The Indian army is working on a number of key tech-driven projects within the framework of battlefield situational awareness and Network-centric warfare.
The critical overhaul includes upgrading the artillery combat command and control system (ACCCS) with highly accurate defence series maps, and a new situational awareness module for the army (SAMA). The key element of army modernization includes the new battlefield surveillance system.
This is evident as the Army is observing 2023 as the ‘Year of Transformation’ and these projects aim to “reshape and re-engineer” the functional processes and bring in a “quantum jump” in its capabilities.
What are these top five critical projects?
Project Sanjay
The objective of Project Sanjay is to have a Battlefield Surveillance System which seeks to create a number of surveillance centres for the field formations.
‘Project Sanjay’ aims to integrate a large number of sensors. The main element of ‘Project Sanjay’ is to provide an integrated surveillance picture to commanders and staff at all levels, besides completing the sensor-shooter grid by integrating it with the ACCCS (Artillery Combat Command and Control and Communication System).
Project Sanjay has already undergone a series of trials in plains, deserts, and mountains. Bharat Electronics Limited, Ghaziabad, is the project’s system integrator which will implement it at various surveillance centres across India.
Project E-Sitrep
Project E-Sitrep Situational Reporting Over Enterprise-Class GIS Platform (E-Sitrep) will take care of all operational correspondences in the Army.
Reports suggest situational reporting will start happening on an enterprise-class GIS platform configured for the army’s operational needs.
The system will be first operationalised in the army’s operationally critical Northern Command in June 2023. with the other commands migrating to it later.
High-Frequency Man Packed Software Defined Radio
A Project Sanction Order (PSO) for the development of a prototype of Frequency Man Packed Software Defined Radio (HFSDR) under Make II scheme has been issued to 14 Developing Agencies (DAs).
300 HFSDRs are planned to be procured by the Indian Army, on successful development of the prototype. State-of-the-art, lightweight HFSDR will provide long-distance radio communication through enhanced data capability and bandwidth coupled with enhanced security.
It will also facilitate blue-force tracking with map-based navigation using GIS, thereby increasing real-time situational awareness. These radio sets will replace the existing HF radio sets in the inventory, which has limited data handling capability and obsolete technology.
Project Anumann
One of the key projects under the aegis of the Indian army is Project Anuman. Project Anumann is being developed for providing accurate weather forecasts to the army’s deployments along the High Altitudes Areas (HAA).
Project Anumaan It is an application made in collaboration with National Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF) for receiving customised products for high-resolution weather forecasts for its components along the Northern borders.
Project INDRA INDRA stands for Indian Army Data Repository and Analytics. The application enables the collection, compilation and extraction of data and information for statistical analysis to various stakeholders, as per their role and charter.
Project SAMA
The decision support mechanism called Situational Awareness Module for the Army (SAMA) is one of the critical projects of the Indian army. The project is an in-house decision support system, developed in partnership with Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geoinformatics (BISAG-N), an autonomous scientific society under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
SAMA has successfully integrated inputs from ACCCS, battlefield surveillance system, e-Sitrep and other systems. The Army will soon validate it through field trials which involve a comprehensive battlefield picture for the military commanders.