Army's 'Rudra' brigades reflect change, not rehash

The Indian Army's reorganisation into new frontline formations — the "Rudra" all-arms brigades, "Bhairav" light commando battalions, and 'Shaktibaan' artillery regiments — marks the latest stage in a two-decade effort to reshape land warfare.

- BHASWAR KUMAR

This aims to shorten the interval between political decision-making and military action, and to respond to the "new normal" established by Operation Sindoor and doctrinal changes by China's People's Liberation Army (PLA).

While building on earlier initiatives such as the Integrated Battle Group (IBG) concept, experts stress this is a distinct evolution — aligning force structure, technology, logistics, command and control, and doctrine to create an agile military able to operate across the spectrum of next-generation warfare.

'No clear frontier remains' Explaining the rationale for the new formations announced by Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Upendra Dwivedi on the 26th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas (July 26), Lt Gen Dushyant Singh (Retd), director general (DG) of the Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS), cites three drivers: Post-Operation Sindoor, any act of terror will be treated as war, requiring 24/7 readiness; evolving operational concepts demand agility; and the western and northern fronts are more fluid, exemplified by Pakistan's threat to place the Simla Agreement in abeyance. "The IBGs were intended for positional deployment, but taken together, these developments mean there is no longer a clearly defined frontier — even the depth is now vulnerable."