PAK ARMY : NEW CONCEPT OF

WAR FIGHTING (CWF)

Need for Change

Mil Sys. Need to keep a large standing army on readiness

posture with constricting fiscal space and a two front

engagement.

Mob Sys. Change the dated mob sys based on 14 days of

warning pd to respond to cold start strat.

Engr Sp Plan. Time available for obst sys and denial

schemes may hamper effecting these in the warning pd.

Lgs Sys. Present lgs sys not suitable for high intensity

short duration war.

Reliance on Auxiliary Forces. Due to commitments in

LICO, these forces may not be effective at short notice.

Proposed Concept

National Level. War deterrence, taking steps as under:-

Deter war through a combination of conventional and

unconventional means adopting a ‘whole of nation’ apch.

Reinforce deterrence through communication, capability

and credibility (CCC). This calls for:-

Credible conventional capability giving credence to

notion of nuc deterrence/ threshold.

Interface between nuc and conventional strat.

Devp disincentives for India at the sub conventional

plane.

Mil Strat Level

Mitigation of Strat Surprise. By a vigilant strat int

gathering capability with combination of ISR/ PAF,

HUMANINT and third country sources.

Tri Service Integration. Greater synergy with PAF & PN.

Strat Capability. Pak feels that despite overt

nuclearisation there is no respite from conventional

threat.

Plg to interface/ integrate nuc and conventional strat.

Endeavor to reduce space for conventional war by lower

nuc threshold. At the same time maint requisite levels of

readiness to meet projected levels of deterrence.

Army Level

Mil Sys. Pursue force transformation by integrating force

multipliers, enhanced ISR and lower nuc threshold.

Emp Strat. Carry out reappraisal of defensive – offensive

strat and thwart IA offensive through counter strokes by

relocating offensive fmns. At tac level loc bn level TFs at

sensitive loc permanently.

Ready and Arrayed Forces. Preposition ICGs based on

res components ready to expl def vulnerability of IA. If a

window is not available, use them to blunt offensive.

Comd Concept. Raise Comds on the lines of the IA and

place strat res under them for better utilisation as per

envisaged threat.

Army Level

Extend Battlefd. Devp ISR and UCAV capability to enhance

battle fd visibility and precision engagement. In addn wk on

NCW and cyber warfare and also unconventional capability for

deep strike PGMs.

Engr Sp. Pre-position stores and br eqpt during peace time.

Enhance mine laying. At the same time create innovative water

obts during peace time.

Emp of Rangers. Enhance the staying power of the Rangers by

permanent affiliation to fd fmns and readjusting their posns.

Activation of Mujahid Bns. Activate Mujahid bns in an earlier

time frame. In addn Auxiliary forces renamed National

Voluntary Service (NVS) have been raised.

Recommended Responses

Counter Int. This needs greater attn in view of Pak increasing

its ISR and HUMINT capability. Own int agencies need to have

better synergy for int gathering and sharing.

Mob. Ability to mob speedily and a higher state of op

readiness in terms of eqpt serviceability and trg.

Fwd Basing. Fwd basing of selected mech fmns will create

new threats and generate addl offensive options.

Def Bal. The def bal must be maint at all times. Pre positioning

of res and pre formed BGs/ BCGs will deny en pre emptive

options.

Recommended Responses

Objs. Pak has been pursuing a deliberate policy of ‘cultivated

irrationality’ in its nuc grammar. The nuc threshold is not as

low as what Pak would want us to believe.

Expl Weakness in En Def Layout. In the process of trying to

create dedicated res in the form of ICGs and bn TFs, en would

have left certain voids in the def layout. These must be iden

and expl by innovative plg.

Hybrid Warfare. Pak will emp unconventional forces to blend

with conventional. Prep to fight hybrid warfare and take steps

to prevent interdiction of rail and rd arteries.

Recommended Responses

Unpredictability. Pak feels that the emp strat of the IBGs is

predictable in nature. Break this mindset by unorthodox, bold

and innovative emp during fmn war games and Exs.

Transformation of the IA Study. The study has made no of

recommendations to actualise our Proactive Strat. These need

to be implemented at the earliest. Imp issues are:-

Restructuring of pvt and strike corps.

Theaterisation of combat and lgs sp.

Tri Service Synergy. The Proactive Strat can achieve desired

results only with synergised jt plg and exec of ops. The

substantial comb edge of IAF must be expl.

Jai Hind