INDIAN ARMY TO PROCURE FULL RANGE OF RADIOS
By Bulbul Singh
20 Aug 09. As part of its transition towards Network Centric Warfare
(NCW), the Indian Army plans to introduce varieties of radio equipment, some of which would be developed at Indian defense research laboratories, whilst the majority will be imported.
The wish list includes Internet Protocol (IP) radios, Software Defined Radios (SDR)and most importantly the Combat Net Radio.
Currently, the Indian Army operates on HF, VHF and UHF frequencies. The Army plans to upgrade its communication abilities to take into account advancing technology and rapid improvements in digitization, data transfer rates, modulation.
A senior Indian Army official said that it favours off-the-shelf purchase of both hardware and software equipment because the technology gets obsolete in 18 months.
The official said that it plans to set up the Combat Net Radio (CNR) as the nerve centre of the Army. This will have an extended frequency range for short, medium and long-range communication.
The CNR which operates in a network that uses a single radio frequency or a discrete set of radio frequencies will become an indispensable part of the Indian Army inventory and will be strengthened on a priority basis. The official said, ”Under the CNR setup, the India Army will procure radios to be used in Beyond-Line-of-Sight using one radio in the vicinity.
The Indian Army plans to acquire new types of Combat Net Radios in addition to the ones currently being manufactured by state-owned Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL). The Indian Army official said,” We have been
waiting for a CNR from BEL for over five years.” adding that they are still not sure on how successful the BEL-made systems would be.
The Indian Army has asked the Indian defense ministry to urgently procure varieties of CNR radios in addition to the home grown BEL radio. Indian Army sources said, “The BEL radios cannot be used with the other radios to set up in the CNR network, including the Tadirin radios. As such, the Indian Army wants to purchase CNR radios in bulk from overseas. India acquired tactical radios in 2002 worth $35 million from Israel’s Tadiran Communications.
The Indian Army also plans to purchase IP radios for providing end-to-end radio communication. Each IP radio, which will function as a relay within a network, will enable multi-point connectivity in the digitized battlefield; the radio will have built security. The IP radio will be able to establish a Mobile Ad hoc Network, while the complete network or partial network is on the move. It will also enable selective calling and late entry to the network.
In addition, the Indian Army also plans to SDRs. Currently, the Indian Army is being given presentations by several overseas companies on their SDR technology. It has not been decided whether the SDR will be procured off-the-shelf or developed with an Indian partner.