With the possibility of a long-drawn war with Pakistan not going to end in the imminent future, the government is mulling over setting up a ‘surgical strike unit’ comprising of best personnel from all the three streams of the Indian Armed forces. The government is contemplating the ‘surgical strike unit’ keeping in mind the increasing threats posed by enemies via land, air and water.

“The government has sensed a need for a distinct platoon with enhanced skills, having the best officers from all the three subsets of the armed forces,” said the report quoting an anonymous source.

This unit will be sanctioned with the authority of conducting surprise attacks deep inside the enemy territory with precision, inflicting irreparable damage and departing from the assault site as soon as possible.

Deemed as the National Security Advisor Ajit Doval’s brainchild, the new unit will have soldiers from Garuds, Marcos and Paras — the special forces of the Air Force, Navy and Army respectively. It is also expected that their capabilities will be on par with the US Navy Seals as they are required to navigate in demanding situations with great rapidity.

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It is anticipated that this stratagem will be more effective than the cross-border surgical strike carried out by the country’s special forces in September 2016 as the government aims to institutionalise the use of air force in future operations by setting up a dedicated surgical strikes unit.

Separate budgetary allocations will be made for independent functioning of this unit. The force is being instituted to rein in increasing infiltration attempts and ceasefire violations made by Pakistani forces.

The unit will comprise personnel having extensive experience in carrying out counter-insurgency operations. The group will be commanded by the Chief of Army Staff and will have two groups- the planning group will have 96 members whereas the assault group will consist 124 members.

Maintaining the convention followed by all international special forces, the assault group will have two sub-units, attack and support units, to secure a smooth operation with perfect coordination.

The force will not only be trained in top combative skills but will also be equipped in field craft such as reading hi-tech maps and synchronising with air support. The support group will accumulate substantial knowledge of the target area to provide intelligence feedback to the attack unit.