Integrated Battle Groups To Be Deployed On Border
During the Exercise HIM VIJAY In October 2019 in Arunachal Pradesh the Indian Army had tested the IBGs and viewed its effectiveness in combat situations in mountainous terrain. This exercise was just few days prior to visit of President Xi Jinping to India.
An IBG is like an enlarged independent brigade mix of infantry, artillery, air defence, tanks and logistics units. It forms a part of bringing a change in warfighting capability.
Each IBG will be modelled on the specific operational requirement in which the topography of the land will be taken into consideration and the threat perceptions as well. Troops and type will be allotted accordingly, though will be at least 5,000 troops in each IBG headed by a Major General.
Indian Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane on Sunday (May 10, 2020) informed that his force plans to introduce the Integrated Battle Groups (IBG) along the borders with China and Pakistan for swift strikes in case of a war situation. Speaking to news agency PTI, the General stated that a “test-bedding” for the same had been completed but the rollout has been delayed for the foreseeable future due to the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.
“The roll-out of the IBGs has been delayed due to the outbreak of the pandemic and the need to divert critical resources towards containment efforts,” the Army Chief told PTI.
“However, I can assure you that we will roll out the IBGs in the requisite time frame as the conceptual groundwork has already been laid out and extensive test-bedding had already been carried out prior to the outbreak,” he said.
Though, he noted that there could be some disruptions in defence production and procurement due to the COVID-19 pandemic but calls it a temporary phase. The indigenous manufacturing will be impacted, he said, its magnitude will be much lower.
All the IBGs will be theatre-specific which means that a unit deployed in the deserts of Rajasthan will have equipment and forces trained for desert warfare while those deployed in the mountains will be suitably equipped and trained.
Along with the IBGs there is a definite need to have an Parachute IBG exclusively for deployment in high altitude area. This IBG can be located at in Ladhak or Uttarakhand or Arunachal.
