India's National Magazine
From the publishers of THE HINDU

Vol. 16 :: No. 01 :: Jan. 02 - 15, 1999

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DEFENCE

War games

JOHN CHERIAN

SIXTY THOUSAND troops led by 4,500 junior commissioned officers and 1,800 officers participated in the 'Shiv-Shakti' exercises conducted in late November and December. The exercises, the biggest after Operation Brasstacks, were held 150 km away from the Indo-Pakistan border. The Army exercises were conducted in close coordination with the Air Force exercise, code-named Gajraj. The Army, the Navy and the Air Force also held tri-service amphibious exercises called 'TriAmph-98' off the western coast in November. According to Defence Ministry sources, the naval exercises showed that a brigade-size force can be lifted along with its heavy equipment into a hostile zone at short notice.

Six hundred tanks and 400 heavy artillery guns were deployed for the war games. The Indian forces were divided into 'Blue Land' and 'Red Land'. The Air Officer Command in Chief of the South-Western Air Command (SWAC), Air Marshal S. Krishnaswamy, told mediapersons that the exercises were the closest replication of an actual war.

COURTESY: MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
Ajeya tanks take part in an Army exercise, code-named 'Shiv-Shakti'.

The Defence Ministry said that the exercises were conducted to evaluate conventional military concepts. A host of new technologies, especially in the communications field, have been introduced after Operation Brasstacks. According to it, force multipliers like surveillance radars, unmanned air vehicles, very high frequency transmission systems and secrecy devices, were tested. The Army version of the Prithvi was factored in. Mock exercises to combat a nuclear/biological/chemical attack were conducted in keeping with the post-Pokhran II reality. (The T-72 Ajeya tanks activate their sensors to detect gamma rays released by a nuclear blast. The T-72 tanks get sealed automatically as soon as the sensors detect radioactive air.)

The Air Force played a pivotal role in the exercises. According to a senior Air Force official, 125 combat aircraft and 30 transport planes and helicopters participated in the exercises. Top-flight combat planes such as the Su-30s and Mig-27s were put into action. The plan was to organise 2,200 sorties, but the Indian Air Force performed 2,300 sorties. Initially only 260 sorties were planned in support of the Army, but the final figure was 500. Nearly 300 pilots, 2,300 technical and support staff and an operational crew numbering 1,300 participated in the exercises.

Unlike the Army, the Air Force said that its exercise was a "routine annual exercise", the basic aim of which was to train personnel in "a war-like situation". One-third of the pilots who participated were comparatively junior pilots. The Air Force believes that this kind of exposure is crucial for them. Many of the combat formations were led by junior pilots. The recent exercises were important for the Air Force also because this was the first major exercise after the SWAC moved to Gandhinagar from Jodhpur and the operational and functional commands had to be tested. According to sources in the Air Force, the exercises have helped the command staff in terms of logistics and maintenance support.

A senior Air Force officer said that it was the largest exercise so far for the Su-30s. The plane was extensively tested for day and night operations. The rate of rotations was very high, its endurance and range were tested to the limits. The Su-30s operated from Ozar in Karnataka and struck at targets deep in Rajasthan. According to the official, the Su-30s maintained a 100 per cent serviceability record throughout the exercises. The overall percentage, with all the aircraft put together, was 95 per cent, which he said was exceptionally high.

More than 250 night attacks were conducted. Both attack and air defence were tested. A large number of helicopters were tested at night. Significantly, the exercises ended with the actual delivery of live weapons at various ranges in Rajasthan and Gujarat. This was done to test the weapons delivery capabilities in an operational mission and various possibilities in the field of electronic warfare. Infra-red shafts and flayers were used as shields against heat-seeking missiles.

COURTESY: MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
A target destroyed in aerial bombing by Su-30s as part of the IAF's recent exercise.

The exercises provided an opportunity to test extensively techniques of airborne reconnaissance during day and night. These flights were used for mission planning and targeting.

There was also close coordination between the Air Force and the Army. There were air-borne commando attacks, many of which were conducted at night. Air cover was provided for armoured battalions; besides, logistical support was provided in the form of transport planes and helicopters. It was an example of "force integration" in practice.

The exercise was fully computerised. Computers were used not only for inventory, management and support services, but for air space management and missile safety. Computers played a crucial role in flight safety as 40-odd aircraft flew within the radius of a few kilometres.

Computers were also used for mission analysis. Results from the data generated by 2,300 sorties could be analysed at a fast rate.