NEW DELHI: Last summer, a 42 Rashtriya Rifles patrol walked into a pre-dawn ambush prepared for militants by soldiers of the same unit close to the Line of Control in Pulwama district, Kashmir. Mistaking each other for insurgents, both groups opened fire, killing two of their own comrades instantly and injured three seriously.
The Indian Army, which has been engaged in counter-terrorism operations for the last 25 years, is fighting militants literally in the dark lacking the ability to recognise ‘friend or foe’. Recognising the need to prevent such incidents, the Army proposes to give smart vests to soldiers to prevent friendly fire casualties; 2019 is the deadline. An internal report of the Directorate General of Infantry admits to this flaw, causing ‘fratricide’.
Indian soldiers are being killed by friendly fire in regions where they are fighting militants in counter-terror ops. Last month, a BSF constable was shot by jawans of 46 Rashtriya Rifles, who mistook him for a terrorist attacking their camp in Baramulla. In another incident, troops from 35 RR and an elite Special Force unit came face to face in Sophian, but thankfully no casualties happened.
To prevent deaths from friendly fire, the Army will develop a smart vest with built-in codes and GPS to auto-identify its troops, who often encounter each other in hostile situations. “At present, the Army has no equipment to identify friend from foe. Ad hoc measures are not fool-proof and chances of error resulting in fratricide are many,” a Directorate General of Infantry report stated.
Military strategists believe that in a departure from traditional tactics, the new breed of militants is donning Army uniforms. This has made it difficult for both villagers and Army personnel to distinguish between them and genuine soldiers. Earlier, terrorists wore civilian clothes to blend with the population in Kashmir. The new militants even know the call signs of units involved in operations.
“As the Army is involved in counter-insurgency operations over the last two-and-a-half decades, rapid identification and engagement of terrorists are crucial to prevent casualties,” the report further stated, adding that since terrorists have started using combat outfits, it is difficult to immediately tell him apart from a regular soldier, especially in poor weather conditions.
Notwithstanding, thousands of friendly fire incidents in recorded military history, accounting for an estimated 2 per cent to 20 per cent of all casualties in battle or counter-terrorism ops, no major army has an infallible mechanism to address the critical issue. Neither does the world’s third largest army. The Army report points out, “Using local tools like a piece of white cloth on helmet or torch light etc are prone to errors and may result in killing of own soldiers.”
Officials believe that such incidents happen from lack of coordination and adequate communication. Recently, the Army has started to equip its soldiers with wireless radios to improve communication between units to avoid such incidents.