News Theatre command: Show of unity across Defence Forces

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Theatre command: Show of unity across Defence Forces
At a time when the government is moving towards integrating theatre commands, the Andaman and Nicobar Command will make a presentation to the defence ministry on further strengthening the tri-services organisation.
The move comes soon after the defence ministry put in all the manpower including officers of the Air Force, Army and Navy under the operational command of a Vice Admiral of the Navy at the Andaman and Nicobar Command in Port Blair.
"Detailed presentations would be made by the Commander in Chief, Andaman and Nicobar Command (CiNCAN) to the Defence Ministry on Thursday and Friday this week on further strengthening the command and its infrastructure to give it more teeth," government sources told Mail Today here.
"The presentation is likely to include the assets of the Air Force and the Army to be placed under the command to give it more fighting capability and firepower," the sources said.
Under theatre commands like the ones which exist in the US, all the forces working in a geographical area are put under a theatre command which can be headed by one officer from any of the three services.
Recently, the defence ministry had notified new "statutory rules and orders" to ensure an officer from any one service can now "exercise direct command" over personnel from the other two services, who are all governed by different acts and rules, in tri-service.
The move has been implemented especially for the strategically located Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC), which was established as India's first theatre command in October 2001 but has largely failed to achieve its potential due to internecine turf wars among the three services, general politico-bureaucratic apathy, fund crunches and environmental concerns.
After the amendment in rules, the naval commander-in-chief of the ANC can now directly control and discipline Army and IAF officers and other personnel under him, even as similar moves are afoot to eventually bring all land and assets under him.
However, sources suggest that there are certain issues among the three services over giving powers to the tri-services command to punish officers from all the three services.
There is also a view that services are not on the same page of the issue of theatre commands over its utility. Defence experts fee the recent Air Force wargame Exercise Gaganshakti showcased that its assets can shift from one theatre to the other within no time and putting them under a dedicated theatre would not be of much us ina country with limited resources.
After the government took over in 2014, there was talk about a proposal to create integrated theatre commands for the northern border with China, a western command for Pakistan, a counterinsurgency operations command and one command for the maritime borders. But nothing concrete has come out of it.
The armed forces currently have 17 single-service commands, with only two unified commands in ANC and the Strategic Forces Command to handle the country's nuclear arsenal.
Theatre command: Show of unity across Defence Forces
 
Air Defence Command: Need to Move with Due Deliberation
The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of Indian Armed Forces, General Bipin Rawat has announced that there is a proposal to set up a separate theatre command for Jammu and Kashmir; plans to roll out an Air Defence Command (ADC) by the beginning of next year; and the Peninsula Command by the end of 2021. The Indian Air Force (IAF) will helm the ADC and all long range missiles as well as Air Defence (AD) assets will come under it and the Indian Navy’s (IN) Eastern and Western commands will be integrated into the Peninsula command, he said. India will also have a separate training and doctrinal command and logistics command, he added.

Whilst there is a definite need to restructure our organisations to enhance operational efficiency, we need to move forward after due deliberation. It would be pertinent to point out that the concept of ADC was tried out for many years by USAF, which has huge resources, yet rejected. Both Russia and China with next largest air assets have not created an ADC because of multirole aircraft and the belief that the creation of such an organisation would lead to sub optimal use of resources.

Air Defence Assets Indian Army
The Corps of Army Air Defence (AAD), of the Indian army is tasked with air defence of Indian Army’s integral assets and certain designated VA/VPs, at heights below 5,000 feet. The corps was formed with autonomous status in 1994, after the bifurcation of the Corps of Air Defence Artillery from the Army’s Artillery Regiment. The main AD assets of Indian Army include the Akash surface to Air Missiles (SAM), 9K33 Osa (SA-8), 9K35 Strela-10 (SA-13), 9K22 Tunguska, 9K38 Igla, ZSU-23-4M ‘Shilka’, FIM-92 Stinger, among others. Indian Army also has many radars linked to its AD systems, which are further integrated by the project ‘Akash Teer’ for situational awareness.

Air Defence Assets Indian Navy
The Indian Navy (IN) has significant air element including nearly 200 aircraft, some of which, like the MiG 29K can take on AD tasks. IN has one operational aircraft carrier. The second aircraft carrier, indigenous Vikrant is in advance stage of readiness and may induct in next two years. The naval variant of LCA Mk1 has already done deck landing and take-off trials. Most of its 235 ships have powerful radars, and have SAMs and guns for AD tasks. The ships have significant Electromagnetic Counter Measures (ECM) and Electromagnetic Counter Counter Measures (ECCM) to defend from airborne threat. IN’s indigenous Trigun System helps enhance battle-space transparency with better network centric warfare tools riding on high-speed data communication systems and their integration.

It integrates data from civil and military vessels, submarines and aircraft and shares with all its platforms. Currently air defence of some naval installations and assets at sea is the responsibility of the IN.

Air Defence Assets Indian Air Force
As per the Union War book, IAF is directly responsible for the air defence of India. To achieve this IAF has air superiority aircraft like the Su-30 MKI, dedicated air defence interceptor aircraft like MiG 21 Bison, MiG 29, and LCA; there are other aircraft which are multi role but have significant AD capability like Mirage 2000. IAF will also soon have the Rafale. All AD aircraft have their electronic warfare suites. Most AD aircraft also have ground attack or other roles. IAF has variety of SAMs like the Pechora S-125, Osa-AK, indigenous Akash, SPYDER LLQRM system, and the shoulder fired Igla-M missiles. They provide air defence against aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles and UAVs. DRDO has entered in a joint venture with Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI) to develop the Barak-8 SAM. IAF has two Embraer ERJ-145 based indigenous DRDO AEW&C ‘Netra’ aircraft. It also has 3 EL/W-2090 Phalcon AEW&C incorporated in a Beriev A-50 platform. Two more are on order. India is also going ahead with ‘Project India’, an in house AWACS program to develop and deliver 6 Phalcon class AWACS, based on DRDO work on the smaller AEW&CS. IAF currently has two Aerostats giving nearly 400 km range coverage. The Air Force Network (AFNET) is a robust secure digital information grid that is helping the IAF become a truly network centric air force.

Integrated Air Command and Control System (IACCS), an automated system for Air Defence operations, and links command and control centres with offensive aircraft, sensor platforms and ground missile batteries. It rides on the AFNET. Integration with civil radars and other networks provide an integrated ‘Air Situation Picture’, for intelligence analysis, and mission control.

Indian Ballistic Missile Defence & ASAT Programs
India faces ballistic missile threat from Pakistan and China. India’s Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) Program is a multi layered system to protect India from ballistic missile attacks. Currently it consists of land and sea based interceptor missiles, the Prithvi Air Defence (PAD) missile for high altitude interception, and the Advanced Air Defence (AAD) Missile for lower altitude interception. It can cover incoming missiles launched from 5,000 km away.

The system includes an overlapping network of early warning and tracking radars, as well as command and control
posts. The PAD was tested in November 2006, followed by the AAD in December 2007. India became the fifth country to have successfully developed an anti ballistic missile system, after USA, Russia, Israel and China. The system has undergone several tests but is yet to be officially commissioned. The first phase of BMD program is now complete and DRDO and IAF are waiting for government’s go ahead to install the missile shield for the national capital region. Also, the Anti-Satellite (ASAT) missile test (Mission Shakti) was successfully conducted in 2019.

S 400 and NASAMS
India and Russia signed $ 5.43 billion deal for the supply of five S-400 regiments on 5 October 2018, ignoring America’s Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions (CAATSA) Act. The S-400 was expected to be inducted into IAF service in October 2020. There are now reports of some delays. S-400 anti-aircraft weapon system has an operational range of 385 km. According to Siemon Wezeman, senior researcher at Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) the S-400 “is among the most advanced air defence systems available”.

USA has recently approved the sale of an Integrated Air Defence Weapon System(IADWS) to India for an estimated cost of $1.9 billion. National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System (NASAMS) is a distributed and networked medium to long range air-defence system with the first surface based application for the AIM-120 AMRAAM (Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile). The missile itself is named SLAMRAAM (Surface Launched AMRAAM). On offer is the NASAMS 2, which is an upgraded version of the NASAMS air defence system and it has been operational since 2007. The proposed sale comes amidst the massive military modernisation and muscle flexing by China. It will also further enhance greater interoperability between India and the USA. India has reportedly requested for five AN/MPQ-64Fl Sentinel radar systems; one hundred eighteen AMRAAM AIM-120C-7/C-8 missiles; three AMRAAM Guidance Sections; four AMRAAM Control Sections; and one hundred thirty-four Stinger FIM-92L missiles.

Air Space Management in India
Air Space Control (ASC) refers to regulating the use of the ‘finite’ air space by various users. From military operations point of view, the objective of airspace control is to maximize the effectiveness of combat operations without adding undue restrictions and with minimal adverse impact on the capabilities of any component. Stress is on close coordination that must exist between airspace control, air traffic control, and area air defence units to reduce the risk of fratricide and balance those risks with the requirements for an effective air defence. ASC specifies air space control procedures, joint services procedures for integrating weapons and other air defence actions within the operations area. ASC measures provide maximum flexibility and responsiveness to all airspace users.

Geographic arrangement of air defence weapons within the battle space and procedures for identification and engagement is part of ASC. During conflict, the air activity in the Tactical Battle Area (TBA), is extremely dense.

Both friendly and enemy aircraft are transiting. Most flights are launched at a very short notice based on evolving tactical situation. There are many UAVs. Also occupying the airspace are high velocity long and medium range artillery shells and a variety of missiles. Ground based air defence weapons are on hot standby, and some operated from remote locations close to the forward edge of the battle area (FEBA). The civil air operations have to be allowed to continue albeit with small restrictions and regulations in time and space. There is therefore need for faster timely information sharing. There have to be clearly designated agencies for direct and procedural control.

Airspace management in most countries is with the air force, and so it has been with Indian Air Force (IAF) in India.

Proposed Air Defence Command
Till now each service has its individual air defence set up and maintains its own AD resources to counter specific threats perceived by each, sometimes even having overlapping areas. The proposed ADC is meant to integrate the air defence assets of the Army, Air Force and Navy and jointly provide air defence cover to the country. It will be headed by an IAF officer. The overall responsibility of thwarting an enemy air invasion shall continue with IAF, while bringing the ground based AD resources under better synergy. Integrating AD assets are meant to also assist in better airspace management giving maximum freedom to various ground and aerial weapons, yet avoiding ‘fratricide’ during war like conditions. The ADC will be a functional command.

The case is that, in the era of hybrid war, integration of all kinetic and non kinetic tools is considered an operational necessity. The entire military power needs to work in a coordinated manner. The armed forces need to relook at the structure for better synergy and integration. Tri services ADC is the first off the block. The key elements of AD are the ability to detect and identify the threat and thereafter to engage and destroy. The threat could be any adversary military flying system from a manned/unmanned aircraft to an incoming missile. All the three services have weapon systems to tackle these threats. IAF’s combat aircraft equipped with air to air missiles can engage the threat at the farthest distances. Once within the surface to air guided weapons (SAGW) range, the fighters may disengage, and missiles take on. The close-in weapon systems could be short range AD missiles and anti aircraft artillery guns. The assignment is done by the sector AD Commander. Peculiarities of operations of each service create distinct air defence needs. Currently all procure own AD assets, some of which may have commonality, or even have interoperability issues with each other. Therefore, an integrated approach could be operationally relevant. Integration of equipment, systems, training, maintenance, and reducing duplication could save resources and enhance operational efficacy.

Challenges and Opportunities
There are many challenges for the ADC that need to be understood and factored. In Indian context, the ADC will cover the entire air space over the Indian landmass and territorial waters. All airspace users, military and civil, will need to coordinate their activities with the ADC, a responsibility currently with the IAF, which also has most AD assets. The Air Force commander of ADC will be reporting to CDS. The air assets, most of which are multirole, will still be with the IAF. Imagine distributing small fleets of multirole aircraft (36 Rafale). Mirage 2000 has AD, Strike and EW roles. Upgraded MiG 29 has significant ground attack capability. SU-30 MKI will be used for offensive sweep missions, yet available for AD role.

It will lead to their suboptimal utilisation. Integrating all the radars, ground based weapons systems, including the secure independent networks of each service would be the next challenge. Systems like the radars and IAACS are required not only for AD but also for offensive sweeps and strike missions. India still has a few AWACS only, they are required for both offensive and defensive missions. Similarly, the very few FRA will be required for all types of mission. Will the AD assets of the highly mobile Strike Corps, and AD of the Army formations in the mountainous border be part of the integrated ADC? How will ADC integrate with the mobile elements? Could this be counterproductive? AD of naval fleet at sea is very peculiar. There are layers of AD cover provided by various ships. Carrier based air operations also have their own peculiarities. Will the AD of naval assets at sea be with ADC or with IN? Will the operational efficiency be enhanced after creating the ADC? In case that is compromised, the entire exercise will be futile. Just integrating all the ground based radars and leaving them with IAF could be a first logical step. Up to the Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) the AD responsibility is with the IAF. Out in the sea, Navy looks after its AD. Very small hand held UAVs of the Indian Army flying below a certain height already have freedom to operate. So is the case of inter ship movement of helicopters and low flying helicopters of Indian Army in TBA.

Way Ahead
Any proposed change would have long term operational and financial affect. We need to hurry slowly and firm footedly. India has limited resources unlike USA and China. Even then they have trodden slowly, and not had an ADC. Let us first concentrate and build on the tri service Defence Space Agency, Special Forces Division, and Defence Cyber Agency. The idea of ADC requires lot of deliberations by think tanks and Service HQs for effective and seamless resource utilisation and to ensure enhanced operational efficiency.
https://www.defstrat.com/magazine_articles/air-defence-command-need-to-move-with-due-deliberation/
 

Army, navy and IAF get 6 months to respond to theatre command final proposal​

The department of military affairs (DMA) has given the Indian Army, Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force service headquarters six months till mid-2022 to respond to its final military theatre commands proposal before commencing the raising of much required rationalised structures for countering adversaries. China has already integrated theatre commands with mixed element brigades and is now helping Pakistan to also reform its warfighting systems with theatre commands.

According to officials in the know of the developments, the DMA under Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat has sent the final structure to the three-service headquarters for giving their considered view in writing to the defence ministry in the next 180 days. It is understood that once the army, navy and the air force come back to DMA with their suggestions or objections before the process of raising theatre commands begins with senior military commanders indicating that the new commands will be functioning by end-2022.


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While the army and the navy are all for theatre commands, the air force is trying to reconcile with the division of its air assets among respective theatre commands. Fuelling discontent and new hurdles against the theatre commands is the fact that the service chiefs will no longer be numero uno of the respective military branches but will only be responsible for training and prioritisation of hardware purchases as part of the committee headed by the permanent chief of staff or the CDS in this case. It is this resistance to change or reform by the three services and the pressure from the retired ex-servicemen lobby that has led to the defence ministry consulting all and sundry for military theatre commands.

Fact is that while the entire 3488 of Line of Actual Control is handled by the Western Theatre Command of the PLA including elements of the air force, armour, artillery and rocket regiments, it is faced with three—northern, central and eastern command—of the Indian Army along with similar three commands of the Indian Air Force. While the PLA theatre commander directly reports to the Central Military Commission (CMC) under President Xi Jinping, the Indian Army and Indian Air Force report to their respective chiefs like in World War II and who in turn report to the defence minister with a dotted line to the Prime Minister of India.

Even the Indian Navy is divided into western and eastern commands, whose commanders report to Chief of Naval Staff, while the Andamans and Nicobar Commander, the key to any sea battle in future, reports to the Chief of Integrated Defence Staff or CISC. Simply put, all the services operate within their own silos and rarely are on the same wavelength on crucial issues facing the security of the nation. But for record’s sake, all the services have been talking about joint manship or battle synergy since the 1999 Kargil war.

While India, often described as raucous and chaotic democracy, takes its own time to reform and rationalise the Indian military amidst continuous state, by-elections, and general elections, it is faced with as authoritarian Communist China ruled by a dictator for life and a quasi-democracy in Pakistan where the army is forever in power and rules the roost. Indian military must reform or else it will be surprised again by the PLA like it was in May 2020 on the banks of the Pangong Tso.
 
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Rajnath Singh announces setting up of joint theatre commands of tri-services​

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday announced the setting up of joint theatre commands of tri-services to enhance coordination among armed forces. He was speaking during a programme organised by the Jammu Kashmir People's Forum in Jammu to pay tributes to the martyrs of the Indian Armed Forces, news agency PTI reported.

"Keeping in view (joint operations as seen in Operation Vijay in Kargil), we have decided to set up joint theatre commands (in the country)," Singh said.

HT had reported in February last year that India was set to begin the initial roll-out of its long-awaited theaterisation plan, with the Air Defence Command and the Maritime Theatre Command likely to be launched by May 2020, though the commands would take two years to be fully operational. Theaterisation has the full backing of the government.

In June 2021, the government formed an eight-member panel to fine-tune the theaterisation plans and bring all stakeholders on board, especially the Indian Air Force, for speedy roll-out of the new joint structures.

The Indian military’s theaterisation model, a long-awaited reform, will have inbuilt flexibility to fall back on the current command and control structures to deal with any contingency during the transition phase, an official said. Stabilisation of theatre commands could take up to five years, and it is critical to ensure that there is a mechanism to swiftly return to the pre-theaterisation status quo if a crisis unfolds when the restructuring is underway.

Singh, paying homage to martyrs, also said the country cannot forget their supreme sacrifice to safeguard the country's territorial integrity and sovereignty.

"It is the duty of the society and the people to give their utmost respect to the martyrs and their families," he said.

"Whatever support you can offer, do to for their families. It is the responsibility of each citizen," he added.

The defence minister also said India is moving quickly from being the world's largest importer of defence equipment to an exporter.

"India was the world's largest importer (of defence products). Today, India is not the world's largest importer but is among the top 25 nations engaged in defence exports," he pointed out.


Singh said the country has started defence exports worth ₹13,000 crore and it has fixed a target to increase it to ₹35,000 to ₹40,000 crore by 2025-26.