BHUJ: In Kutch, the ground won’t hold, distances are deceiving and the salt-laden air degrades people and cars. The Army operates in two distinct battlespaces: the western tidal creek strip, where channels and shifting tides dictate mobility, and the inland desert, where exposed stretches complicate movement, targeting, and sustainment. After last year’s hostilities with Pakistan, the stance has been recalibrated for this tough theatre.
The boundary where the fence fails
The ground here has tested India before. On 9 April 1965, Pakistan’s 51st Brigade Group launched a pre-dawn attack on Sardar and Tak posts in the Rann of Kutch. Then, lightly held by the CRPF and Gujarat Police, two companies of the 2nd CRPF Battalion defeated a brigade-level strike before stabilization. The episode exposed structural gaps, leading to the creation of the Border Security Force later that year. Kutch also served as an early staging ground before Operation Gibraltar and the wider war of 1965. With Sir Creek contested and rugged terrain, control relied on surveillance, patrolling, mobility and integrated brigade capabilities. The Army’s 75th Independent Infantry Brigade Group, based in Bhuj, operates as an independent formation, with artillery, air defense and engineers organically built into the unit, along with an embedded ammunition company.
Speaking of IT WAS CUTBrigadier Neeraj Khajuria, who commands the brigade, described the Rann Creek sector as “among the Army’s most demanding operational environments outside Siachen”, shaped by “harsh terrain, dispersed deployment and the need for close multi-agency coordination”. he said Operation Sindoor required a calibrated posture that balanced defense with quick response in “a complex environment.”
Troops here contend not only with hostile geography, but also poisonous snakes, scorpions, and swamp fauna, especially during night patrols and static deployment. Snake bite kits, defensive drills and habitat awareness remain routine.
In the creek area, mobility depends on water and tides. A specialized Sapper detachment attached to the brigade operates Fast Patrol Vessels (FPVs) through shallow channels, performing patrol, surveillance and penetration duties. Here, engineers function effectively as the primary maneuver force.
A tactical exercise illustrated this operating model. The FPVs advanced in attack waves organized into vanguard, main body and rear guard. Forward elements conducted reconnaissance and deception, the rear provided depth, and the main body closed in on simulated enemy positions on the coastline.
Above them, UAVs maintained continuous ISR coverage while armed drones operated alongside the formation. Robotic mules moved along waterways, All Terrain Vehicles exploited the steeper edges of the stream, and foot patrols traversed swampy areas where mechanized mobility failed. The indigenously improved L-70 air defense guns were positioned inside the drill, providing low-altitude cover. The same systems proved critical during Operation Sindoor, when the Kutch and Creek sectors saw more than 100 Pakistani UAVs engaged through a layered network of L-70 guns and anti-UAS systems.
Across this sector, land, water, and air are compressed into a single multi-domain battlespace.
Where distance stands and salt eats steel
Inside, the restrictions change. The Kutch desert allows deployment of firepower, but movement becomes the central challenge. Roads are sparse, tracks unreliable and unevenly loaded, placing a mobility burden on ATVs for troops and logistics. Armor is used selectively, with T-72 tanks fitted with cages that reflect the adaptation to drone warfare seen in Operation Sindoor. Artillery remains available but limited by terrain; The M-46 130mm guns provide long-range support in sustained conditions. Here, heat mirages distort the line of sight, degrading aiming accuracy. Even at short intervals, depth perception becomes deceptive. Salt-laden conditions further corrode motors, optics and metal, accelerating wear beyond normal maintenance cycles.
How Kutch Op Sindoor Changed
Even before Operation Sindoor, the Army had begun to integrate UAVs into its operational matrix, but last year’s hostilities turned that evolution into a doctrinal turning point. Nearly 1,000 UAVs, mostly low-scale platforms of Chinese and Turkish origin, along with several suicide drones, were launched from Pakistan across the western border. The response was layered, with air defense weapons, anti-UAS systems and surveillance networks operating in an integrated network. Since then, UAVs have been relegated to lower tactical levels, anti-drone capabilities have been standardized, and survivability measures like coping cages have been institutionalized.
In Kutch, this difference is evident in the adaptation of the terrain. UAVs compensate for mobility limitations by delivering supplies to forward positions and providing real-time ISR and fire correction, improving targeting accuracy. Coordination between agencies has also been strengthened. The BSF maintains the frontline in the creek sector, with joint exercises and joint drone training being extended across the force.
Following Operation Sindoor, activity along the western coastline has intensified, with India beefing up presence, surveillance and mobility. As Defense Minister Rajnath Singh stated in Bhuj, any aggression at Sir Creek will invite a decisive response.
The infrastructure that supports that warning is already visible. Drone labs operate from forward positions. UAVs take over targeting when heat mirages distort optical systems. Logistics drones push supplies where roads can’t. Anti-drone systems now move in formations, while FPVs and ATVs extend operational reach across terrain that can stop conventional movement in the cold. In this sector, where the ground itself resists invasion, advantage on the battlefield increasingly belongs to the force that can see farther, adapt faster, and act first.
