BEL delivers new artillery combat system to Army

Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), the public sector defence undertaking, today dedicated to the Army its new artillery combat and control system. Christened Shakti, the new system is developed by BEL in association with Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

Shakti is a main sub-system of Tactical Command Control & Communication Intelligence (Tac C3I) system being deployed by the Army. The components that go into Shakti are enhanced tactical computer, handheld computer, gun display unit, all of which are interconnected through tactical radio network, land lines or fibre optic cable, an official statement said.

Presently, the artillery operations in the Army are being carried out manually. Shakti system makes use of software with GIS and GPS functionalities to integrate and automate all artillery operational functions.

The major functions of Shakti are: technical fire control (trajectory computation), tactical fire control (processing of fire requests and ammunition management), deployment management (suggesting deployment areas for guns and observation posts for defensive and offensive operations), operational logistics (timely provisioning of ammunition and logistic support) and fire planning (generation of fire plans, task tables and automatic generation of gun programmes).

The software has been jointly developed by BEL and DRDO. The system software has undergone verification and validation internally at BEL and by external agencies. The system has undergone a series of user evaluations and integration testing. It has also undergone extensive field evaluations and trials, the statement added.

”With the experience and expertise gained in design and implementation of tactical systems and proactive development of future network centric projects and tactical communication systems for the defence forces, BEL is in a position to develop and supply complex futuristic systems to meet all the NCW (Network Centric Warfare) requirements of the Indian Army,” Ashwani Kumar Datt, chairman and managing director, BEL said.

BEL is also involved in the design, development and supply of other Tac C3I systems like Command Information & Decision Support System (CIDSS) - Samvahak; battlefield surveillance system — Sanjay; and air defence control and reporting system — Akash Teer.

BEL also has also been working on the development of other significant battlefield projects like BMS (Battlefield Management System) and F-INSAS (Future Infantry Soldier as a System).