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Context

• A new Battlefield Surveillance System (BSS) under Project Sanjay is in the process of being deployed, after extensive validation carried out in the plains, deserts, and mountains.

Details

Features of the system

• Under BSS, the aim is to have surveillance centres for all field formations by December 2025.
• It will integrate thousands of sensors which will enable provision of an integrated surveillance picture to commanders and staff at all levels, besides completing the sensor-shooter grid by integrating with the Artillery Combat Command and Control System (ACCCS.
• The system also integrates data on the movements of India’s adversaries received from various sources across borders, including sensors, satellites, UAVs or unmanned aerial vehicles, and patrols.
• Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL), Ghaziabad, is the project’s system integrator.

Army Information and Decision Support System

• Complementing the BSS is the Army Information and Decision Support System, an upgraded and redesigned version of the erstwhile Combat Information Decision Support System, which will integrate inputs from all operational and managerial information systems.
• A decision support system called the Situational Awareness Module for the Army (SAMA) has successfully integrated inputs from ACCCS, BSS, e-Sitrep, and the Management Information Systems Organisation.

About Project Sanjay

• Indian Army’s BSS, named ‘SANJAY’, was conceived to develop an automated system with dedicated intra-communication.
• It involves integration of surveillance sensors at Division and Corps level on a customized Geographical Information System (GIS) platform with multi sensor data fusion undertaken at the Surveillance Centre for providing inputs to the CIDSS.

Phases

• Phase 1 involved provision of the concept by developing a test bed system, which has been completed and operational validation accorded.
• Phase 2 of Project Sanjay involves equipping all Corps of the Army after successful completion of ‘proving phase’.

Domains of military operations

• All military operations are conducted in three domains.

The physical domain

• It is where attack, defence and manoeuvre occur – on ground, sea, air or space.
• Elements of this domain are easy to measure, like lethality and survivability.

The domain of the mind

• It is where battles are won and lost.
• This is the domain of the intangibles: leadership, morale, unit cohesion, level of training and experience, public opinion and so on.

Information Domain

• It is this domain which is now increasing combat power in a broad range of operations.

What is Battlefield surveillance?

• Battlefield surveillance relates to the ability to obtain real or near-real time all weather picture of battle space.
• This encompasses human intelligence (HUMINT), technology related imagery intelligence (IMINT) and signal or communication intelligence (SIGINT) together with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR).
• The basic concept of battlefield intelligence is to obtain knowledge of the battle space enabling detection of changes to interpret intention, actions and deployment of the enemy, to enable pre-emptive action.

PRACTICE QUESTION Q) Discuss the various types of domains in which military operations are conducted. It is being seen that Information domain is now increasing combat power in a broad range of operations. Comment. (250 words)

https://epaper.thehindu.com/ccidist-ws/th/th_delhi/issues/35174/OPS/GMRB6PVHV.1+GLCB6QP6Q.1.html