As India’s tensions with China continue, the Army has fast-tracked the development and implementation of its new battle management system and setting up of integrated surveillance centres that aim to reduce decision-making time.
Sources in the defence and security establishment told ThePrint that with information and intelligence becoming a key factor in wars, the Army has also invested in captive data centres in the country and has therefore acquired substantial capability to host applications.
The data centres will be fully operational by this year, sources said. One of the key projects that the Army has been focusing on is Project SAMA, which will act as its new battlefield management system.
Sources said the Army’s Combat Information Decision Support System (CIDSS) has been re-designed as the Army Information and Decision Support System (AIDSS), which will integrate inputs from all operational and managerial information systems.
In the interim, the Army has developed an in-house decision support system called the Situational Awareness Module for the Army (SAMA). The application has been designed to present the comprehensive battlefield picture to commanders at all levels based on authorisation and roles.
SAMA is being fielded this month for validation in a corps zone. Sources said the idea is to cut down the decision-making process for a commander. “He [a commander] is able to get the entire information on one screen and he can fine-tune the dashboard as per his wish and priority area. He can also give instructions through the app,” a source said.
