For Greater Good

Smruti D

As regional and global rivalries widen and strategic waterways are at the centre of disputes, countries have not only started to invest in their naval forces and equipment, they are also focusing on building joint forces with combat capabilities. Even as joint operations have been a reality in most countries, they are seen as a way of dominance, regionally as well as globally.

ANC conducts Defence of Andaman & Nicobar Islands Exercise 2019

India’s first Maritime Theatre Command (MTC) will take concrete shape by 2022. The commander-in-chief will have full operational control over the western and eastern fleets, maritime strike jets and transport aircraft, two amphibious infantry brigades and coastal and patrol vessels. This move aims at ‘integrating’ the warfighting capabilities offered by them in order to guard the western and eastern naval commands and achieve the goals detailed in the Joint Forces Doctrine of 2017. The army’s contribution to these joint forces would be its amphibious brigades that are already centred on the coastal areas of Port Blair and Thiruvananthapuram. All the three forces have unique roles to play in carrying out amphibious operations. The army being the landing force, it is required to be on the offensive.

Amphibious operations are complex and involve greater amount of human as well as material resources. Warships, fighter aircraft, landing craft, infantry units, personnel carrier and close air support are all the things that go into launching an attack. The troops need to undergo extensive training as the nature of these operations changes from other operations that the forces carry out. ‘Disembarkation, troop landings, beachhead consolidation and conducting inland ground and air operations’ are some exercises unique to amphibio