India’s first integrated defence communication network was launched in New Delhi enabling the army, air force, navy and the Special Forces Command to share situational awareness for a faster decision-making process. The Defence Communication Network (DCN), a strategic, highly secure and scalable system, has a pan-India reach — from Ladakh to the North East to island territories.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, who inaugurated the network at South Block, emphasised on the need to keep the network completely secure all the time. Parrikar said this network is a step towards jointmanship that the government is pushing for in the armed forces. While all the three forces have their own command, communication and intelligence networks, this is the first time when there will be a dedicated network for greater synergy.

Built by HCL under a nearly Rs 600 crore project, DCN offers high quality voice, video and data services covering 111 entities spread across the country. It is capable of working on terrestrial as well as satellite mode of communication and has also been fixed onboard different military vehicles.