Combat aviation should be made an integral part of mechanised forces to enhance India's military capability in dealing with external threats, a top army officer said today.
Addressing an international seminar on armoured fighting vehicles, Deputy Chief of Army Staff for Planning and Systems Lt Gen Subrata Saha said the nature of battle is not going to be just conventional and the country must upgrade its warfare capabilities.
"Combat aviation, I think will have to be an integral part of this, when we talk of mechanised forces... It ought to be a part of this," Lt Gen Saha said.
The top army officer also said that academia and industry coming together was the way forward in taking the vision of 'Make In India' further.
He also emphasised that changing terrains was a "critical factor" and called for upgrading of all combat vehicles.
"We need to look at operation pattern across the areas we are talking about...There is increase in the population density, huge unemployment, tremendous radicalisation. And, expecting a battle to be only conventional is not application in our case.
"Terrain factor would be critical... And we are talking about diverse terrain...Multi-front, hybrid and collusivity.
"And, it is in this background that we are seeking modernisation of FRCVs (Future Ready Combat Vehicles) and upgrade of all our combat vehicles and for some new animals like WHAP (Wheeled Armored Amphibious Platform) and other ones," Saha said.
"The patterns of terrains across the border has changed. A terrain is a labyrinth of obstacles. And, therefore, every combat vehicle has to be prepared to fight isolated in very, very small sub-units," he added.
As far as the main battle tank is concerned, the "king of battle" must continue to "stay relevant" with appropriate infusion of technology that makes it relevant to the current battlefield, Saha said adding "area of ammunition deserves attention".
"In Abu Dhabi, they displayed guided projectile, and I think, time has come to fit in ammunition as well into this framework, to further enhance our battle capabilities... And, we will win India's war with India's solutions," he said.
Saha also said that after setting up of the Army Design Bureau and organising a number of in-house seminars on the subject of procurement, the results have been good.
"Orders have increased in 2016-17, The CFA (Competent Financial Authority) approval has increased twice, in the last five years. The cash outgo has increased twice in the last five years. The EoIs (Expression of Interest) and the RFIs (Request for Information) have increased," he said.
Lt Gen A B Shivane, Director General Mechanised Forces
(DGMF) said the changing nature of the future battlefields, called for an upgrade of of combat vehicles along with fitment schedule.
"At DGMF we have decided to have a fleet management perspective for 15 years to cover a span of 50 years. Also, we need more than upgrade for our battle readiness, we need multi-point fitment and in-field schedule," he said.
Lt Gen Shivane said the modernisation capabilities hinged on four pillars to enhance the survivability, lethality and agility of the machines.
"First is situational dominance and awareness, second is legacy equipment maintenance, leveraging Make in India and last is next-generation capabilities, and all four factors have to mesh in for boosting the battle worthiness," he said.
Shivane asserted that today winning a war is not considered good enough, as it has to be done in "minimum duration and with least casualties."
He also said next month a seminar would be held on the subject of ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance).
Lt Gen Saha said, in-house seminars on procurement matters have helped a lot. A compendium of problem statements have been prepared and volume 1 is out and volume 2 should be out soon, he said.
