NEW DELHI: From new long-range sniper rifles and man-portable anti-tank weapon methods to high-speed underwater scooters and hand-launched micro drones, India continues to progressively modernise its clandestine war arm. But the long-proposed Special Operations Command (SOC), and even its truncated version within the shape of a much smaller directorate, remains to be nowhere on the horizon.
Defence ministry sources on Tuesday mentioned several contracts value "hundreds of crores" have been inked in contemporary months to equip the elite special forces of Army, Indian Air Force (IAF) and Navy with more highly-specialised weaponry and kit from international locations like Finland, Sweden, Italy, Russia, Israel and Germany.
"More attention is being paid to the Special Forces after Para-SF commandos conducted the cross-border surgical strikes on terror launch pads in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir in September 2016," mentioned a supply.
Contracts for brand spanking new Finnish Sako sniper rifles, Swedish Carl Gustaf Mark-4 gentle weight rocket-launchers, Italian Beretta pistols with silencers, as an example, have been inked for the Army's present 9 Para-SF battalions.
Navy's nearly 1,000 marine commandos or "Marcos" are inducting Russian VSS suppressed sniper rifles, air-droppable rubberised inflatable boats, remotely-operated underwater cars for explosive disposal, combat free-fall parachutes, hands-free power ascenders and opposed boarding equipment. Marcos are slated to get two "midget submarines" or "chariots" under a Rs 2,017 crore undertaking.
Even as IAF is raising 12 new "flights" of Garud commandos to add to the prevailing 15 flights with 900 group of workers, the drive is earmarked to induct new sniper rifles, thermal attractions, breaching ammunition and the like. "They have already inducted 65 micro-UAVs under a Rs 27 crore contract," mentioned an legitimate.
But SOC stays missing in action. Several committees, together with the Naresh Chandra Taskforce in May 2012, strongly recommended the SOC to carry in combination disparate special forces under a unified command and control structure to execute strategic operations in tune with nationwide safety targets.
A 2012-2013 proposal for a tri-service SOC used to be sooner or later whittled down to a smaller Special Operations Directorate, Defence Space Agency and Defence Cyber Agency, which is but to be authorized.
Defence ministry sources on Tuesday mentioned several contracts value "hundreds of crores" have been inked in contemporary months to equip the elite special forces of Army, Indian Air Force (IAF) and Navy with more highly-specialised weaponry and kit from international locations like Finland, Sweden, Italy, Russia, Israel and Germany.
"More attention is being paid to the Special Forces after Para-SF commandos conducted the cross-border surgical strikes on terror launch pads in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir in September 2016," mentioned a supply.
Contracts for brand spanking new Finnish Sako sniper rifles, Swedish Carl Gustaf Mark-4 gentle weight rocket-launchers, Italian Beretta pistols with silencers, as an example, have been inked for the Army's present 9 Para-SF battalions.
Navy's nearly 1,000 marine commandos or "Marcos" are inducting Russian VSS suppressed sniper rifles, air-droppable rubberised inflatable boats, remotely-operated underwater cars for explosive disposal, combat free-fall parachutes, hands-free power ascenders and opposed boarding equipment. Marcos are slated to get two "midget submarines" or "chariots" under a Rs 2,017 crore undertaking.
Even as IAF is raising 12 new "flights" of Garud commandos to add to the prevailing 15 flights with 900 group of workers, the drive is earmarked to induct new sniper rifles, thermal attractions, breaching ammunition and the like. "They have already inducted 65 micro-UAVs under a Rs 27 crore contract," mentioned an legitimate.
But SOC stays missing in action. Several committees, together with the Naresh Chandra Taskforce in May 2012, strongly recommended the SOC to carry in combination disparate special forces under a unified command and control structure to execute strategic operations in tune with nationwide safety targets.
A 2012-2013 proposal for a tri-service SOC used to be sooner or later whittled down to a smaller Special Operations Directorate, Defence Space Agency and Defence Cyber Agency, which is but to be authorized.
Elite special forces of Army, IAF, Navy get major weapons upgrade
![Elite special forces of Army, IAF, Navy get major weapons upgrade]()
Reviewed by Kailash
on
July 19, 2018
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