The Author is Former Director General of Information Systems and A Special Forces Veteran, Indian Army

In the recently concluded Army Commanders Conference in New Delhi during April 2024, it was decided to explore the feasibility of creating a tailor-made organisation to function as "adversarial force" to carry out realistic wargaming and training as part of overall efforts to enhance the force's combat prowess to deal with future security challenges. It was also decided to revise the force's human resource management policy to make it more innovative towards meeting the requirements of a tech-enabled future-ready Indian Army.

The organisational and procedural transformation is planned to ensure induction and absorption of niche technology towards futuristic capability development with a focus on self-reliance. The innovative potential of the Army Design Bureau is to be upscaled and separate cells of the bureau established at command headquarters to achieve this.

Indian Army inducted the 'Akashteer Command and Control Systems' into its Corps of Army Air Defence with the flagging off of the first batch of Control Centres

An Army statement said, "To further bolster the initiative, the option of creating a separate fund head will be explored. In addition, test bed brigades/formations will be nominated to ensure greater efficiency and continuity in trials and finalisation of trial reports. Moreover, to ensure lifetime support, future procurements will include aspects catering for holistic sustenance requirements during contract finalisation stage."

The Army Commanders also decided to explore more opportunities to collaborate with other ministries to optimally utilise resources and synergise efforts for enhanced capability building and infrastructure development in border areas. A wide array of security-related aspects, including ongoing transformation initiatives, leveraging technology and innovation for capability development, enhancing operational preparedness, addressing emerging security and HR-related issues were brainstormed in the conference.

The system's Control Centres, designed to be vehicle-based and mobile, can maintain operational capabilities even in challenging communication environments

The Indian Army has declared the year 2024 as the 'Year of Tech Absorption' for undertaking various initiatives to induct niche technology and systems in its inventory; towards enhancing India's defence capabilities. As part of this programme, the Indian Army on April 4, 2024 inducted the 'Akashteer Command and Control Systems' into its Corps of Army Air Defence with the flagging off of the first batch of Control Centres from Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Ghaziabad.

Developed by BEL, the indigenous Akashteer project is poised to significantly enhance the operational efficiency and integration of the Army Air Defence (AAD) mechanism. The Akashteer Project is a cutting-edge initiative designed to automate Air Defence Control and Reporting (AD C&R) processes by digitising the entire process.

By integrating radar and communication systems at all levels into a unified network, Akashteer aims to deliver an unprecedented level of situational awareness and control. This will enable swift engagement of hostile targets, significantly reduce the risk of fratricide, and ensure the safety of friendly aircraft in contested airspace. A noteworthy aspect of Akashteer is its emphasis on mobility and resilience. The system's Control Centres, designed to be vehicle-based and mobile, can maintain operational capabilities even in challenging communication environments.

Induction of Akashteer Control Centres is one of the major milestones achieved by the Indian Army on its Path to Transformation that will meet the current and futuristic requirements of complex air defence operations

India faces multiple air threats; enemy aircraft, unarmed aerial systems in large numbers, missiles of various kinds and capabilities, rockets and artillery shells. Efficient air defence systems are a 24x7 requirement, not during wartime alone, as proved on numerous occasions, some examples of which are as under:

• On December 17, 1995, a Russian plane with a Latvian crew and passengers that included a British arms dealer and a Danish smuggler flew over West Bengal, dropped 2,500 AK-47 weapons and 1,500,000 rounds of ammunition over five villages in the Purulia district and then proceeded to Thailand.
• During 1998, mysterious bright objects were periodically observed over the Saltoro Range in the Siachen area. These objects were quite close to the Earth's surface, at times stationary before moving on. A fact-finding team of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) sent to the glacier could not come to a conclusion.
• On November 29, 2023, flight operations at Imphal's Bir Tikendrajit International Airport in Manipur were affected for several hours after an Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) was seen hovering above the airport. IAF fighter jets sent to probe the object were unsuccessful.
• In recent years, there have been at least three instances of a loud mysterious sound being heard in certain parts of Bengaluru, triggering speculations of whether they were sonic boom. In November 2021, the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre confirmed reports of a sound associated with mild vibrations by local residents and said the data was analysed from the seismic observatories for any seismic signatures during the same period and no such indication was found. Similar instances of a mystery sound being heard in parts of Bengaluru were reported in July 2021 and May 2020.

Induction of Akashteer Control Centres is one of the major milestones achieved by the Indian Army on its Path to Transformation that will meet the current and futuristic requirements of complex air defence operations. The system will facilitate the achievement of complete automation of air defence operations and significantly enhance the air defence posture of India.