The understanding of BMS in militaries of foreign armies covers the entire military structure from apex to foot soldier. In the Indian Army, while plans for operationalising network-centricity were initiated, the cutting edge (Battalion/Regiment and below) was left out—now being rectified by procuring a BMS, which will be an important facet of capability building in the Army.

The manner in which Operation Neptune Spear was conducted in the killing of Osama bin Laden symbolises what presentday military operations today are all about—with the actual operation controlled from an operations room thousands of kilometres away and President Barack Obama and his national security team watching the entire operation live via satellite; an example of battlefield integration as well as battlefield transparency flashed by news channels throughout the world. Pictures of Osama were uploaded to analysts in the US for confirmation of identity and for furthering the operation once it was confirmed that Osama had indeed been killed, though Osama’s body was identified by one of his wives. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was able to confirm this after feeding the photograph into a facial recognition programme and by matching the DNA with Osama’s sister who had died two years earlier. Meanwhile, photographs of destruction of electronic and sensitive parts of the MH-60M Black Hawk that had stalled were also uploaded. Having received due confirmation, the Seal Team 6 continued to wind up this highly successful mission. It was also apparent that the US had catered for the eventuality of any reaction by the Pakistani military—both on ground and in air. This again required battlefield integration of a very high degree.

Filling the Capability Void

Post the Operation Neptune Spear, there were many a debate in India whether Indian Army has similar capabilities for such an operation. The fact is that not only is our battlefield surveillance still functioning on ad hoc basis, as of today, we lack an integration tool supporting every level of military users ranging from individual soldier to Battalion Group/Combat Group Commander in the tactical battle area (TBA). Thus we are not in a position to provide in near real time, an appropriate common and comprehensive tactical picture by integration of inputs from all elements of the battle group. What is essentially required at these levels are battlefield transparency through situational awareness and a common operating picture (COP) to pick up the enemy much before he picks you up, see the target and direct fire in quick time using the best weaponry available, as also monitor the after effects. Situational awareness existing in the Indian Army is currently on ad hoc basis whereas the requirement is of an integrated network system.

Future military operations will be combined comprising all arms and inter-service elements. These operations will require units and sub-units of other arms to operate subordinated or in cooperation with each other. Also, successful execution of fast moving operations will require an accelerated decision-action cycle and an ability to conduct operations simultaneously within an all arms group. The key to success will lie in effective command and control across the force. Therefore, commanders at all levels, more so at the cutting edge level require pertinent information in order to enhance their decision-making and command capability. Harnessing information technology here will act as a force multiplier to enhance operational effectiveness of commanders and troops at all levels by enabling exchange, filtering and processing of ever increasing amounts of digital information currently available but not integrated. Most foreign armies including those that were deployed in operations abroad have situational awareness packages with the essential integration tool of various types—a battlefield management system (BMS). We require a BMS customised to the Indian Army requirements. The understanding of BMS in militaries of foreign armies covers the entire military structure from apex to foot soldier. In the Indian Army, while plans for operationalising network-centricity were initiated, the cutting edge (Battalion/Regiment and below) was left out—now being rectified by procuring a BMS, which will be an important facet of capability building in the Army.