Armed Forces Special Operations Division: India To Get An Elite Tri-Services Commando Force By 2019

India is set to get its own elite tri-service commando unit along the lines of the US Special Operations Command, which was responsible for eliminating Osama Bin Laden, to conduct special operations and strategic missions, reports The Pioneer.

The new unit will be called the Armed Forces Special Operations Division and will begin functioning by November 2019 with an initial force of a small commando team made up experienced soldiers from the Army’s Special Forces, the Navy’s Marine Commandos (MARCOS) and the Air Force’s Garud commandos.

Eventually, the special division will number around 3,000 and will be headed by a Major General ranked officer. The government has also given the green light for the formation of a cyber agency to be led by a naval officer of equivalent rank.

Similar to the commando division, the cyber agency will also constitute experts from all the three services.

Both these specialised units will come under the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) which works to further inter-services coordination.

The IDS is also responsible for overseeing the creation of a new space agency that will be led by an air force officer for conducting space missions.

The creation of these three new units stems from the recommendations made by Naresh Chandra Committee in 2012 to combat threats to national security.

The new special operations unit will also have at its disposal its own helicopters, transport aircraft and advanced weaponry needed to conduct strategic operations.