Modernisation of Indian Infantry Gathers Pace, Wither Doctrine?

Carl Gustav Anti Tank rocket Launcher

Infantry, the ‘Queen of the Battle,’ is the sword arm of the Indian armed forces with a primary role of closing in with the enemy and destroying him or seizing ground. Despite the age of non contact warfare, the Infantry will continue to remain a key arm of the Indian Army – territory remains a primary factor in warfare as is evident from the War in Ukraine or Gaza.

Seizure and holding of ground can only come about by deploying soldiers what is pithily called as ‘boots on the ground’. Infantry is also a premier arm in counter militancy and counter terrorism operations be it in Jammu and Kashmir or the North East. In Left Wing Extremist affected areas in Central India, while army has not been wisely deployed, the Infantry has carried out extensive training of the Central Police forces as the CRPF particulary the COBRA or commando battalion.

Modernisation of the infantry entails organizational as well as induction of weapons and equipment. In the latter there is a need for enhancing protection, night fighting capability, lethality and anti tank potential, communications and networking of soldiers and units. Mobility also assumes importance be it in the plains, desert of mountainous terrain.

The Indian infantry modernization process has gathered steam as was revealed in a media briefing on the eve of the Infantry Day or Shakti Diwas on 27 October.

In organizational transformation which will not only impact the Infantry but the Army as a whole, process of establishment of the ‘Rudra’, brigades has commenced. These are the Integrated Battle Groups which will include – infantry, mechanised infantry, Armoured units, Artillery, Special Forces, unmanned aerial systems as applicable based on the terrain and operational requirements. Logistics and combat units will also be included.

The Army has also commenced raising of 25 Bhairav light commando battalions over the next six months.  Bhairav battalions are said bridge the gap between conventional and modern infantry actions. Each battalion consists of 250 elite soldiers equipped for swift and surprise attacks…bolstering the army’s special operations capability. Five such battalions have already been deployed.

The Army has reportedly completed raising of 380 new specialist drone platoons called Ashni one per each battalion comprising of 20-25 soldiers. Trials of different types of drones are on. These platoons will be equipped with drones that can be used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), and loitering munitions or kamikaze drones. The army is buying six types of loitering munitions and four types of drones for ISR role.

To provide the soldiers with modern close quarter battle weapons, the infantry is procuring a ₹2,770-crore worth 4.25 lakh carbines. Bharat Forge and Adani Group’s PLR Systems --- the lowest and the second-lowest bidders will provide the weapons in the ratio of 60:40. The weapons can fire 5.56 mm bullets and thus expected to be light and easy to operate.

In terms of enhancement of night fighting potential, Ministry of Defence has signed a contract agreement worth ₹659.47 crore for procurement of Night Sight (Image Intensifier) for 7.62 x 51mm Assault Rifle along with accessories for the Indian Army with the consortium of M/s MKU Ltd (Lead Member) and M/s Medbit Technologies Pvt Ltd on Oct 15, 2025. The Night Sight will enable soldiers to fully exploit the longer effective range of the SIG 716 Assault Rifle to an effective range of 500 metres, even under starlit conditions and provide a significant improvement over the existing Passive Night Sights (PNS).

Defence Acquisition Council, under the chairmanship of Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh, approved various proposals of the Services amounting to a total of about Rs 79,000 crore, during a meeting in South Block, New Delhi on October 23, 2025. For the Indian Army, Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) was accorded for the procurement of Nag Missile System (Tracked) Mk-II (NAMIS). The procurement of NAMIS (Tracked) will enhance the Indian Army’s capability of neutralising enemy’s combat vehicles, bunkers & other field fortifications said the Ministry of Defence Press Release.

In addition to enhance the anti tank potential, the US made Javelin ATGM purchase is underway under Emergency procurement which includes 12 launchers and 104 missiles.

The doctrinal underpinnings of modernisation of the Infantry as well as the Army are unclear, with the Doctrine dating back to 2004. There is a need for a review of the doctrine to meet the challenges of warfare in the 2030’s.  Despite all the hype of artificial intelligence, quantum computing and hybrid warfare etc, the outcomes on the field of battles will be determined by the Infatry soldier or combat power that can be brought about at the point of decision.