The National Security Guard (NSG) has no chopper to conduct its training exercises. The issue, which the elite force has raised with Home Minister Rajnath Singh during a review meeting of the force, is quite alarming.
The NSG has reported that it has been operating in the absence of choppers for two years since one of the two choppers they had, crashed, and the other became inoperative. It is a shame for a nation’s elite force to not be adequately equipped at all times.
India has had to call in the commandos of NSG to handle some of the most difficult situations it has faced, such as the terrorist attack in Mumbai November 26, 2008. With the escalation of terrorist attacks across the world, the scope for forces such as the NSG to be deployed for operations is high. The armed forces have been facing shortage of equipment and the gaps are apparently only widening.
The army chief had recently raised the need for creating a chopper fleet within the army that would be operated by army pilots. He said it would be a more effective tactic as army personnel operating choppers would be more aware of the operational needs of the army than pilots from the air force.
At the same time, Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa has categorically stated that the air force will not transfer its assets for the use of the army. The chiefs of both forces make sense given the ways in which battlefields and modern warfare are changing. Air power is being relied on increasingly, not only to launch attacks without losing men on the ground, but also for reconnaissance, rescue and transport of troops.
As a tip-of-the-spear fighting unit, the NSG needs to be given what it needs to ensure that it operates well in the most challenging of situations. The need of the hour is the production and utilisation of equipment made by India so that we can equip our forces more easily at lower costs.
According to reports, the Ministry of Defence has approved the bulletproof jacket designed by Indian scientist Shantanu Bhowmik. The jacket is said to be six to eight times lighter than the conventional bulletproof jacket and costs less than half of what the jackets presently in use do.
Such indigenous technologies will have to be promoted locally so that the country can get its men equipped better on the field and reduce casualties. Similar interventions from other fields of science should also be increasingly adopted by the armed forces for their better operation.
While the country may not be in a position to immediately acquire defence material such as helicopters as they are not available off the shelf, regular reviews need to be undertaken to foresee such requirement gaps and ensure that they do not arise. The force cannot be left to work with a handicap as it would reduce their effectiveness if and when a situation arises.
In the case of the NSG, as well as the other units of the defence forces, immediate intervention would help strengthen their morale as well as might. The present government would do well to put some of the proclamations of support and love for the forces into actual action.