Josy Joseph

Brawn. Or brain?

Or a judicious mix of the two?

The third option seems to be the smartest. Especially if you are talking about an army. You need brawn and brain to win a war. And both to prevent one.

Before we proceed, a clarification: we use the term 'brain' loosely. 'Brain', as in technology. Stuff that will help an army stay on top.

That is even more crucial if you are on terrain like the Kargil sector. For instance, had India had unmanned aerial vehicles or powerful satellite imaging facilities...

But no, that is all water under the bridge. More pertinent is the question: Where does the Indian military stand now in terms of technology?

Even as you read this, some 18,000 soldiers are strung 150km along the Line of Control in Kargil. Before Operation Vijay, the army had less than 3,500 personnel there.

The terrain, inhospitable even in summer, is killing in winter. But after last year's intrusion, the Indian soldier has no option but stand guard. Physically. Even in sub-zero temperatures. Even at 18,000 feet.

That's the bad news. The good news is that he won't have to freeze up there for all times to come. Next winter, with a little bit of luck, he will have some help.

"Right now we are still in the process of obtaining surveillance equipment," says Major General Mohinder Puri, who commands the 8 Mountain Division. Together with the 3 Infantry Division, General Puri's men are in charge of the LoC in Kargil.

"You can cut down the number of men [at high altitude posts]," he agrees. "That is our ultimate aim."

General Puri isn't sure whether this will happen by next winter. But inquiries in other quarters reveal that it can: The army is now negotiating for a whole lot of gizmos, including thermal imaging devices, medium-range radars, sophisticated grenade launchers and unmanned aerial vehicles.

"By seeking things like radars, remote-piloted vehicles and high-resolution satellite imaging, which are not on the army's inventory, he was asking for the moon," Major General V S Budhwar, the former commanding officer of 3 Infantry Division, had said of the controversial Brigadier Surinder Singh. The Kargil intrusion had taken place when Brigadier Singh had manned the Kargil sector under Budhwar's supervision.

The demand for UAVs, remote-controlled planes with cameras for surveillance, hadn't started with Brigadier Singh. Together with the plan to acquire weapon-locating radars and various other sophisticated equipment, it has been pending before the Union defence ministry. An enemy intrusion, however, has now pushed it into the realm of the achievable.

"After the conflict the Indian Army carried out field tests of UAVs in Jammu sector," a reliable army source reveals.

Late in 1997 India had bought 16 UAVs from Israel. The bill, two control towers for the 'birds' included, was Rs 1 billion. However, these can only operate under 10,000 feet and, hence, were not suited for the terrain in Kargil.

"The UAVs," comments an irritated army official, "were to have been deployed extensively along the Pakistan and China border. There is someone responsible for buying birds which cannot fly above 10,000 feet, when most of our border has peaks higher than that."

Now India has approached the Israel Aircraft Industry for an upgraded version. "We need birds that can operate between 15,000 and 18,000 feet," army officials point out.

Interestingly, Pakistan uses UAVs extensively. In early 1997, the Indian Air Force had detected some 16 UAV incursions along the Rajasthan border.

A year ago, India had bought 208 handheld thermal imaging systems for the infantry, and 56 battlefield surveillance radars for the artillery from Israel. The price was Rs 800 million.

The agreement had the clause that the seller would provide technology for the equipment. But now the army has found that the transfer of technology would "take time".

To make up, it plans to buy 160 handheld imaging systems that will, using indicators like body heat, be able to detect the enemy several kilometres away. It is negotiating with Thomas CSF of France.

"But the price is exorbitant," says a defence watcher. "About Rs 400 million." This, he adds, is because the army goes for 'single vendor purchases'.

"After Kargil [conflict], the army has become the final arbitrator of all deals," he clarifies.

More than the UAVs, radars and modern weaponry, what would make a phenomenal impact on the army's capability is satellite imaging. The United States was the first to start unmanned passive military satellite programmes.

Then it was the defunct Union of Soviet Socialist Republics' turn. It diverted some of its satellites that were already in orbit for surveillance in 1963. By then two US spy satellites were operational.

Hundreds of satellites have orbited the earth on military missions since. China alone is believed to have launched 12 satellites between 1970 and 1980, just for military photo missions.

Some of these carry equipment to observe moving objects. These do not actually scan the area, but `stare' continuously at a place, rejecting automatically any non-changing sources of energy.

What India has today is just the basics for military missions. Of the INSAT and Indian Remote Sensing family of satellites which it has in orbit, only the latter is designed to study terrain. The resolution it is capable of is only 5.8 metres. Which means that anything less than 5.8 metres across will not be discernible in the images.

"Nothing less than the size of a Maruti van can be photographed," an army official says. His counterpart in the Indian Space and Research Organisation adds, "We cannot see individual or even human movements. Visibility is a major issue."

Compare this with the one-metre resolution that American satellites are capable of. Post-Kargil, army officers say that India is negotiating to buy images from the United States. Pakistan is reported to be already tapping this open market.

In the next four years, however, the Indian defence forces would have their own dedicated satellite, according to Lieutenant General Prakash Gokarn, signal officer commanding in chief. The army has nine transponders on INSAT 3B as of now.

"We expect to increase the number of transponders to 17 with the launch of the dedicated satellite," a defence official says. "Eight transponders on the military satellite would be for the army and the rest for the air force and navy."

The army also proposes to induct 400 mobile satellite communication systems using INSAT 3B this year. The move will put its signal network on a firm footing. This needs to be seen in the light of the Kargil Review Committee's criticism that India fought the Pakistani intrusion under "less than optimum communication capabilities".

But no technological advance, says General Puri, can completely eliminate human presence at the border. "The reaction to the enemy actions has always to be done by physical force. And for that you need troops acclimatised to the heights in which they have to operate," he explains.

He adds, "So if we have to operate at 16,000 feet, 17,000 feet, then a certain quantum of troops has to be acclimatised and be prepared for any contingency."

The alternative is that India get smarter technology. Technology like unmanned combat air vehicles that can launch attacks by remote control.

But as of now, that really would be asking for the moon.