with them effectively, Gen Rawat said in an obvious reference to Pakistan, “We are ensuring moral dominance along border in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said while addressing Army personnel on the occasion of Army Day here.

The Indian Army will not hesitate to take strong action to deal with terror activities along the western border, Gen Rawat said.

He said new guidelines are being followed to maintain peace and tranquillity along the border in the eastern sector.

“We will keep reviewing the situation along the eastern border,” he said, referring to the border with China.

“Our soldiers will not allow any compromise in guarding the border in the eastern sector,” he said.

Gen Rawat also said the Army was carrying out major restructuring and modernisation of the Army. P

When asked about the Supreme Court ruling on adultery, he said the Army is “very conservative”.

https://www.ndtv.com/video/news/news/won-t-allow-gay-sex-in-the-army-says-chief-general-rawat-503622

HAROP combines capabilities of a UAV and a lethal missile, says Israel Aerospace Industries

NEW DELHI: 

In a bid to enhance its unmanned warfare capability, the Air Force is planning to acquire 15 more HAROP attack drones that can crash into high-value enemy military targets to destroy them completely.

The Air Force already has an inventory of these drones equipped with electro-optical sensors to loiter over high-value military targets, such as surveillance bases and radar stations before exploding them.

“A proposal to acquire these attack drones is expected to be discussed by the Defence Ministry at a high-level meeting in the coming week to strengthen the fleet of such drones in the Air Force,” a defence source told ANI.

If approved, the Air Force will be exercising the option clause in the previous deal signed a few years ago with Israel, which is the main supplier of all types of drones to the Air Force.

India is also discussing “Project Cheetah” with Israel under which almost all the drones of the three services would be turned into high-quality attack drones and their surveillance capabilities would also be enhanced.

The forces are also working on developing home-made combat drones which would be deployed on both the China and Pakistan border once the project is complete.

Americans have been using combat drones to carry out targeted assassinations of terrorist leaders in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan, but the relatively slow unmanned vehicles are not known to be effective in warfare where the opposition also has a strong air force.