- 2 months ago
In this Battle Cry special broadcast, the focus is on the Indian Army's push to be future combat ready following Operation Sindoor. The discussion centres on new fighting formations announced by the Chief of the Army Staff, which include the Rudra All Arms Brigade, and the Bhairav Light Commando Battalion, an elite special forces unit.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Hello and a very warm welcome to a special edition of the Battle Cry. I'm Gaurav Savin.
00:21Post-Operation Sindur, when the Indian Armed Forces, in their strongest response yet to
00:27Pakistan state-sponsored radical Islamist terror, hit 13 plus Pakistani air bases, radar stations
00:34and nine terrorist training camps, launch pads, including the headquarters of Lashkar-e-Taiba
00:40and Jaish-e-Muhammad at Mureed Kent Bahawalpur. For the first time ever, a decision has been put
00:46in place to have the armed forces be future combat ready. Now, how are the armed forces
00:54gearing up for future combat? The forces remain deployed along the northern borders, that's
01:00the India-Tibet boundary and the western borders, the line of control, the actual ground position
01:06line and the India-Pakistan border. Today, on this special broadcast, we will talk about
01:12how the forces are being made future ready. For example, we will talk about the Rudra All-Arms
01:19Brigade, the Bhairav Light Commando Battalion, a drone platoon that will be integral to every
01:27battalion, the Divyastra battery integral to the fighting formations on the front lines
01:32and the big Swadeshi push in the army air defence with their war cry, Akash-e-Shatran-Jahi, which
01:43literally translates into shoot the enemy, shoot and destroy the enemy in the air or kill the enemy
01:48in the sky. Like we saw Pakistani drones and their incoming missiles and their aircraft being
01:56decimated during Operation Sindhu. So joining me on this India Today's special broadcast
02:02is Lieutenant General KJS Dhillon, former Director General of Defense Intelligence Agency and former
02:08Kashmir core commander. And also my privilege to have on this broadcast, Lieutenant General Sanjay
02:12Kulkarni, former Director General of Infantry and General Kulkarni, had planted the first tricolor
02:18on the Syachin glacier at its northernmost point as part of Operation Meghdoot in 1984. But before I
02:27come to our guests and understand how these integrated battle group concepts are coming together for
02:35future battles, let's listen in to General Upendra Dvivedi, the Chief of the Army Staff on the 26th
02:42Chargill Vijay Divas, giving us broad details about how the Army is being made, future battle ready.
02:49आज की भारती से न, न केवर वरत्मान चुनोतियों का सफलता पूर्वरक सामना कर रहे ही,
02:56बलकि हम नित्ति प्रति दिन एक परिवर्तन शील, आधुनिक और भविश उन्मुक्ष शक्ति के रूप में तेजी से अग्रसर हो रहे हैं।
03:05इसके अंतरगत, रुत्रग के रूप में नई All Arms Brigade का गठन किया जा रहा है, जिसका सैंक्शन मैंने कल ही दिया है।
03:13जिसमें Infantry, Mechanized Infantry, Armored Units, Artillery, Special Forces, Unmanned Aerial System जैसे Fighting Components को एक साथ रखा जाएगा और विशेश रूप से तियार किया जाएगा जिसमें शामिल लॉजिस्टिक सपोर्ट और Combat सपोर्ट हो गया।
03:30इसी क्रम में भैरव, Light Commando Battalion के रूप में एजाईर और घातर, Special Forces का गठन किया गया है, जो सिमाओ पर शत्र को चौकाने के लिए हमेशा तियार है।
03:43हर Infantry Battalion में ड्रोंस प्लेटून का गठन किया गया है, वहीं आर्टिल्री में शक्तिबान रिज्मेंट बनाई गई है, जो ड्रोन और काउंटर ड्रोन एक्किप्मेंट और लॉइटर म्यूनिशन के साथ लैस होगी।
03:55हर रिज्मेंट में एक दिव्यास बैटरी भी बनाई गई है, जो कंपोजिट बैटरी होगी और इनी समानों से लैस होगी।
04:03इन चीजों के मद्दे नजर हमारी मारक शम्ता अब आने वाले दिनों में कई गुना बढ़ जाएगी।
04:09उसी प्रकार से, आमी एर डिफेंस को स्वधेशी मिजाईल सिस्टम से एक्विप किया जा रहा है।
04:14हम पूरी तरह से तियार हैं कि भारत की सौवी सौसंचता वर्षगांट तक याने विक्सित भारत का सपना साकार करें।
04:24So on battle cry, let's dive deeper and talk about for example the Rudra All Arms Brigade first.
04:32The army says the Rudra All Arms Brigade integrates various combat elements and support elements into one single cohesive formation for rapid deployment and for versatile operations.
04:45So it's designed to enhance combat readiness and adaptability and it could be any kind of a battlefield, it could be high altitude, it could be the Siachen battle, the actual ground position line,
04:58the 770 kilometer long line of control, it could be in depth areas, it could be along the burning deserts in Rajasthan, the plains of Punjab or the marshland in Gujarat.
05:11The composition, it includes the infantry, it includes the mechanized infantry, both tracked and wheeled, armored units.
05:19So it will have its tanks, the artillery, the 155mm, how it does and now it will also have the Shaktiban unit because drones are becoming integral to combat.
05:32They are the disruptive future formations, the disruptive technology that's coming into combat.
05:38The unmanned aerial systems and the counter US systems and these will be supported by dedicated logistics and combat support structures all living and operating together making it a self-sufficient unit for swift and multi-axis offensive.
05:57What's the purpose?
05:58To operationalize the Indian Army's cold start doctrine and during the course of the battle cry, we will tell you about why there was a need for cold start doctrine and the integrated battle group concept.
06:09So that there's rapid technology driven response to the threat that India faces.
06:15So it's modular multi-domain conflict, it's combining digitalization, automation, precision to data and to respond to a wide range of threats.
06:26And it's not just being thought off.
06:29Two existing infantry brigades have already been converted into Rudra brigades and deployed along the borders both with Pakistan and to deal with the threat on our northern borders with China.
06:43The composition, it may be based on very specific duties and operational requirements but work has already started and let's now break this down.
06:52General Dhillan, your take on the Rudra Brigade, is this refining that integrated battle group concept and you studied the cold start doctrine and the IBGs very closely sir.
07:06Good evening, Gaurav and good evening to General Kulkarni and your viewers.
07:11First of all, you know, Rudra Brigade or the All-Arms Brigade or call it an integrated battle group.
07:18We must understand why the need was felt.
07:21The need was felt because the battlefield and the warfare is ever evolving.
07:27And what we've seen in Operation Sindur, a four-day war happened between two nuclear powers without even a single person crossing the international boundary or line of control.
07:38So, this is a new phase of battle, battlefield of future.
07:42So, coming back to the All-Arms Brigade or integrated battle group.
07:46In earlier concept, 10, 15, 20 years ago when we were youngsters, there used to be an infantry or armored brigade.
07:53And during the exercises or during the training period or just before the actual operations, the artillery component, the infantry component, the mechanized component, you know, and the logistics components would come and join up and the brigade will go into battle.
08:11Now, with today's threat, which is existing on the battlefield, is multi-domain.
08:17You have a direct threat from the infantry and mechanized and armored weapons.
08:22You have aerial threats from drones, the missiles, and the aircrafts, and the attack of helicopters.
08:29So, when the threat is multi-domain, your protection of the composite brigades has to be multi-domain.
08:36And their ability to perform the task in any terrain has to be specific to that mission.
08:43Therefore, the need was felt to have the brigade's component or composite so that during this time, they stay together, they train together, they play together, and the homogeneity is better.
08:54So that when they go to the battlefield, it is not that just prior to going into battle, in the forward assembly area, someone walks up to you and says, sir, I am your RTOPE.
09:03So, this cohesiveness will be better off.
09:06And for commanders, it will pay better dividends.
09:09And this will be based on the terrain in which the operations are taking place.
09:14As you very rightly said, it could be search in altitude, the plains, the jungles, the northeast or deserts.
09:20So, based on the terrain, the composition will be mission-specific.
09:24Okay.
09:25Let me now just delve a little into history.
09:28Jen Kulkarni, after Pakistani terrorists attacked the temple of a democracy, our parliament, the then Vajpayee government had ordered the army to strike.
09:39We were told as part of Operation Parakram.
09:42Much later, we learnt that their thinking perhaps was strategic posturing and coerced Pakistan into submission without fighting war.
09:51Now, did that strategy work in your appreciation?
09:54And perhaps that is why we saw the cold start doctrine come into place.
09:59How is this current Rudra Brigade either different from IBG, part of IBG, refinement of IBG?
10:08How does this fit into the cold start doctrine?
10:11Thank you, Gaurav.
10:13Thank you, Gaurav.
10:14And, you know, thank you to Aini also.
10:17It's a great feeling.
10:18First and foremost, you know, the supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without a fight.
10:24That's what it is all about.
10:26And, therefore, when you have Rudra Brigade, an all-armed combat, an all-armed ready Brigade, two of them, I understand, are already, you know, being organized, formed and working well.
10:39And this includes your infantry, your mechanized infantry, your special forces, artillery, armor, all kinds.
10:46Basically, this is new to ensure that they are battle-ready, be able to beat the current challenges.
10:53As, like, Zelens rightly brought out, you don't really know now.
10:58There's hardly any time.
10:59There's no reaction time.
11:00So, until and unless you're ready, which is kind of an all-armed concept, it would make no sense.
11:07And, therefore, they are electric, they are technologically advanced, they have all the dough, they have the anti-dough measure.
11:14So, therefore, they are ready to go into battle and be able to strike and be lethal, be agile, and be able to achieve its aim under any of these saving conditions.
11:25Because, if you have one country, it has varied saving conditions.
11:29You could have high altitude going, as I, 18,000 to 20,000 feet, where a fighting is all, and even desert.
11:35So, in this kind of campaign, we're having an all-armed Brigade, something which is really required.
11:41And, like, Zelens rightly brought out, it was always there as a concept.
11:45But, it was big, organized as in when we required it.
11:48But, now, it will be forming a path.
11:50It's just, you know, it's a part of the WE.
11:53So, you have a Rojo Brigade.
11:54So, you have an all-armed Brigade.
11:56Like, you not only have the Rojo Brigade, you have Bhaira.
12:00Now, basically, they are, you know, even if you look into, they are real, real Shiva form, Hrodra and Bhaira.
12:07And, both of them must be able to deter the enemy.
12:10They must be able to instead fear into the enemy.
12:13And, once you have these two in there, you know what the enemy will also expect to wow.
12:18It's not going to be easy now.
12:20Here, the cannibals fear, that fear of the god has to be filled into the enemy,
12:26so that they don't even attempt to think of wanting to do what they want to do at that point of time.
12:32That's the reality of the Rudra and Bhaira.
12:35So, Lord Shiva, the destroyer, and these are those formations that will destroy the enemy,
12:42should the enemy try and target us by hook or by crook.
12:46And, Dylan, because India had tried multiple confidence-building measures
12:50with a state sponsor of radical Islamist terror, Pakistan,
12:53including having, as a CBM or confidence-building measure,
12:57our strike forces or forces that were to attack the enemy in times of war,
13:02pushed back in the rear area, whether it's Bhopal or Mathura or elsewhere.
13:08Clearly, that didn't work, given your long experience in dealing with Pakistan,
13:13either in a conflict situation or in counter-terror situation.
13:18There can be no confidence-building when the enemy is sworn to kill you
13:23or degrade your warfighting capabilities.
13:26Will these formations help, and in your opinion, how?
13:29Gaurav, you're right.
13:32Pakistan as an enemy has been the most treacherous, you know,
13:37has been the most unreliable or you can't trust,
13:40even after having signed some treaties or understandings with the enemy.
13:44Therefore, it is absolutely correct now to strike at the place and time of own choosing,
13:51and we should be so organized.
13:54That's what Rudra and the Baron battalions would be.
13:57And in any case, in warfare, Sam, Dham, Dhand, Bhej.
14:02Everything is OK. Everything is fair in love and war.
14:06So there should be nothing holding us back,
14:08and we should employ the comprehensive national power onto the enemy
14:14at the time and place of own choosing to achieve the desired results.
14:19Peace-meal application of force dissipates the force,
14:22and the concentrated application of force in terms of integrated battle groups
14:27or the bigger formations, I think will pay dividends.
14:30It's thinking in the right direction and evolving with time
14:34and evolving with the technological advancements
14:37which are happening in warfare and battlefields.
14:40So, am I to understand that these are not just reaction forces?
14:45These are not just forces that are defensive.
14:48Should the balloon go up?
14:50Should there be conflict?
14:51Should, God forbid, Pakistan try and use terror as an instrument of state policy,
14:56General Kulkarni?
14:57These are forces that will advance into enemy territory and hold ground.
15:02Am I to understand that, sir?
15:05To some extent, yes, but otherwise, basically light, lethal,
15:10and to be able to better the enemy.
15:12And once you have moved in, obviously there are other ships to occupy the ground,
15:17that is, but they have the ability to hold down for some time.
15:20But the basic aim is to be light, agile, and to be able to be destructive.
15:26And therefore, you find that the enemy, once these ships have moved in,
15:30that means total destruction wherever they have moved in.
15:33And that is the purpose.
15:35And as you rightly said, Pakistan, it can't be trusted.
15:38Pakistan uses terrorism as a instrument of state policy.
15:41If they're expecting Pakistan to behave itself within the next hundred worlds,
15:45it's impossible, according to me.
15:47Pakistan has to be taught a lesson.
15:49And therefore, it's very important for us to be ready,
15:52and really at very, very short notice.
15:54You know, the challenges are totally different today.
15:57You really don't know who expected Mahal Ghan to happen.
16:00Nobody expected such a thing to happen at that point of time.
16:02And if it were not ready, we would not have been able to have Pakistan on its knees.
16:07So it's very essential.
16:08You have to be ready 24 by 7, 365 days, with all the equipment,
16:13so there is no question of complacency.
16:15Your entire force has to be real.
16:19That will vary at overtime.
16:21And that will sell till Zubazan.
16:23Otherwise, Pakistan is what Pakistan is.
16:26Pakistan, the main what Pakistan is, expecting them to change.
16:29They're asking for moves.
16:30And therefore, they ought to be taught a lesson whenever they desire,
16:33or whenever they use terror in India.
16:36So, let us now shift our focus to the Bhairav Light Commando Battalion.
16:41Now, the Bhairav Light Commando Battalion is an elite special forces unit,
16:46designed specifically for rapid high-impact missions along hostile territory.
16:51It's described as a lethal formation, focused on delivering surprise and shock to adversaries.
16:57Let me give you a little more detail about the Bhairav Light Commando units.
17:04Now, they comprise agile, lightly armed commandos,
17:07trained for very swift infiltration into the hostile territory.
17:12Surveillance to take out vital assets and vital points of the adversary.
17:17Good at hit-and-run tactics.
17:20Not as heavily armed as the traditional special forces,
17:23but according to the government, they're optimized for very specific tasks
17:28that may have been given to inflict as much damage as possible on the enemy,
17:33for regular forces then to move in.
17:36And they intended for a quick strike.
17:38They're intended for quick deployment, rapid deployment,
17:41particularly along the LC and the LAC, should there be a requirement.
17:47What does this do?
17:48It enhances India's ability to conduct surgical strikes, precision strikes and swiftly.
17:55Counter-insurgency operations, once again, they can be used.
17:58And this was a demonstration during Operation Sindur,
18:03where these forces were able to quickly deploy and be used for tasks that had been given to them.
18:10General Dhillan, you were Chinar Corps commander post the Pulwama attack.
18:15Your appreciation of the Bhairav light commando battalion.
18:19And if I may, sir, how are they different from the Ghataks?
18:23And so the Ghatak platoon in every battalion and of course the special forces,
18:28the existing para-special forces, sir?
18:31Gaurav, good you brought out Ghatak also.
18:36Because there have been cases in the past during exercises and trainings,
18:40where the brigade commanders were needing something like this Bhairav battalion.
18:46Since they did not have this, they used to brigade the Ghataks.
18:50That means all three Ghatak platoons of all three battalions used to be clubbed together and made into a brigaded Ghatak.
18:57And that means the strength is about 60-70 now.
19:00And then they would insert it into behind the enemy lines or on special missions.
19:05So the need was always felt to have a lean, mean, and razor-sharp organization or a unit in the formation.
19:15So these Bhairav battalions are going to be the same, lean, mean, and razor-sharp,
19:20with agile volunteer troops pulled in from the regiment.
19:25And they will be working on the concept of sons of soil.
19:29That means boils from the Ladakh region will be deployed as a Bhairav battalion in Ladakh,
19:35similarly for Northeast, for JLK, for Punjab, Haryana, Punjab and then Rajasthan and so on.
19:42The advantage of having the sons of soil who are lightly equipped and who are sharp and who are volunteers,
19:49and who are equipped with, you know, things like drones and other things,
19:53they can operate behind the enemy lines because they know the language,
19:57they know the pattern of the weather, they can live off the land because they have been born and brought up there.
20:04So it's a very good concept. It has been tried in the past, like 10 paras were used in 65 and 71,
20:10going behind the enemy lines, because they had the troops from that region.
20:15Similarly, the sons of soil and light and, you know, perfectly equipped and motivated because they are going to be volunteers.
20:24It's a very good concept that commanders at all levels will be finding this as a force multiplier in their formation,
20:31not only for offensive oppression, even if required for defensive oppression,
20:36where something has to be, some contingency has to be occupied against time.
20:40That's a very interesting point you make.
20:43Yeah, that's a very interesting point you make.
20:45And you all remember the valor of His Highness late Brigida Bhavani Singh,
20:49Mahavir Chakra in the 1971 war.
20:52General Kulkarni, we have the Ghataks, we have our special forces, the sons of the soil concept.
20:59Does that make the Bhairav Battalion, if I may use that word, a game changer in a given situation?
21:08Definitely. Bhairav, you know, they are entirely familiar with the terrain,
21:13which is very, very important to operating in these areas,
21:16deep in high altitude, deep in jungle, deep in desert and any kind of a terrain.
21:21Until and unless they are familiar with the terrain, and that is the most important thing,
21:25can be able to live off the land. And they know the language, and they know the terrain,
21:29they can live off the land, they know the lay of the ground,
21:32they can easily operate and be able to do exactly the task that has been given to them.
21:37Right now, I will not call them ad hoc organizations exist,
21:41but yes, organizations do exist. You have all kinds of…
21:45The home and earth battalions.
21:48Yeah, there are small bodies, larger bodies, there are Bhatak-sakus, everything is there.
21:53All of them now get formalized. Now I have a WWE.
21:57It now has everything, it can operate and be given a task.
22:01They are light, they are lethal, they are aggressive, they know all of it.
22:05And very important in today's circumstances is to know the terrain.
22:10If you know the terrain, you can win anything and anywhere.
22:14If you know the enemy, you know yourself, you know your capabilities,
22:17short enough you will win. There is no question of not winning,
22:20and not being able to win the enemy to its knees.
22:23If this is, it is that what is better.
22:25Light and samanda battalions will help.
22:27Because the para battalions are all become specialized, special forces,
22:31with huge equipment and everything to themselves.
22:33But here they are, lighter and peak, agile, lethal.
22:36And sons of the soil, they know the language, they can live off the land.
22:41Chen, Dylan, you know the last 30 seconds I have on this part of the show,
22:44interesting that drones become an integral at the platoon level.
22:50And that shows the armies keeping up with the times or perhaps staying a step ahead.
22:54Because drones, this disruptive technology has proven to be an absolute game changer.
22:59And we have seen it during Operation Sindur.
23:02Absolutely.
23:03See, you don't have to be keeping in with time.
23:06You have to be one step ahead of time to win the future wars for the nation.
23:11So, you have to have strategically thinking senior officers,
23:16strategically thinking commanders and the soldiers at heart.
23:20So, this is exactly the outcome of that.
23:23We are not only keeping our traditional way of warfighting alive
23:27and the traditional way of homogeneity between the men and the officers alive,
23:31but we are changing in organization, in equipment, in employment and in deployment.
23:36As per the requirements of the times and the lethality which we want to achieve
23:41against the enemy which we have.
23:43So, it's going to be different for the western borders.
23:45It's going to be different for the northern borders.
23:47General Kulkarni.
23:48General Kulkarni.
23:49General Kulkarni.
23:50General Kulkarni.
23:51General Kulkarni.
23:52General Kulkarni.
23:53General Kulkarni.
23:54What is your take on the names?
23:55Rudra Brigade.
23:56Bherav Battalion.
23:57Shaktiban Regiment.
23:58Or Divyastra Battery.
24:01Because in the past, while we had, you know, names like the Rajput Regiment
24:05or Rajputana Rifles or the Jat Regiment, Punjab Regiment, Sikh Regiment, Sikh Light Infantry,
24:11Gurkhas, Marathas, Madras Regiment, all of that were either caste, region,
24:16community-centric.
24:17Then, post-independence, it became Rashtriya Rifles.
24:19Now, when you bring in names like Bherav and Rudra, what is the indication, sir?
24:23Your take on it?
24:24See, God, they instill pride.
24:25They instill that, you know, what would be the fierce moment.
24:27They instill that kind of blood running through you to ensure shock and awe action.
24:31Because you know these are the fierce forms of Shiva.
24:32Both Rudra and Bherav.
24:33And that is what is very important.
24:35Anything that inspires you.
24:36Anything that motivates you.
24:37Anything that instills in you that you can kill the enemy.
24:38That killing instinct has to come.
24:39Okay.
24:40And these things bring in the killing instinct.
24:41And when you say kamikaze, you know that what it means.
24:45If you are saying killer goals, you know what it means.
24:47You are saying suicidal goals.
24:48You know what it means.
24:49And therefore the believer will do the task.
24:50anything that instills in you that you can kill the enemy that killing instinct has to come
24:55and then this game brings the killing instinct and when you say kamikaze drone
25:00you know that what it means if you are saying killer dose you know what it means
25:05you are saying suicidal dose you know what it means and therefore they deliver they do the task
25:09and each man is here to perform because he knows that is what he is there for
25:14okay jendilan your take on these names rudra bhaerav when it comes to a brigade and a battalion
25:24nothing motivates a soldier more than the name of his palton or his regiment
25:30you know and i'm not talking about any religion or inclinations here whatever the name of a unit
25:37or a palton as long as you live up to it you fight for it you die for it i think that is
25:44the motivating factor that is the unifying factors in the army and we have the different
25:49regiments name on regions on religions on caste on your communities and this is another way of
25:56motivating the troops and keeping them agile and alert for any officials i think i'm all for it
26:01i will let that be the last word on this part of the show general kulkarni and general dylan for
26:07joining me here on this battle cry special broadcast many thanks because before i leave you
26:14i want to leave you with these lines of guru gobind singhji that actually inspired the entire war
26:24against tyrants how he fought and fought to the end against tyranny what inspired him
26:33these epic lines that continue to inspire a billion strong nation
26:38de shiva barmo he he shub karman se kapahu na taru na daru vari sohjab jai larau nishchai kar apni jeet karu
26:49Coast Guardos
26:54isaac
27:00isaac
27:03dog
27:05this
27:06this
27:09this
27:11this
27:13this
27:15to
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