Source : Indian Defence Analysis
Indian Army finally going forward with integrated Battlefield Management Systems (BMS) for Battlefield Supremacy
For Indian Army, the year 2023 is going to be the year of transformation where the Information Technology & advance situational awareness will play a vital role. The Army has set itself on a course of transformation and is working on creating a battlefield surveillance system to provide a composite operational picture to commanders and staffers at all levels for swifter decision-making.
In order to achieve the battlefield supremacy, Indian Army has launched multiple projects around which we will be discussing.
SITUATIONAL AWARENESS MODULE FOR THE ARMY (SAMA)
The Army’s Combat Information Decision Support System (CIDSS) is now called the Army Information and Decision Support System (AIDSS). The system is designed to integrate inputs from all operational, logistical, and managerial information systems to present a comprehensive picture to commanders at all levels on click of a button.
SAMA is being fielded this month for validation in one of the corps. The aim is to set AIDSS rolling in two years.
REPORTING OVER ENTERPRISE-CLASS GIS PLATFORM (E-SITREP)
E-SITREP is operationally very important. It will be “state-of-the-art spatial visualization, temporal and dynamic querying and analytics custom-built for commanders and staff”. From June 2023, the situational reporting will commence on an enterprise-class GIS platform. The Northern Command in Udhampur will be early adopters of it followed by other commands.
ARMY’S OWN GATISHAKTI (AVAGAT)
Inspired by the PM Gatishakti, the Indian Army has begun building a similar project that will bring in “multi domain spatial awareness on a single GIS platform,”. The concept will be readied in phases and initially, the project named Avagat will bring together information from operational areas, logistics, satellite imagery data, maps and weather-related information on one platform. This should be ready by end-2023.
Project ANUMAAN
Project Anumaan is aimed to enhance accuracy of long-range weapons as well as helping troops deployed in harsh terrains on the northern borders with China.
The Artillery systems of Indian Army needs weather report to maintain accuracy. Data from National Centre for Medium range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF) has helped the artillery and the collaboration has led to the development of an application called Anuman. The Army will give NCMRWF information of the situation along the northern borders and receive high resolution weather forecasts.
ARTILLERY COMBAT COMMAND CONTROL AND COMMUNICATION SYSTEM (A4CS)
The Army’s oldest and most successful operational information system is A4CS. This system is also undergoing upgrade with migration to defence series maps and use of artificial intelligence under Project Shakti.
PROJECT SANJAY (BATTLEFIELD SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM)
The Army’s Battlefield Surveillance System is being built under ‘Project Sanjay’. Bharat Electronics will be the lead systems integrator. The BMS will enable integration of hundreds of sensors to provide a composite operational picture for commanders and army personnel at all levels. It seeks to create multiple surveillance centers for the field formations and enable the integration of a large number of sensors. It will also integrate with the A4CS. The Army’s Project Sanjay is ready, and tests were carried out in the plains, desert, and mountains between August and October in 2022.
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