Armed Forces Counting On Modern Technology For Combat

The Ghana Armed Forces is adopting modern technology for use in various battle situations, Lieutenant Colonel Seth Gyekye Odei, the Commanding Officer of 5th Battalion, has said.

He said it has become necessary for the GAF to adopt modern technological tools in its combat on various battlegrounds because the enemy has access to sophisticated tools.

“New equipment has been introduced like drones, jammers, air assets and other equipment which modernise the battle space. You know the enemy now has the drone, and the drone has a lot of capabilities. It can give us pictures which are used to produce maps, it can locate the exact position of enemy, and can track enemy movement. So the Commander in the modern army needs to plan well against well-established enemies,” Lt Col Gyekye Odei said.

He said this during a land power demonstration at the Bundase Training Camp where he led as the Battle Group Commander.

Lt Col Gyekye Odei said the essence of the demonstration was to showcase the firepower at a battle group level to students of Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (GAFCSC) who are beginning what they called “a special arms term.”

Besides the Ghanaians, the international participants included students from South Africa, Mali, Nigeria, Mauritius, Togo and Sierra Leone, amongst others.

“It is an exposure for them (students) to see what the infantry and all the supporting elements have in the battlespace. It encompasses the infantry, and all the other supporting elements like the artillery, the communication warfare, the special forces involvement and the air and naval assets all incorporated into this kind of joint taskforce operation,” he said.

“And normally we create a scenario that fits the purpose for which we want to organise the exercise. And this year, the scenario is a fictional country to the East of Ghana called Aggressor. But the students were well trained and are very skillful to know that these are the moments for us to defeat our adversaries,” Lt Col Gyekye Odei said.

The battle group engages in this exercise every year to help the students understand the real battle situations as they happen.

Among the dignitaries who witnessed the demonstration was the Minister for Defence, Chief of Defence Staff and Members of Parliament.