Home arrow Archives arrow Defence Notes arrow Defence Notes 2007 arrow Corps Of Signals: ARMY’S CENTRAL NERVE SYSTEM,By B.K. Mathur, 12 February 2007
 
Home
News and Features
INFA Digest
Parliament Spotlight
Dossiers
Publications
Journalism Awards
Archives
RSS
 
 
 
 
 
 
Corps Of Signals: ARMY’S CENTRAL NERVE SYSTEM,By B.K. Mathur, 12 February 2007 Print E-mail

Defence Notes

New Delhi, 12 February 2007

 Corps Of Signals

ARMY’S CENTRAL NERVE SYSTEM

By B.K. Mathur

The small but crucial arm of the Indian Army, the Corps of Signals is celebrating its 96th anniversary today, February 15.  It is fast growing to match the sophistication of military machines and changed battle strategies. The Corps is now equipped with the latest equipments and seems well on way to prepare itself for the present day military developments in an era of not only satellite communications through electronics and computerized gadgets but also for what is being increasingly described as Star Wars. Most militarily advanced nations have placed their satellites to monitor the happenings in the skies and the Indian Air Force (IAF) has also started talking about to.

In the fast-changing concept of modern warfare, one can win or lose without fighting a full-fledged conventional battle on the ground. But, remember, one fundamental rule of the war game remains unchanged from the time immemorial: need for a fighting force of a perfect communication system in a war theatre of any kind, which includes the present day’s missile and counter-missile war scenario. That is the responsibility of the Corps of Signals, rightly described as the central nerve system, the slightest malfunctioning of which can paralyse the best of military operation. The Signal units provide complete coordination and electronic warfare support to the fighting forces and operational communication for the Navy and the Air Force, which have now come to occupy a dominant role in modern warfare.

Happily, the communication system in India’s armed forces has developed from time to time, thanks to the country’s young scientists and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The induction of the state-of-the-art communication systems in the armed forces, like the AREN-Area grid system, have proved once more that India’s defence scientists and technicians are not lagging behind anyone in the world, given, of course, the required financial backing, which is invariably lacking more due to bureaucratic hassles and bad planning. Notwithstanding the handicaps, the continuous improvements in transistors and integrated circuits have not only led to miniaturisation and module construction, but also to the whole question in the field on electronics and communication techniques.

 This kind of developed system is required because the field force now needs fully integrated and automated, secure, reliable and high-speed communication in semi-nuclear or conventional battlefield of the future. Remember, when sword was the main weapon of a soldier on foot and a horse and a lance of a cavalry man, the system was quite different. Today, when a conventional army operation involves a tank, automatic firing systems and missiles, supported by massive air operations, information is required to travel much faster, through electronic equipments. Even if an operation is on a battalion level in a far-flung border area, the Army Headquarters at New Delhi is required to have blow-by-blow account on “one-up one down” basis. In other words, a message travelling step by step.

The Indian Army in the past and now has maintained a good standard of communication too.  Looking at the equipment the Corps of Signals has today and the R&D efforts made by the Defence Ministry’s Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL), one is inclined to believe that India is way ahead of others in the region. Once our own satellites which our scientists have been launching from time to time are being fully used for our defence communication networks, India’s information system in the armed forces in times of operations will doubtlessly be as competent as that of advanced countries.

 The Army Signals made a humble beginning on February 15, 1911 with the establishment of two Companies. At that time most of the Signal Officers and tradesmen were British. It was only in 1933 as part of a drive towards Indianisation that a Boys Company was raised at Jabalpur. The World War II saw a large-scale expansion of the Signals and its greater Indianisation 0to meet the manpower requirement. With India declaring itself a Republic on January 26, 1950, the Signals were designated as the Corps of Signals---and the process of equipping the Corps with modern equipment started in earnest. After the Chinese aggression in 1962, heavy demands fell on the Signals. The vintage war equipment was replaced by more sophisticated and modern systems.

 The Corps of Signals was perhaps the first in India to launch the introduction of electronic data processing.  Way back in 1964, it stressed the importance of computers as an essential tool for operational and administrative management in the day-to-day use. It was then realized that design-making and processing massive amount of information and data in an ever-shrinking time-frame can only be possible with efficient computer services backing at all levels.  The military Exchange at present handles on an average about 5,000 calls daily and the Signals Centre about 3,000 messages per days from the Army Headquarters. That is in peace time.  Imagine, what the position will be in time of war. Added to this is the painstaking job of enciphering and deciphering the messages.

The phenomenal increase in the density of electronic, electrical and electro-magnetic devices and systems which the armed forces are required to use in a confined geographical area are bound to generate electro- magnetic interference (EMI).  It could prove catastrophic, rendering the complete system totally ineffective.  In fact, this is one of the major problems on which the Defence scientists are increasingly engaged, as the systems are upgraded regularly.  A project study on the subject had been undertaken sometime back with considerable success to ensure the vital electro-magnetic compatibility. This has become more relevant in the present-day context as the concept   of warfare now is bound to extend from land, air and sea to the dimension of electro-magnetic space. This is challenge number one for the Signalmen of the armed forces.

Indeed, the Corps of Signals has kept pace with the revolutionary progress made in the field of communication electronics the world over.  But what about the men of the Corps, required to use the new equipment and systems? The personnel of the  Corps, particularly the tradesmen at the lower levels, are not being “sophisticated” at the speed on which the equipment is being modernized, despite the fact that the training institutions have increased in number and some Officers are sent abroad regularly to upgrade their knowledge.  Taken as a whole, the quality of intake in the Indian Army has of late gone down. But in technical arms like the Signals, this setback is alarming.

What really is happening is that the electronics being a new field, qualified youngmen are finding better prospects in civil employment.  And, alarmingly, the Officers and men of the Corps of Signals rush to put in their papers the moment rules allow them to do so, to be able to take up more lucrative civil opportunities. There is an urgent need to put a stop to this trend, realizing that no war---conventional, nuclear or semi-nuclear---can be fought without a fool-proof communication system. The Signals have always been the Indian Army’s plus point, from the times when pigeons were used to convey messages to the present-day gadgets.  The tradition need to be maintained even with the latest, modern systems of communication. Any lapse on this front would mean a crisis situation in the armed forces.---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

< Previous   Next >
 
   
     
 
 
  Mambo powered by Best-IT