Vivek Ahuja
Chimera
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This book is dedicated to my father, Wing-Commander P. M. Ahuja, Indian Air Force (Retd.) my mother, Dr. Sulekha Ahuja and all the men and women in the Indian Armed Forces who willingly give their today so that we will have a tomorrow. Hopefully this book will a go a little way in helping people understand why and how they do, what they do.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all the people at Bharat-Rakshak Forum, the readers of my blog and my friends who gave me the push and the drive needed to finish what I had started a long time ago.
NOMENCLATURE
ACCR — AIRBORNE COMMAND AND CONTROL REGIMENT
ACCCS — ARTILLERY COMBAT COMMAND AND CONTROL SYSTEM
ADGES — AIR-DEFENSE GROUND ENVIRONMENT SYSTEM
AEW&C — AIRBORNE EARLY WARNING AND CONTROL
AFARP — ARTILLERY FORWARD AREA REARMING POINT
ALG — ADVANCED LANDING GROUND
ALCM — AIR LAUNCHED CRUISE MISSILE
AMRAAM — Advanced MEDIUM RANGE AIR-TO-AIR MISSILE
APC — ARMORED PERSONNEL CARRIER
ARC — AVIATION RESEARCH CENTER
AWACS — AIRBORNE WARNING AND CONTROL SYSTEM
BARCAP — BARRIER COMBAT AIR PATROL
BMS — BATTLEFIELD MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
CABS — CENTER FOR AIRBORNE SYSTEMS
CAP — COMBAT AIR PATROL
CAS — CLOSE AIR SUPPORT
CIC — COMBAT INFORMATION CENTER
CINC-WAC — COMMANDER IN CHIEF, WESTERN AIR COMMAND
CMC — CENTRAL MILITARY COMMISSION
COMINT — COMMUNICATIONS INTELLIGENCE
DCA — DEFENSIVE COUNTER AIR
DIPAC — DEFENSE IMAGERY PROCESSING AND ANALYSIS CENTER
DOD — DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
EO — ELECTRO-OPTICAL
ELINT — ELECTRONIC INTELLIGENCE
EW — ELECTRONIC WARFARE
FAC — FORWARD AIR CONTROLLER
FARP — FORWARD AREA REARMING POINT
FEBA — FORWARD EDGE OF THE BATTLEFIELD
FFAR — FOLDING FIN AERIAL ROCKET
GLCM — GROUND LAUNCHED CRUISE MISSILE
HAL — HINDUSTAN AERONAUTICS LIMITED
HAS — HARDENED AIRCRAFT SHELTER
HUD — HEADS UP DISPLAY
HUMINT — HUMAN INTELLIGENCE
IAF — INDIAN AIR FORCE
IASC — INDIAN AEROSPACE COMMAND
IB — INTELLIGENCE BUREAU
IMFS — INTEGRATED MULTI-FUNCTION SIGHT
IMTRAT — INDIAN MILITARY TRAINING TEAM
IR — INFRA-RED
ISR — INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLENCE, RECONNAISANCE
ISRO — INDIAN SPACE RESEARCH ORGANISATION
JFB — JOINT FORCE BHUTAN
LCH — LIGHT COMBAT HELICOPTER
LOD — LINE OF DEPARTURE
MBRL — MULTI-BARREL ROCKET LAUNCHER
MBT — MAIN BATTLE TANK
MLRS — MULTIPLE LAUNCH ROCKET SYSTEM
MOD — MINISTRY OF DEFENSE
MRAF — MILITARY REGION AIR FORCE
MSR — MAIN SUPPLY ROUTE
NCNA — NEW CHINA NEWS AGENCY
OCA — OFFENSIVE COUNTER AIR
ORBAT — ORDER OF BATTLE
ORP — OPERATIONAL READINESS PLATFORM
PLA — PEOPLE’S LIBERATION ARMY
PLAAF — PEOPLE’S LIBERATION ARMY AIR FORCE
PLAN — PEOPLE’S LIBERATION ARMY NAVY
POL — PASSAGE OF LINES
RAW — RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS WING
RWR — RADAR WARNING RECEIVER
SAMS — SURFACE TO AIR MISSILE SYSTEMS
SEAD — SUPRESSION OF ENEMY AIR DEFENSES
SFC — STRATEGIC FORCES COMMAND
SHORAD — SHORT RANGE AIR DEFENSE
SOCOM — SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND
SOFOR — STATUS OF FORCES
SPG — SPECIAL PROTECTION GROUP
TAR — TIBET AUTONOMOUS REGION
TEL — TRANSPORTER ERECTOR LAUNCHER
TI — THERMAL IMAGING
UAV — UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES
WAC — WESTERN AIR COMMABD
WLR — WEAPON LOCATING RADAR
WSO — WEAPONS SYSTEM OPERATOR
MAPS
PROLOGUE
“Pathfinder-Two to — One. Target sighted. Inbound and Jolly. Over”
“Pathfinder-One copies all. Stand-by.”
Lieutenant-Colonel Gephel switched off his UHF radio and slowly put it on the ground, avoiding any sudden movements to alert the enemy. Then he pulled up his binoculars to observe the terrain in front of him. The distant manmade dust cloud was clearly visible now, behind the peaks around which the road took a bend. It was a good distance away, so that even via binoculars it was a small sight. But it was there, and it was coming this way. This one was a big target, and something for which Gephel’s team of five were cooperating with a sister team in the region. It was to be the most audacious attack so far and would take place right under the enemy’s nose. To complicate matters, this wasn’t exactly the ideal terrain for this kind of job. The luckier teams had their areas of operations assigned where there was cover and where they were happily playing merry hell for their opponents. But that was why Gephel had volunteered for commanding this team. The other teams had younger officers of the rank of Captain and below leading them in action. But the two teams here had the most difficult of tasks, and that was why the two senior officers of this unit were leading them forward.
Gephel was a lot younger than his peers. Even so, he was a lot older than his junior officers. But that was why he insisted on every man in his unit, young and old, to be as fit as humanly possible. As his men had come to realize, the limit of ‘Humanly Possible’ as interpreted by their CO was very much higher than what they would have imagined. The dropout rate for this unit during training was very high. This meant that by the time a soldier passed into this unit, he was already far ahead than his peers in other units. Many had questioned the need for such a regimen during the time when the unit was brought up to strength, but all those doubts had been thrown out by the unit soon after they had arrived here. It was all paying off, and Lieutenant-Colonel and Lieutenant alike, were keeping pace. They had to.