The Indian Army's Pakistan-Centric Restructuring

The Diplomat

4 days ago

Following the four-day conflict between India and Pakistan in May, the Indian army has initiated numerous reforms to enhance the operational efficacy of its combat units. The reorganization did not happen all at once, but it is an extension of the decisions made during the tenure of former Chief General Manoj Pande. The announcement of new amendments to the existing force infrastructure at the lower echelon indicates that the Indian Army is boosting its capability to conduct proactive cross-border land incursions while retaining the element of surprise. This demands enhanced vigilance from Islamabad as the restructuring of combat units is specifically designed for launching strikes along Pakistan's borders.
The Indian army chief announced several new initiatives to reorganize the ground force's structure and to integrate additional firepower into existing units. One change is establishing a new all-arms brigade concept called 'Rudra.' The Rudra brigade is an upgraded version of the Integrated Battle Group (IBG), equipped with modern weapons and a redesigned formation to address current battlefield demands. Similar to the IBG model, it consolidates all warfighting and support units (infantry, mechanized infantry, armor, artillery, special forces, and drone units, supported by tailor-made logistics) into one formation to improve operational efficiency. Two brigades deployed in the border area have been converted into Rudra so far, and they will have independent logistics and combat support elements.
Besides Rudra brigades, the Indian Army has established new 'Bhairav Light Commando Battalions,' a specialized unit with advanced weapons and sensors to shock the enemy, as illustrated by Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi. The army's higher command has ordered infantry regimental centers to start raising Bhairav battalions, so that the initial units can be ready for deployment in less than a month.
These new battalions will be equipped with Mahindra Armado Light Specialist Vehicles (LSV), which are already operational with troops stationed along India's northern and western borders as of May 2025. The Mahindra LSV is an all-terrain vehicle that can be used for various tasks, including rapid troop deployment to remote locations, bunker busting missions, and anti-tank roles. The Indian Defense Ministry signed a contract with the Mahindra group to procure 1300 LSVs in 2021, with the first deliveries beginning in 2023. The LSV can carry six ready-to-fire anti-tank missiles. In addition, it can also be integrated with 81mm and 120 mm vehicle-mounted mortar systems, which can destroy targets beyond 5 km and 8.2 km, respectively. On the small arms side, the soldiers will have newly inducted AK-203 and Sig-716 assault rifles, equipped with night vision devices.
The Bhairav concept is an extended version of the Ghatak platoon. According to Indian media sources, the Bhairav units will have around 250 personnel, less than regular infantry battalions in the Indian Army, consisting of around 800 troops. Currently, each infantry battalion of the Indian army has one Ghatak platoon, consisting of 20 soldiers, specializing in special operations. This indicates that the army wants to increase the number of troops for special operation missions, for which the new Bhairav battalions are being raised.
This is part of India's broader strategy to enhance its capability to conduct pre-emptive cross-border actions. They are likely to conduct raids on the adversary's artillery gun positions, destroying the adversary's bunker along the Line of Control (LOC), sabotaging forward fuel and ammunition dumps, and acting as a spearhead for newly formed Rudra brigades by clearing the immediate obstacles, such as forward defensive posts of the adversary. As their role is to conduct pre-emptive cross-border strikes, given the vast length of India's borders and the number of soldiers in each battalion, at least 40-50 battalions are expected to be raised soon.
Moreover, the Indian army chief revealed that each infantry battalion will have a drone platoon to improve battlefield situational awareness. According to media reports, the newly announced drone platoons will be equipped with First-Person-View (FPV) and other surveillance drones. Twenty to 30 soldiers are expected to run the designated drone unit. The army has been operating surveillance drones for quite some time; however, units have also started inducting the indigenously developed FPV drones with an anti-tank payload. This initiative will enhance the land force's ability to see beyond the horizon on the battlefield, conduct ISR missions independently, and target the adversary's stationary and moving platforms.
Army artillery regiments will also undergo restructuring, which includes using drones for target identification and acquisition in each battery. The army has begun training its soldiers to employ drones for target acquisition in the School of Artillery at Deolali. They will also have counter-drone systems, most probably soft kill systems within the artillery regiments to neutralize drones. The indigenously developed D-4 anti-drone system by DRDO is likely to be transferred to the newly established Shaktiban regiments. In addition, the army will also raise new special batteries under the ambit of an artillery regiment, known as Divyastra, housing loitering missiles of different types and ranges. In the early phase, Nagrasta-I loitering munitions are expected to be inducted in Divyastra batteries.
The reorganization is part of the Indian Army's strategy to instill confidence in the political leadership that it can still conduct cross-border surgical strikes at a moment's notice. In the recent confrontation with Pakistan, the political leadership gave a leading role to the Indian Air Force for carrying out strikes. The introduction of new warfighting units like Rudra, Bhairav, Divyastra, and Shaktiban is a means to influence the political leadership, indicating that the army has the capability to conduct operations at the lower echelon, using forces and equipment deployed close to the borders, therefore not losing the element of surprise, which remains cardinal in regards to the launching of pre-emptive strikes.
These initiatives will require some time before becoming operational. The reforms are not only structural changes within the Indian Army, but also meant to increase the units' warfighting capabilities. They are intended to augment the ground force's ability to launch surprise strikes across the border promptly. This will provide New Delhi with additional options in the future, if it decides to launch a pre-emptive strike against Islamabad. Therefore, Pakistani decision-makers should view this development as an emerging threat and take appropriate actions at the operational level to nullify the advantage that the Indian Army seeks to achieve.