Responsible for maintaining the sanctity of the Indo-Pakistan and Sino-Indian borders in the J&K and Ladakh regions, the Indian Army’s Northern Command Headquarters based in Udhampur is unique in terms of fronts, terrain, conditions weather and operational challenges.

While J&K witnesses a real proxy war sponsored by the Pakistani army, the belligerent attitude of the People’s Liberation Army [PLA] in Ladakh shows no signs of slowing down. The Pakistani military has shamelessly armed the terrorists to the teeth and in recent times has also used drones to drop weapons and other war stores to provide them with weapons and equipment to attack the forces of security and civilians. In such an environment where collusion cannot be ruled out, threats and challenges multiply.

In February this year, Indian Army troops carrying out counter-infiltration operations along the Line of Control recovered sophisticated weapons and American-made night vision equipment from terrorists killed while attempting to enter J&K. A senior army officer revealed that “…from the weapon and equipment that was recovered, we realized that there was a lot of overflow of high-tech weapons, night vision devices and equipment, which were left behind by the Americans in Afghanistan, now finding their way to that side.” This concern was also forcefully expressed by the head of the army, General MM Naravane, during the recent Dialog Raisina.

Given that the number of such advanced US weapons and equipment abandoned in Afghanistan number in the hundreds of thousands and are supplied by the Pakistani military to terrorists, this poses a serious threat to J&K peace and a great challenge for the security forces. Several attempts by the Pakistani military to transship arms and ammunition across the Line of Control using drones have also been thwarted. However, as the rugged and heavily forested terrain along the Line of Control makes it very difficult to detect drones, this becomes a matter of serious concern.

Similarly, the PLA building on its side defense-oriented infrastructures [but near] the real control line [LAC] in the Ladakh region and the establishment of advanced and allied communications facilities, the threat of intrusions and other such hostile actions has increased dramatically. The Sino-Pak collusive threat, which was more of an academic matter in the past, has now become a stark reality.

Although the Indian army is capable of dealing with these emerging threats, there is a dire need to ‘hone’ its edge even further, by acquiring advanced weapons and equipment. Although there is no shortage of sophisticated weapons and equipment available on the international market, off-the-shelf purchases have three very serious shortcomings.

Firstly, in addition to being an expensive option, the defense equipment available does not fully meet all specific force requirements, and secondly, timely resupply, advanced maintenance and upgrades are not guaranteed. . Finally, as technology transfer is rare in these purchases, it invariably results in the buyer being the victim of “forced addiction”. Even defense equipment purchased from reliable allies is subject to delays and risks being blocked due to diplomatic sanctions.

Thereby, ‘Raksha Atmanirbharta’ [Defence
self-dependency] is the only viable alternative to ensure guaranteed availability and high functionality of weapons and equipment, and India has gone to great lengths to ensure this. Based on an increased budget and an assigned objective for the purchase of locally produced defense equipment, as well as the allocation of 25% of the R&D budget to facilitate defense R&D by private actors, the center has created an enabling environment for the indigenization of defense equipment.

However, being a relatively recent development, there are some teething issues and the roadmap for ‘Raksha Atmanirbharta’ is in its pioneering phase. To address these issues holistically, Northern Command Headquarters is conducting a ‘North Tech Symposium’ in Udhampur on 6 and 7 May.

This symposium will include a seminar in which military and civilian experts will discuss various aspects of ‘Raksha Atmanirbharta’ project and will be followed by an exhibition of indigenous products and technologies the next day in which about 150 renowned innovators who are actively involved in the development of India ‘Raksha Atmanirbharta’ will present their innovations related to indigenized defense.

In addition to increasing awareness of quantum advancements being made in this field, this symposium will also ignite young minds in the military and, by providing an interface between the innovator and real end users, help create a vast database of practical and innovative ideas. and suggestions, which would be of immense help to those involved in indigenizing defense equipment.

As the audience will gain the requisite knowledge about the nuances of this scheme and how this new idea is proposed to be implemented and the obstacles overcome, the expert speakers will benefit from original ideas and practical suggestions from those in the domain. who would be the end users of locally manufactured defense equipment. Such an interactive meeting of planners, facilitators, manufacturers and users will certainly go a long way to accurately identifying the qualitative requirements of indigenized equipment.