New Delhi: The artillery wing is set for structural changes under which Surveillance and Target Acquisition (SATA) batteries will be reorganised into regiments to support the pivot and strike formations, Army chief General Manoj Pande said Tuesday.
Currently, SATA batteries within the Regiment of Artillery function at the level of a company. They will function at the level of a battalion after the changes are introduced.
“The SATA regiments will be equipped with the latest generation remotely piloted aircraft, loiter munitions and swarm drones,” he said in the inaugural ‘General SF Rodrigues Memorial Lecture’.
The Mountain Strike Corps will now be supported by independent SATA batteries, the Army chief said.
Giving an overview of the modernisation plan, he said that the Army is working to shift towards the 155mm/52 caliber gun systems which are considered globally as the standard for enhanced firepower.
Gen. Pande said that 145 M777 Ultra Light Howitzers (ULH) had already been procured from the US, with seven regiments currently operationalised. The Light Artillery Regiments are now being converted into the ULH regiments, he added.
While 100 K9 Vajra have already been inducted, there are plans to procure another 100 such howitzers, he said, referring to the push for indigenous pursuits.
The Army “aimed at improving the reach, firepower and reactant capability along the northern borders” with additional rocket and missile units, he said.
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Lessons from Russia-Ukraine conflict
The Russia-Ukraine conflict, Gen. Pande said, has “aptly demonstrated” the primacy of technology in the modern battlefield. The conflict points towards infusing niche technologies into the war-fighting system, he added.
As for India’s arsenal, the Army chief stated that the current inventory is not an ideal mix of vintage, current and the state-of-the-art system. He added that modern modernisation or replacement of all equipment was neither feasible nor desired.
“We need to space out or upgrade our new procurements as per our evolving indigenous capacities while retaining a fine balance between the old and the new,” he said.
The Ukraine war has highlighted use of low-cost options to neutralise high value platforms and the proliferation of airspace using manned and unmanned systems, he said.
The Army is procuring loiter munitions and drones for effective precision targeting in the tactical battle area.“The recent emergency procurement provision has been utilised to good effect to build considerable capability in this domain,” Gen. Pande said.
On how multi-domain operations are an integral part of the modern battlefield, he said the Indian Army had reorganised electronic intelligence and electronic warfare units towards augmenting overall capabilities. At the Command Headquarter-level, the command cyber operations and support wings have been raised to counter cyber threats.
Calling the military support by Ukraine’s allies as “a game changer”, Gen. Pande asserted that India needs to be clear that strategic partnerships, as core interest in some cases may inhibit active military support during conflicts. This, he asserted, necessitates India to be self-reliant in its needs to protect national interests.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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