Tasked to conduct cross-border operations, reconnaissance and disruption missions, the Bhairav units will relieve Para-Special Forces for strategic assignments.

Mayank Singh

Lt Gen Ajay Kumar, Director General (Infantry), Indian Army. (FIle Photo |

NEW DELHI: Indian Army’s transformation bid will touch another milestone as plans are afoot to get specialised Bhairav Light Combat Battalions operational within six months.

Lieutenant General Ajay Kumar, Director General of the Indian Army’s Arm of Infantry, said on Wednesday that five Bhairav battalions are now fully functional. Four more are currently in the process of being raised, and the remaining 16 will be operational within the next six months.

“Designed to be lean and lethal, these battalions are built for rapid, high-impact operations along India’s borders with China and Pakistan,” he said, speaking to reporters ahead of the Shaurya Diwas celebrations. The Shaurya Diwas is celebrated on October 27 to commemorate the air-landed operations in 1947 at Budgam Airport in Jammu and Kashmir.

Infantry is the Army’s largest fighting arm, with more than 400 units. The need for such specialised battalions was realised to fill the gap between a conventional infantry unit and the Special Forces. Tasked to conduct cross-border operations, reconnaissance and disruption missions, the Bhairav units will relieve Para-Special Forces for strategic assignments.

As earlier reported by The New Indian Express, Bhairav battalions will be deployed on special tasks and assignments to inflict damage on the enemy. However, these units will not be as heavily armed nor tasked with strategic operations like Special Forces units.