NEW DELHI: The Indian Army has tied up with the Ministry of Earth Sciences to get accurate and reliable weather forecasts which play a very important role in operations.
Indian Army Vice-chief Lt Gen MV Suchindra Kumar will launch here ‘Anuman’ application here on May 19. The app has been designed and developed to provide detailed weather projections to the army’s formations deployed along the China border. It has been developed in collaboration with the National Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF).
Indian Army and NCMRWF had inked an MoU in this regard on November 24 last year. As per the MoU, the Indian Army will help NCMRWF with the collection of observations along Northern borders and will in near future receive customized products for higher-resolution weather forecasts for its components along the borders with China.
On the significance of accurate and reliable forecast, a source said: “It is critical as it helps the ground commanders to plan in carrying out operations. The Artillery units use them on a regular basis to “temper its weapon platforms before firing projectiles through the earth’s atmosphere.”Sources also said data from NCMRWF has helped artillery fire more accurately.
Elaborating on the utility of Anuman a source said: “Weather forecast is important for gathering all kinds of intelligence (Human, Signal, Electronic, Satellite etc) and surveillance. Also, bad weather may disturb the optical devices and the seismic devices too which gather movement and vibrations.”
Elaborating further on advantages for both humans and equipment, sources added, bad weather brings down the efficiency of both humans and equipment thus a clear picture will help in better preparations. Also, the equipment can be saved from wear and tear including the rubberised parts and lubricants.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Army is observing 2023 as the ‘Year of Transformation’ and has taken initiatives towards upgrading its technology profile adding a battlefield surveillance system, Situational Awareness Module for theArmy, Situational Reporting Over Enterprise-Class GIS Platform(E-Sitrep), Project Avagat, Project Indra among others. These projects are aimed to “reshape and re-engineer” the functional processes and bring in a “quantum jump” in the force’s capabilities.