MILITARY SOD & CYBER, SPACE COMMANDS IN OFFING

The much-awaited joint Special Operation Division (SOD) of the three Armed Forces, headed by a major general, is in the offing, six years after need for such a force flagged by the Naresh Chandra Committee on security in 2012 to carry out the missions of strategic importance.

The file is now pending for approval of Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman before it goes to the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) headed by Prime Minister Modi for putting it into operation.

Files have also reached the defence ministry on formation of the cyber and space commands, headed by Navy and Air Force respectively, to fight the modern day warfare in a joint manner, the ministry sources said.

Even before the Special Operation Division gets the formal nod, its all assets and infrastructure are ready and operational to get going without any loss of time.

The idea to have such a division, which was initially named as Special Operations Command (SOC) mooted by the Naresh Chandra Committee, is to have the capabilities of the top commandos of three Services to conduct the sensitive missions within and outside the boundaries of the country, the sources said.

The envisaged SPD will have about 3,000 commandos drwn from the elite special forces of the Army, Marine Commando unit (MARCOS) of the Navy and Garud of the IAF, equipped with dedicated aircraft and helicopters for special missions.

The government is already quietly procuring the specialised weaponry in the last few months for the commando forces of the three services, like sniper rifles, midget submarines, special communication systems, thermal sights and ammunition. These have been procured from Israel, Germany, Sweden, Russia and Finland.