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India is enhancing its special forces' capabilities with advanced technology including nano drones, loiter munitions, and sophisticated communication equipment. The integration aims to improve covert warfare and counter-terrorism operations. Although a full-fledged Special Operations Command is lacking, efforts like the Armed Forces Special Operations Division (AFSOD) are fostering joint cooperation among different forces.
NEW DELHI: From midget submarines,
loiter munitions
and nano drones to specialised weaponry, surveillance and communication equipment, India is progressively strengthening the capabilities of its special forces to undertake covert warfare deep behind enemy lines as well as
counter-terrorism operations
.
The upgrade in the gruelling combat training, which will include "augmented reality/virtual reality mission planners and simulators" in the near future, as well as "specialised equipping" of the special forces in the Army, IAF and Navy is part of an ongoing process, sources told TOI.
There are now 10 Para-Special Forces and five Para (Airborne) battalions (each has around 620 soldiers) in the Army, 27 'flights' of around 1,600 Garud commandos in the IAF and over 1,400 marine commandos (Marcos) in the Navy.
A major shortcoming, however, is the lack of a full-fledged Special Operations Command, which would bring the disparate special forces together under a unified command and control structure for planning and executing strategic operations instead of merely tactical ones.
Nevertheless, the creation of a truncated Armed Forces Special Operations Division (AFSOD) has somewhat addressed the issue of "jointness and synergy" among the Para-SF, Garuds and Marcos.
The induction of advanced software-defined radios, including manpack versions, and satellite-communication systems, for instance, have ensured "uninterrupted and seamless" long-range communications for joint operations among the three forces, the sources said.
The special forces already have a wide array of specialised weapons, ranging from Finnish Sako long-range sniper rifles, American M4A1 carbines and Israeli TAR-21 Tavor assault rifles to Swedish Carl Gustaf lightweight rocket launchers, Russian VSS suppressed sniper rifles and Italian Beretta pistols with silencers.
"The induction of loiter munition systems has boosted the precision-targeting capabilities of Para-SF units. Similarly, remotely-piloted aerial vehicles, nano drones, surveillance copters and lightweight drones with FLIR (forward-looking infra-red) payloads have been inducted for advanced short and medium-range surveillance up to 10 km," a source said.
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