Army to ‘test bed’ niche technologies; operationalise command cyber operations

The conference is an institutional platform for conceptual-level deliberations, culminating in making important policy decisions for the Indian Army.

A wide-ranging strategic, training, human resource and administrative aspects were discussed in the conference, the Army said on Thursday.

As per defence sources, cyberspace is important both in grey zone warfare as well as in conventional operations.

“The expansion of cyber warfare capabilities by our adversaries has made the cyber domain more competitive and contested than ever before,” a source said, adding that the Army is rapidly migrating towards net centricity and this entails an increased reliance on modern communication systems at all levels.

“To safeguard the networks and increase the preparedness levels in this niche domain, CCOSW are being raised in the Army. These organisations will assist the formations to undertake the mandated functions to strengthen the cyber security posture of the Indian Army,” a source said.

Sources said a large number of niche technology-enabled equipment are being inducted into the Indian Army including swarm drones, loitering weapon systems and anti-drone equipment.

The lead directorates and ‘Test Bed’ formations will be nominated to evolve optimal employment philosophies to facilitate better exploitation of these technologies across the Army, they added.

Another key decision was to move away from the existing 1+3+1 years Technical Entry Scheme (TES) model to 3+1 model from January 2024 onwards.

The Army said this will address the issue of officer shortage and make more officers available in the units. It also added that simulator training will get a significant push through procurement of 435 simulators at an estimated cost of Rs 791 crore this year.

Another decision was to identify and train selected motivated soldiers for paralympic events at Army Sports and Mission Olympic Nodes in nine sporting events.

Additionally, in a step towards welfare of specially-abled children of soldiers who die in harness, it was decided to double the sustenance allowance to such children through AGIF.

The Commanders and other senior functionaries also reviewed the operational preparedness of the Army.

The meeting also discussed the progress on efficient implementation of the Agnipath Scheme and identified specific areas and actionable points for promoting jointness and integration with other defence services and government agencies.