India incapable of conducting surgical strikes: Japanese magazine

ISLAMABAD (92 News) – The Diplomat, a Japanese Magazine, has belied Indian claim of conducting surgical strikes into Pakistan. According to the magazine, surgical strikes can be conducted through airborne or artillery based precision guided strikes or ground force based assaults; both of which require sophisticated intelligence collection, platforms to conduct collections, and surveillance of target sites and objectives. India is still on the cusp of building a sophisticated and modernized asymmetrical capability to conduct counter-terror operations, while much of its forces are still trained on Cold War models. Over the last decade, India has spearheaded efforts to modernize her military to include domestic production of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Rostum I and Rostum II could provide India with an air platform capable of surgical strikes, long loiter times for target surveillance, and intelligence collection. However, these platforms are still in development and Rostum II just began test trials this summer. India’s drone development program is still in its infancy. As for artillery, in 2015, India and BAE finalized contracts for the sale and development of new M777 155 mm howitzer system, capable of firing the new Excalibur GPS guided shell. However, development and production of the artillery system is not slated to begin until 2018. As far as precision strike missile capability, India has recently acquired the US anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) Hellfire, which has frequently been used for targeting operations by US forces. India is currently producing a domestic ATGM called the Helina, a helicopter launched precision strike missile, though this missile is still undergoing testing. In other words, much of India’s asymmetrical warfare capability is still being developed and tested. The examples above are by no means an exhaustive list but it certainly details a capacity not fully developed by Indian forces.