Army to equip counter-insurgency units with Israeli firearms
Army to equip counter-insurgency units with Israeli firearms
PTI[ SUNDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2002 05:30:35 PM ]
NEW DELHI: In a major deal, the Army is all set to move into the new year with the most modern and lethal Israeli Tavor multipurpose assault rifles and Galil super sniper rifles to give its counter-insurgency forces in Jammu and Kashmir greater fire power as top Army officials hinted at decisive action against the militants in the coming months.
The decision to arm counter-insurgency forces with advanced weapons comes at the end of the longest-ever troop mobilisation lasting almost the entire 2002, which may not have completely checked Pakistan-supported cross-border terrorism despite assurances to the contrary from Islamabad.
India has started the process of acquiring high quality weapons worth $20 million. That includes Tavor-21 5.56 mm assault rifles, Galil 7.62 mm super sniper rifles, 5.56 mm ammunition, night vision sights, laser range finders and other targeting equipment.
Army sources said that while special forces had already been equipped with American and Israeli weaponry, New Delhi is considering purchase of several thousand more Tavors to equip the entire counter-insurgency forces operating in Jammu and Kashmir, who are currently armed with AK-47 rifles imported earlier from Romania.
With the country's top leaders asserting that India may have to go it alone in its fight to uproot Islamabad-inspired terrorism, Army officials exuded confidence that with greater fire power and sixty per cent of special gadgets like ground sensors, UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) and hand thermals in place, it would be too hot for militants to operate in Jammu and Kashmir, analysts said.
The year-long troop mobilisation saw India coming close to war with Pakistan with reports coming to light recently that the Indian forces had considered several times the option to strike at terrorist camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Defence Minister George Fernandes confirmed in Parliament that Air Force fighters had been used to evict Pakistani intrusion along the Line of Control in Machil sector.
Top Army officials have indicated that special forces have been training with Air Force's multipurpose Mirage 2000 fighters for carrying out joint missions, specially in mountainous terrains.
Air Chief S Krishnaswamy has said that IAF now had the capability to carry out precision strikes from stand-off distances as far as 100-150 km and this could be used if need arose along the LoC to stall intrusions.
The troop mobilisation dominated 2002 even as the year saw Indo-US military-to-military ties reaching an unprecedented level and the armed forces attaining a new high with the induction of a most modern fighter aircraft, the SU30 MKI.
An almost eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation between the Indian and Pakistani forces created ripples worldwide as major powers appeared worried whether a conflict between the nuclear armed neighbours could lead to a nuclear catastrophe. Major diplomatic moves were launched to defuse the situation.