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Holding the frigid ground

Why winter gear is central to building the country's Himalayan deterrence

12 min read
Updated On: Jan 10 2026 | 2:00 AM IST
Mohammad Asif Khan
Indian Army personnel at an high-altitude region wearing the winter gear (Photo: Indian Army)

Indian Army personnel at an high-altitude region wearing the winter gear (Photo: Indian Army)

“Only a fool goes to war in winter,” goes an old military adage. In the Himalayas, winter is not just a season. It is the battlefield. From the Siachen Glacier to the Line of Actual Control (LAC), survival depends on who can hold ground and sustain forces to deter an adversary. 
In early 1984, when India was looking to procure high-altitude winter gear for contingencies in the northern sector, it discovered that Pakistan had placed a similar order for the procurement of specialised Arctic and mountaineering equipment from the same supplier in Europe. 
The nature and scale of the procurement were unusual,  the equipment went beyond routine training needs and pointed toward a sustained deployment above 18,000 feet. This information sent alarm bells to India's defence establishment and it decided to act beforehand.  
On April 13, 1984, the Indian Army launched Operation Meghdoot. It involved the airlifting of high-altitude-trained troops to occupy Bilafond La, Sia La, and other dominant positions along the Saltoro Ridge southwest of the Siachen Glacier, days before Pakistan’s planned move to capture the glacier.  

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The operation secured the strategically important Siachen glacier, which remains the world’s highest battlefield. In warfare, winter has long been deadlier than enemy fire; India’s own experience has been unforgiving. In Siachen and Ladakh, far more soldiers have died from avalanches, frostbite, hypothermia, and high-altitude sickness than from enemy fire. 
Temperatures routinely fall below -40°C and can plunge to -50°C. Survival depends entirely on the availability of facilities and gear. Equipment failure, which could be a problem at lower altitudes, becomes a fatal error at high altitudes.
  “Extreme cold affects the performance of weapons and vehicles; that is why specific drills have evolved to ensure equipment remains operational and adjustments are based on experience,” Lieutenant General S L Narasimhan (retired), who served in the Indian Army, said.
  Thirty-six years after Operation Meghdoot, when Indian and Chinese troops engaged in hand-to-hand combat in the Galwan Valley in June 2020, that message reverberated.
  Before the clashes, a 2019 report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India had highlighted the acute shortage of winter gear for the Army. 
  It revealed that between 2015-16 and 2017-18, troops lacked basic winter gear like boots, jackets, sleeping bags, and face masks. It also highlighted the lack of proper rations at some stations and the absence of proper housing and shelters at certain posts.
  “The Galwan incident served as an immediate trigger for us to get advanced winter gear and facilities to deter our adversary high up in the Himalayas,” Lieutenant Colonel G S Sodhi (retired) said.
  “Since then, we have made considerable progress in upgrading our gear, but we still have a long way to go before we match the capabilities of China’s PLA (People's Liberation Army),” he added.
  On the guard 
  For decades, the Indian military presence in high-altitude regions was defined on the principle of rotation, but the Galwan clash changed that equation, and the forward presence of troops became a permanent trend.  
2026 marks the sixth consecutive year of forward deployment of troops in eastern Ladakh. This has called for mass production of advanced winter gear. One of the earliest upgrades was the procurement of the Extreme Cold Weather Clothing System (ECWCS), similar to what the North Atlantic Treaty Organization troops use. 
  Unlike old heavy parkas ( large windproof jacket), these systems incorporate the use of highly advanced base layers that wick or pull moisture away, insulating layers, as well as windproof and waterproof outer layers. 
India has procured around 11,000 ECWCS kits this year from the stockholdings of the US Army under the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement signed in 2016. Despite being a global powerhouse in garment and footwear manufacturing, India imports nearly 80 per cent of its advanced winter clothing for the armed forces, according to 2019 estimates. 
  Even as indigenisation remains a stated priority, Ministry of Defence (MoD) officials have routinely travelled to Europe to source specialised cold-weather gear for troops deployed in high-altitude areas. “The private sector needs to pick up the pace to manufacture gear that suits the operational needs of the Army,” Sodhi added. 
But indigenous production has produced some good results. For instance, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) developed Himkavach, an indigenous extreme cold-weather clothing system. Created specifically for Indian conditions considering the need for long-term engagements in the Himalayan region, Himkavach has a multilayered and modular design.  
These layers can be used individually or in combination, and they have moisture-wicking capabilities that can help insulation by trapping the heat under the middle layers. This reduces bulk while preserving warmth and mobility.
  An outer layer protects against wind, snow, and water. According to the DRDO, Himkavach can work well in temperatures ranging from moderate to a very low temperature bordering on -60°C. It has cleared user trials and is being inducted into the Army in several phases.
  Apart from body gear, glove sets, balaclavas, and facial masks made from innovative breathable materials have improved exposure resistance while maintaining adequate agility. Modular glove systems have been introduced that allow soldiers to maintain dexterity while keeping their hands warm.
  Accommodations for sleeping have improved as well. Soldiers now have -50°C-rated sleeping bags that are coupled with insulated sleeping mats to ensure that no body heat is lost to the ground. Such sleeping solutions are much lighter and smaller than those in use earlier and can help soldiers relax, this is crucial for long-term deployment.
  Mountain climbing gear has also been modernised to meet international standards, thus improving glacier mobility safety. Lightweight arctic-rated boots with sophisticated insulation systems and ice/rock grips are no longer optional, cutting the number of frostbite incidents.
  Private firms have also expanded production of cold-weather clothing, sleeping systems, gloves, and shelters. At the same time, soldier feedback has played a growing role in refining equipment design for private firms.
  “What I can say with certainty is that soldiers today are getting much better gear than they did earlier.” Major Anil Malik (retired), a former special forces officer and founder of the tactical gear company SpecOps India, said.
  “Our products are sold almost entirely through word of mouth. Soldiers who use them give feedback, and units approach us based on that experience,” he added.
  Improvements extend beyond clothing; wearable electronics are also slowly making their way into high-altitude deployments. These include global positioning system devices hardened for extreme weather conditions and wearable power packs that allow soldiers to charge their devices on the go and without any fixed infrastructure.
  From rotation to permanence
  The shift since Galwan has been about maintaining a permanent presence along the disputed frontier. N N Dubey, a former deputy inspector general of the Border Security Force who has served in some of India’s toughest forward areas, said survivability is now treated as an operational requirement rather than a support function capability to maintain the ground.
  “In forward areas where time and manpower are limited. Shelters and equipment must be simple, modular and quick to deploy. Soldiers immediately point out what takes too long to assemble or creates safety risks,” he said. “Weight matters as much as warmth. If it is difficult to move, it will not be used properly,” he added.
  The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), which guards large stretches of the LAC, has followed a similar path. Former ITBP additional director-general Sanjay Raina said winter provisioning has long been treated as a priority within the force. “We always kept ourselves slightly ahead of requirements,” he said.
  “The idea to provide them with winter clothes has always been prioritised, but now that they are permanently posted, there are new challenges. If soldiers are adequately equipped to survive, then mobility becomes the priority, but the next requirement will be to minimise load,” he added.
  To respond to this, increased attention has focused on the availability of snow-rated all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). Articulated ATVs built by Polaris and JSW Gecko have been deployed to navigate deep snow and craggy paths that traditional vehicles cannot manage.
  “When a soldier is fully equipped for survival in inhospitable terrain, their mobility is reduced due to the weight they carry. We need more transportation methods like ATVs and snow scooters,” Raina said.
  The Indian Army maintains one of the highest altitude depots for fuel, oil, and lubricants, supplying both vehicles and troops’ bukharis (heaters) to keep soldiers warm in the bitter cold. Food rations are pre-cooked, canned, packaged, and stocked well in advance, with warehouses full to the brim before winter sets in.
  Shelter design, too, has seen improvements. Insulated prefabricated huts, designed and developed by Indian firms along with the DRDO, have been widely used. Solar Heated Insulated Ladakhi shelters have also been deployed in Ladakh that can accommodate three to four soldiers per shelter.
  “Prefabricated shelters developed by Indian companies have been tested and deployed in these conditions, and they have significantly improved the ability to sustain troops through winter,” Narasimhan said.
  Such shelters have double-layered insulation and also built-in heating systems, and even have solar panels for powering them. Snow-proof bunkers are designed for strong insulation to offer protection against both temperature and on-field threats. 
The Army has floated requests for lighter, better-insulated “pup tents” that can be carried on patrols and set up quickly near observation points or sentry posts.
  At high altitudes, acclimatisation is as crucial as gear. Troops follow a 14-day staged induction into high-altitude zones: six days at 9,000–12,000 feet (ft) with walks and rest, four days at 12,000–15,000 ft, and four days above 15,000 ft. At Siachen, this stretches to 21 days. Without it, hypoxia can cause nausea, disorientation, and headaches.
  At these heights, soldiers often face low humidity, solar and ultraviolet radiation, frostbite, snow-blindness, chilblains, and the mental strain of isolation. 
To support troops facing these ailments, medical facilities have also increased in number alongside the infrastructure development in Ladakh. These high-altitude medical posts are outfitted with oxygen and other emergency medicines.
  Communications and surveillance have also expanded. A comprehensive surveillance network, including long-range cameras, drones, and aerial patrols, has been developed to ease the necessity for frequent physical patrols during the harshest months. 
Forward locations now have reliable mobile connectivity, including 4G and 5G links, keeping troops connected with command and families, a morale booster for those soldiers serving in isolation. 
Breakdown of the Himkavach (Photo: DRDO; Graphics: Blueprint design desk)
  Old scars, new contest
  India’s focus on winter sustainment is shaped not only by recent skirmishes, but also by older scars. The experience of fighting China in the Himalayas during 1962 China-India war has left a lasting imprint on Indian military thinking.
  In his book India’s China War, the journalist Neville Maxwell documented how Indian forces struggled with shortages of winter gear and basic logistics in freezing conditions, while the PLA was better prepared for sustained operations in the cold. Nowhere was this imbalance starker than at the Battle of Rezang La in eastern Ladakh, where troops of the 13th battalion of the Kumaon regiment fought to the last man in subzero temperatures. Many succumbed to their battle wounds: their bodies were eventually found frozen, still clutching their weapons.
  The lesson is visible today along the LAC, where the test is no longer limited to crisis response or short-term preparedness but to prepare for long-term deployment. China’s PLA has constructed winter infrastructure that is intended to be lasting. 
  This includes heated living quarters, uninterrupted access to electric power, underground storage for supplies, and year-round access to roads and railways, helping China to maintain a sustained presence of not just troops but also civilians close to the LAC.
  At high altitude, the PLA has troops operating under an integrated cold climate system, which involves multiple layers of clothing as well as heated boots, heated helmets, and heated clothing. In effect, this is a deployment tactic not just for surviving the winter but also a way of surviving the winter in a way that does not diminish combat effectiveness.
  While India has caught up in this race, it is still not close to China’s capabilities in terms of scale and sophistication at present. But experts argue that it is enough to maintain deterrence at the moment.
  “In some technologies, China may have a slight advantage, but altitude gives advantages to both sides, and these tend to balance out. High-altitude warfare is not about matching numbers, tanks for tanks, or guns for guns,” Narasimhan said.
  “India does not have offensive intent. Our capabilities are designed to counter and deter any offensive action, and from that perspective, they are adequate," he added.
  From Siachen to Galwan, India has learnt that winter gear is as important as tanks and aircraft. Soldiers are better prepared than before, but the lessons from history and the shadow of a well-prepared PLA reminds Indian commanders along the LAC that in the Himalayas that winter does not forgive.  
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Written By :

Mohammad Asif Khan

Mohammad Asif Khan is a Senior Correspondent at Business Standard, where he covers defence, security, and strategic affairs.
First Published: Jan 10 2026 | 2:00 AM IST

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