IndianTiger
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After Pakistan missile
test, India flexes muscle Apr 19, 2011, 11.48pm IST TNN [ Rajat Pandit ] NEW DELHI: Diplomatic re-
engagement may have begun
afresh but both sides are
keeping their powder dry.
The 1.13-million strong Indian
Army is honing its war- fighting machinery with a
major combat exercise,
codenamed Vijayee Bhava'' (Be Victorious), in the
Thar desert to practice high tempo'' operations to cut
across the border. Squeamish for long with
India's pro-active conventional war strategy'',
or what is colloquially dubbed
the cold start'' doctrine, Pakistan in turn test-fired a
new nuclear-capable ballistic
missile Hatf-IX on Tuesday. Given that Hatf-IX has a strike
range of only 60 km, it is
clearly intended for
brandishing as a battlefield nuclear weapon'' to deter
Indian armoured forces from
launching rapid thrusts into its
territory. Pakistan already has the long and medium range Shaheen
and Ghauri series of missiles,
acquired with help of China
and North Korea, to act as the
delivery mechanism for
strategic nuclear weapons,'' said a senior Indian official. So, with this new missile, Islamabad seems to be
looking at tactical nuclear
deterrence against advancing
enemy formations. But it is
being foolhardy if it thinks
nuclear weapons are war- fighting weapons,'' he added. India, of course, has its own
nuclear and missile plans. It
may be steadfast about
adhering to a no first-use'' of nuclear weapons but has
made it amply clear that a
nuclear retaliation to a first
strike will be massive and designed to inflict
unacceptable damage''. The Vijayee Bhava'' exercise, of course, is more
conventional in nature, even
though the combat
manoeuvres may be
simulated under a NBC (nuclear, chemical, biological)
overhang''. The exercise, which will enter
its peak phase in early-May, is
being primarily conducted by
the armoured corps-intensive
2 Corps, considered to be the
most crucial of Army's three principal strike'' formations tasked with virtually cutting
Pakistan into two during a
full-fledged war, said sources. Incidentally, the 2 Corps based
in Ambala is aptly called the
`Kharga Corps', taking its
name and formation sign
from the deadly scythe
wielded by Goddess Kali to vanquish enemies. In 2009, the 2 Corps had conducted the `Hind Shakti'
exercise to fine-tune the pro-
active strategy, which is all
about mobilizing fast and
hitting hard at several border
points to catch the enemy unawares and gain
momentum,'' said a source. The `Vijayee Bhava' exercise, which will also include
elements from other Western
Army Command (WAC)
formations like the Jalandhar-
based 11 Corps, will further
validate operational concepts,'' he added. With hundreds of tanks,
artillery guns and over 30,000
soldiers, the exercise geared
for network-centric operations'' will see the
extensive use of satellite
imagery, helicopter-borne
surveillance systems, spy
drones and a wide array of
land-based radars to achieve battlefield transparency''. As reported by TOI earlier,
after Operation Parakram in
2002 took almost a month to
reach D-Day readiness, India
has reorganized Army
formations all along the western front to enable a
more swift and powerful
offensive punch. It was under this overall plan
that the South-Western
Command (SWAC) was
created at Jaipur in 2005 as the
Army's sixth operational
command. With the Mathura- based 1 `Strike' Corps and
Bhatinda-based 10 `Pivot'
Corps under it, SWAC is
responsible for offensive
operations on the western
front in conjunction with the Western Army Command
(Chandimandir), which
controls the 2 `Strike' Corps. The Northern and Southern
Army Commands, with the
latter having the Bhopal-based
21 `Strike' Corps, at Udhampur
and Pune respectively, will of
course also play a crucial part in the event of a war but it
will be SWAC and WAC which
will assume the pivotal roles. Moreover, both the western
and southwestern commands
of IAF have also stepped up
coordination with the
different Army commands in
the western theatre to synergize efforts to build an integrated and organic'' air-
land war-fighting machinery.
test, India flexes muscle Apr 19, 2011, 11.48pm IST TNN [ Rajat Pandit ] NEW DELHI: Diplomatic re-
engagement may have begun
afresh but both sides are
keeping their powder dry.
The 1.13-million strong Indian
Army is honing its war- fighting machinery with a
major combat exercise,
codenamed Vijayee Bhava'' (Be Victorious), in the
Thar desert to practice high tempo'' operations to cut
across the border. Squeamish for long with
India's pro-active conventional war strategy'',
or what is colloquially dubbed
the cold start'' doctrine, Pakistan in turn test-fired a
new nuclear-capable ballistic
missile Hatf-IX on Tuesday. Given that Hatf-IX has a strike
range of only 60 km, it is
clearly intended for
brandishing as a battlefield nuclear weapon'' to deter
Indian armoured forces from
launching rapid thrusts into its
territory. Pakistan already has the long and medium range Shaheen
and Ghauri series of missiles,
acquired with help of China
and North Korea, to act as the
delivery mechanism for
strategic nuclear weapons,'' said a senior Indian official. So, with this new missile, Islamabad seems to be
looking at tactical nuclear
deterrence against advancing
enemy formations. But it is
being foolhardy if it thinks
nuclear weapons are war- fighting weapons,'' he added. India, of course, has its own
nuclear and missile plans. It
may be steadfast about
adhering to a no first-use'' of nuclear weapons but has
made it amply clear that a
nuclear retaliation to a first
strike will be massive and designed to inflict
unacceptable damage''. The Vijayee Bhava'' exercise, of course, is more
conventional in nature, even
though the combat
manoeuvres may be
simulated under a NBC (nuclear, chemical, biological)
overhang''. The exercise, which will enter
its peak phase in early-May, is
being primarily conducted by
the armoured corps-intensive
2 Corps, considered to be the
most crucial of Army's three principal strike'' formations tasked with virtually cutting
Pakistan into two during a
full-fledged war, said sources. Incidentally, the 2 Corps based
in Ambala is aptly called the
`Kharga Corps', taking its
name and formation sign
from the deadly scythe
wielded by Goddess Kali to vanquish enemies. In 2009, the 2 Corps had conducted the `Hind Shakti'
exercise to fine-tune the pro-
active strategy, which is all
about mobilizing fast and
hitting hard at several border
points to catch the enemy unawares and gain
momentum,'' said a source. The `Vijayee Bhava' exercise, which will also include
elements from other Western
Army Command (WAC)
formations like the Jalandhar-
based 11 Corps, will further
validate operational concepts,'' he added. With hundreds of tanks,
artillery guns and over 30,000
soldiers, the exercise geared
for network-centric operations'' will see the
extensive use of satellite
imagery, helicopter-borne
surveillance systems, spy
drones and a wide array of
land-based radars to achieve battlefield transparency''. As reported by TOI earlier,
after Operation Parakram in
2002 took almost a month to
reach D-Day readiness, India
has reorganized Army
formations all along the western front to enable a
more swift and powerful
offensive punch. It was under this overall plan
that the South-Western
Command (SWAC) was
created at Jaipur in 2005 as the
Army's sixth operational
command. With the Mathura- based 1 `Strike' Corps and
Bhatinda-based 10 `Pivot'
Corps under it, SWAC is
responsible for offensive
operations on the western
front in conjunction with the Western Army Command
(Chandimandir), which
controls the 2 `Strike' Corps. The Northern and Southern
Army Commands, with the
latter having the Bhopal-based
21 `Strike' Corps, at Udhampur
and Pune respectively, will of
course also play a crucial part in the event of a war but it
will be SWAC and WAC which
will assume the pivotal roles. Moreover, both the western
and southwestern commands
of IAF have also stepped up
coordination with the
different Army commands in
the western theatre to synergize efforts to build an integrated and organic'' air-
land war-fighting machinery.
