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New Delhi, Oct 22 (PTI) Three hundred eighty infantry battalions of the Indian Army have been equipped with drone platoons while elite commando units are being raised as part of a modernisation drive to bolster the force’s combat capabilities along the northern and western frontiers. Lt Gen Ajay Kumar, the director general of infantry, said this while highlighting steps to enhance the strike capabilities of the infantry units. The Army is also procuring 4.25 lakh battle carbines at a cost of Rs 2,770 crore as part of the infantry modernisation plan, he told reporters. Lt Gen Kumar said each of the 380 infantry battalions now has an Ashney (fire) drone platoon that comprises at least four surveillance drones and six are of armed category. The armed drones will include Kamikaze drones and precision ammunition dropping unmanned aerial vehicles, he said, explaining how the Army is initiating measures to boost the combat capabilities of the infantry battalions. The Army has already raised five elite Bhairav batellions with nearly 250 soldiers each and it plans to have a total of 25 such battalions within next six months. These battalions are being raised for special operations and are likely to be a bridge between regular infantry and the elite para-special forces. “Five battalions of Bhairav have already been raised. They have already been deployed in the area of intended operations and on the job training is going on from October 1,” the director general said. The training of the five battalions will culminate on October 30 and thereafter they will be fully operationalised, he said. The process to raise another four battalions are nearing completion and we will have 25 such battalions in the next six months, he said. Lt Gen Kumar said the Bhairav battalions as well as the special forces battalions will also have Ashni drone platoons. On procurement of new-age carbines, he said 60 per cent of them will be supplied by Bharat Forge Ltd while remaining 40 per cent will be delivered by PLR Systems. The delivery of the carbines is scheduled to begin within one year and the supplies will have to be completed within two years, Lt Gen Kumar said. Asked about proposed India-US co-production of Javelin anti-tank missiles, he said procurement of 104 missiles and 12 launchers of Javelin are already in the pipeline. The senior military official said the Army is procuring a range of anti-tank guided missiles. Lt Gen Kumar said the Army is also upgrading assault rifles and light machine guns from 5.56mm to 7.62mm calibre for infantry soldiers. The vintage sniper rifles are also being replaced with .338 sniper rifles. As part of anti-tank weapons, we are migrating from present second generation to fourth and fifth generation technology. In order to infuse the drone enabled precision strike capability, Infantry is inducting loiter munition for infantry operations, he said. Lt Gen Kumar said all terrain vehicles, light specialist vehicles and specialist mobility vehicles are being inducted to boost mobility of the units. Surveillance drones, upgraded battle field surveillance radars and hand-held thermal imaging sights are also being procured in order to enhance battle field surveillance and enable commanders on ground to make informed decisions, he said. PTI MPB ZMN
