Kargil War order of battle

Organization of the Indian Army during the Kargil War From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Kargil War order of battle (KWORBAT), is a deposition and systematic combatant structure of the Indian Army troops and the unified Pakistan Armed Forces combat commands, active in the Kargil region in 1999, during the Kargil War. The Indian Army orbat is based on the publications provided by the Indian military authors, news media and official sources.

US Navy map of Kargil, 2008.

India

Indian Army infantry battalions were often transferred between brigade commands during the war, so sometimes appear under multiple brigades.

Indian Army

Northern Command (Lt Gen H. M. Khanna)

Divisional Brigades

Additional brigades

3rd Infantry Division

Kargil Theatre Artillery
These units took part in the war serving under various formations:[1]

Other battalions[2]

Indian Air Force

Apart from the involvement of the Indian Army, the Indian Air Force (IAF) also participated in the Kargil War as part of Operation Safed Sagar.

More information Squadron number, Squadron Name ...
IAF Order of Battle [3]
Squadron number Squadron Name Equipment Commanding Officer
Combat Aircraft
No. 1 Squadron IAF Tigers Mirage 2000H Wing commander S. Neelakanthan
No. 7 Squadron IAF Battle Axes Mirage 2000H Wing commander Sandeep Chabbra
No. 9 Squadron IAF Wolfpack MiG-27ML Wing commander Avtar Singh
No. 14 Squadron IAF Bulls SEPECAT Jaguar IS/IB Wing commander Ashwani Bhakoo
No. 17 Squadron IAF Golden Arrows MiG-21M Wing commander BS Dhanoa
No. 27 Squadron IAF Flaming Arrows SEPECAT Jaguar IS Wing commander HKJS Shokay
No. 28 Squadron IAF First Supersonics MiG-29B Wing commander PM Cherian

Wing commander P Randhava

No. 51 Squadron IAF Sword Arms MiG-21 bis Wing commander NK Tandon
No. 102 Squadron IAF Trisonics MiG-25R Group Captain SP Ojha
No. 106 Squadron IAF Lynxes Canberra PR.57 Group Captain RS Chaudhari
No. 108 Squadron IAF Hawkeyes MiG-21M Wing commander HS Jalliawala
No. 221 Squadron IAF Valiants MiG-23 BN Wing commander Ashit Mehta
No. 223 Squadron IAF Tridents MiG-29B Wing commander Sandeep Sud
Transport aircraft
No. 25 Squadron IAF Himalayan Eagles An-32 / Il-76 Group Captain SP Singh
No. 48 Squadron IAF Camels An-32 Group Captain Mk Devnath
Helicopter Units
No. 114 Helicopter Unit IAF Siachen Pioneers HAL Cheetah Wing commander AS Butola
No. 129 Helicopter Unit IAF Nubra Warriors Mil Mi-17 Wing commander AK Sinha
No. 152 Helicopter Unit IAF Mighty Armours Mil Mi-17 Wing commander S Mittal
No. 130 Helicopter Unit IAF Condors Mil Mi-8
No. 132 FAC Flight IAF HAL Cheetah Wing commander OS Ahluwalia
Close

In addition, the IAF also deployed three observation flights, five radar units, three units of Pechora SAM's as well as a large battery of Osa and Igla units.[3]

Indian Navy

As a part of Operation Talwar, The Indian Navy deployed a flotilla under the light carrier INS Viraat to the Arabian Sea.

Pakistan

Initially, the Kargil order of battle was planned by the Directorate-General for Military Operations (DGMO), Brig. Gen. Nadeem Ahmed. However, after the IAF strike and Indian advancement in the region, the Pakistan Air Force and the Navy deployed and issued orders to their combat forces. Their missions were to conduct surveillance and air patrolling; no other combat units of PAF and Navy participated in the combat. The inter-services order of battle is mentioned in the table. According to the Pakistan news channels reports and military declassified information, the Kargil infiltration was comprehensively planned by the joint officers at the Joint staff Headquarters, a joint office secretariat which then-served under General Pervez Musharraf.

From the start of the conflict, there were numerous inter-services meetings coordinated by the chairman joint chiefs, to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The controversy still surrounds in the military science circle of the Pakistan armed forces, with chief of naval staff and chief of air staff including key theatre commanders of army combatant corps, bringing up the accusations that the Kargil front was launched without their knowledge or confidence.

Pakistan Army

Pakistan Air Force

Pakistan Navy

  • Note: No Navy units took active participation. The Navy was on high-alert but strictly ordered by Admiral Bokhari not to escalate the crises into sea. Although, Navy had its own significance in the Kargil theatre, but no crucial operations and efforts were applied or undertaken by Navy to support the army. According to the chief of naval staff, General Pervez Musharraf, as chairman joint chiefs, had failed to take navy into confidence prior to the start of the conflict.
    • Pakistan Navy Commander Karachi[8]
    • Pakistan Naval Air Arm
      • The Pakistan Navy, in a defensive mood, directed all its units to keep clear of Indian naval ships. As the exercise shifted closer to the Makaran Coast, Pakistan moved all its major combatants out of Karachi. The Navy remained on high-alert, although orders were not to escalate the crises to sea. The Navy launched surveillance operations; Karachi port remained on high-alert.[9]

References

Sources

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