Army develops technology to modernise military communication

Army is working on providing a safe and seamless exchange of data between various formations involved in fighting a modern war. "The need for a state-of-the-art Tactical Communication System (TCS) has been long felt...The TCS being conceived for the force will bridge the gap between existing and contemporary technologies in the sphere of military communication," Army's Signal Officer-in-Chief Lt General S P Kochhar said in New Delhi. He was delivering a keynote address during a curtain- raiser for the Defcom-2012 seminar, scheduled to take place in November. "An information grid is required to be established to generate precise war-fighting effects and orchestrated operations at an unprecedented operational tempo," Kochhar said, highlighting the need for establishing an independent defence communication network. Noting that a network-centric force will have the ability to share and exchange information in "near real time", he said, "Challenge is to achieve a successful integration of sensors, shooters and decision makers through a dynamic, reliable and secure loop." These networks need to interwork seamlessly in a fluid, adhoc, dense and hostile operational environment to enable force projection and delivery of decisive combat power at the decision-making level, the officer said. For the TCS project two development agencies- Bharat Electronics (BEL) and a consortium of L&T, Tata Power and HCL Infosys Ltd- has been selected by the government as per the laid down norms of Defence Procurement Policy (DPP).