 |
| Military Communications (Image Unrelated to India) |
By Franz-Stefan Gady
The modernization of communications systems has lagged behind that of other weapons platforms in the Indian Army.
The Indian Army’s Tactical Communication System (TCS) is facing additional delays, Defense News reports. In February 2014, India selected two domestic development agencies (DAs) to compete for the TCS project, which is worth over $2 billion. However, “since the selection of the DAs in early 2014, no headway has been made in the development of a TCS prototype,” a defense ministry source told Defense News.
The TCS — an interfacing mobile tactical communication system — is intended to replace the obsolete radio communication network (the Plan AREN system) of the Indian Army for offensive operations. The Indian Army is also planning to introduce the new Battlefield Management System (BMS) integrating all surveillance resources, including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and ground sensors providing soldiers on the ground real-time information on enemy troop movement and the disposition of friendly forces, along with information on terrain features.
The Defense Acquisition Council categorized TCS as a ‘make India’ system which restricted the selection process to domestic companies — the state-owned Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and a special purpose company consisting of Larsen and Toubro, Tata Power SED, and HCL Infosys Limited.
However, the special purpose company announced that it would not proceed with the development of a prototype “until it receives the same tax incentives as are given to BEL, and insists that the intellectual property rights of the system be vested with the developer and not the Ministry of Defense,” according to Defense News.
Read the full story at The Diplomat