Army working on multiple automation projects to aid decision making, effective logistics management

A defence source said in the interim an in- house decision support called Situational Awareness Module for the Army (SAMA) has been developed for the purpose.

Developed in conjunction with BISAG-N and it has successfully integrated inputs from systems of the Army, SAMA will present the comprehensive battlefield picture to commanders at all levels based on authorisation and roles, the source said, adding that the application is being fielded this month for field validation in a corps zone.

The project is among the several secure automation projects being undertaken by the Army with the aim of simplifying systems, processes and functions to enhance its operational efficiency as well as human resource management, logistics, inventory management, medical services, and other administrative functions.

For instance, another key project in the works is the Situational Reporting Over Enterprise-Class GIS Platform (E-Sitrep) which will take care of all operational correspondences in the Army.

As per sources, this is an enterprise-class GIS platform configured for the Army’s operational needs with state-of-the-art spatial visualisation and is custom-built for commanders. It is set to be first operationalised in Army’s Northern Command.

Another key project of the Army is the Computerised Inventory Control Project (CICP) which is an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution for managing the Army’s stores, munition, aviation, and vehicles.

While the first phase of the project has already been implemented, the next phase of the project will be implemented soon which will be expanded to include the repair and maintenance functioning. The Army Ordnance Corps and the Corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineers will function using the same application in the future.

Other critical projects of the Army include Project Sanjay—a battlefield surveillance system which has undergone extensive validation in all terrains including in mountains last year.

As per sources, a contract with BEL Ghaziabad is in the process for delivery of over sixty surveillance centres for the field formations by December 2025.

The sources added that Project Sanjay will enable integration of thousands of sensors and will provide an integrated surveillance picture to commanders and staff. It will also be integrated with another application, the Artillery Combat Command Control and Communication System (ACCCCS) to complete the grid.

ACCCCS is among the Army’s oldest and successful operational information systems which is being upgraded. The upgrades include migration to defence series maps, and several new features which will optimise its functioning and enable application of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning on the data that is aggregated.

Two other critical projects of the Army include Avagat—that will put together

inputs from the operational domain, logistic inputs of selected nature, satellite imagery data, topographic and meteorological inputs on a common platform—and Anumaan, which is an application made in collaboration with National Centre for Medium range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF) for receiving customised products for high resolution weather forecasts for its components along the Northern borders.

This is critical as meteorological inputs are of great significance to the commanders in the field and the Artillery units use them on a regular basis to “temper its weapon platforms before firing projectiles through the earth’s atmosphere,” the sources said.

They added that the recent operationalisation of the secure project Network for Spectrum (NFS) will provide an abundance of bandwidth to the services. They added that the Army has invested in captive data centres in the country, thereby acquiring substantial capability to host applications.

The data centres will be fully operational this year and this investment will aid in faster, simpler, and more inexpensive procurement of Information Systems.