The Army is set to establish and operationalise its first Integrated Battle Groups (IBG) by next month, marking a significant transformation under which self-contained, agile, brigade-sized fighting units will be carved out of the Panagarh-based XVII Corps — the mountain strike corps (MSC) facing China — for swift deployment in mountainous areas, The Indian Express has learnt.
Sources privy to the development told The Indian Express that the earlier plan was to create four IBGs under the two divisions operating under the XVII MSC — the 59 Division and the 23 Division — by September. However, this is now learnt to have been advanced to July 1.
The Indian Express had first reported in January this year that the long-drawn plans to create IBGs had gathered pace and may be implemented soon.
According to the existing plans, four IBGs and a fire support group will be created under the XVII MSC. Each of the five will be commanded by a Major General rank officer. Each IBG will comprise over 5,000 troops, with 12-13 units, and may have a Brigadier-rank officer as the Chief Operations Officer.
While the four IBGs will be created from the two divisions of the XVII MSC, the fire support group comprising artillery platforms will likely operate directly under the corps headquarters. The newly created Divyastra batteries of the Army could be placed under this group.
Self-contained, rapid deployment
Each IBG, comprising over 5,000 troops, will have battalions of infantry, artillery regiments, Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers, Combat Engineers, Army Service Corps and a field hospital. The IBGs will be especially crucial in mountainous terrains, as their agile nature allows rapid deployment, eliminating the wait for the entire corps to mobilise.
Each IBG will have battalions of infantry, artillery regiments, as well as elements of the Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME), Combat Engineers, Army Service Corps, and a field hospital or others.
The creation of the IBGs is part of a larger restructuring plan of the Army, which includes the creation of Bhairav battalions, Rudra brigades, Divyastra batteries and Shaktibaan units. The Rudra brigades, commanded by a Brigadier, will also have multiple elements, but will be dependent on the division for more support. IBGs will be larger in size and more self-contained and independent in nature.
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These will be the first IBGs of the Army — a move proposed in one of the four studies initiated by then Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on the restructuring of the Army. The plans to establish IBGs have been under discussion for about seven years now. These plans of capability development are premised on capacity, and not a threat-based model.
The IBGs would be capable of carrying out both offensive and defensive roles against an adversary’s attack.
The concept was test-bedded at the IX Corps on the western border with Pakistan around 2019, but remains to be implemented. The IBG concept was also experimented with multiple exercises conducted in the eastern theatre, including Exercise HimVijay in 2019.
The IBGs can be rapidly deployed in the mountainous areas, thus reducing the time for an entire corps to mobilise. A corps comprises up to a lakh troops and takes a longer time to get deployed.
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Sources had earlier indicated that the strength of an IBG lies in its swift application and flexible nature, and its creation would ensure better cohesiveness for various combined arms operations. Once established, they can also be deployed under specific theatre commands.
Over the last decade, China, too, has transitioned from older divisions to smaller, more versatile Combined Arms Brigades (CABs), integrated with tanks, artillery, air defence and support units, designed for joint operations.