Over 5,000 troops of the Indian Army’s Mountain Strike Corps will carry out a massive war game along with the Indian Air Force in Arunachal Pradesh in October. The joint exercise will see the forces being deployed to practice real war-like situations on the eastern front of the country. The exercise will be the first of its kind along the China border by the newly-raised 17 Mountain Strike Corps which has been preparing for it under the Eastern Command for almost the last six months.

Read| Indian Army to roll out integrated battle groups along border with Pakistan: Report

Part of the war games to defend their 'territory'

According to top Army sources, "As part of the war games, the troops of the Tezpur-based 4 Corps will be deployed at a high altitude location to defend their 'territory' while a brigade-sized force (over 2,500 troops) of the 17 Mountain Strike Corps would be airlifted by the Indian Air Force to 'launch an offensive' against them.” The Indian Air Force will airlift the troops using its latest transport aircraft including the C-17, C-130J Super Hercules and the AN-32 to airlift the army troops from Baghdogra in West Bengal and deploy them close to the 'war zone' in Arunachal Pradesh, the sources added. The troops of the 17 Mountain Strike Corps would be from the 59 Mountain Division and will include armoured regiments including battle tanks and infantry combat vehicles along with light howitzers and strike elements.

Army Chief General Rawat undertakes restructuring process

Read| Indian Government to invest USD 130 Billion on ramping up Armed Forces

To make the 17 Mountain Strike Corps more effective during wartime in the mountainous region with China, the fighting formations under it are being converted into Integrated Battle Groups (IBGs) as part of Army Chief General Bipin Rawat's restructuring process. Once the IBGs are formed, the formations will be converted into leaner and more efficient fighting units with the ability to strike deeper and faster against enemy targets, the sources said. An IBG, which will be a little smaller than a division, will integrate the existing elements of infantry, tank regiments, artillery, engineers and signals. It will comprise six battalions of these elements and will be directly under a Corps.

Once the Army converts all its required fighting formations into IBGs, it would lead to the elimination of the brigades in the fighting structure. The first IBG is coming up under the 9 Corps which looks after parts of Jammu and Punjab border with Pakistan. Two more IBGs are ready for conversion under the 17 Mountain strike Corps and 33 Corps which are both tasked to fight wars on the Chinese front in the Northeast.

Read| With India set to get a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), here's what Major Gaurav Arya had written on the topic in 2017

IBGs to have manpower of 5,000 troops

As reported, a brigade comprises of about three to four units with each unit consisting of 800 troops, in comparison, the IBG's are planned to be commanded by the rank of Major General and will have the manpower of 5,000 troops each. The IBG’s are a brainchild of Army Chief General Bipin Rawat’s aim to modernise the Indian Army and also to make it more lethal in the scenario of a conventional war.

Read| Apache strengthens India-US defence ties; US Navy expresses delight

(Inputs from ANI)