The Argentina Defense Attache visited the prestigious High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS) in Gulmarg, India, on November 27 to discuss nuances of mountain warfare and tactical operations in high-altitude terrain and explore opportunities for future collaboration between the Indian and Argentinian Army.
During the visit, the Argentina Defense Attache, an expert in high-altitude warfare, discussed modern warfare in high mountains with the HAWS instructors. They discussed the nuances of training and tactical operations conducted in high-altitude environments.
The visit underscores the need to exchange best practices and align strategies for mountain warfare between India and Argentina, two countries sharing mountainous borders with their neighbors.
The two sides also discussed areas of future collaboration in defense. Incidentally, India and Argentina have just celebrated the 75th anniversary of their diplomatic relations, established on February 3, 1949.
The Need For Mountain Warfare
India and Argentina share hundreds of miles-long high-altitude mountainous borders with their neighbors. The Himalayas have some of the world’s tallest peaks, and the Siachen Glacier is the world’s highest militarized zone.
The glacier is located in the Karakoram mountain range in Ladakh, at an elevation of over 20,000 ft. India also shares a 3,488-kilometer (2,167-mile) long mountain border with China and has seen frequent clashes with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in recent years.
On the other hand, Argentina is home to some of the tallest mountains in the world outside the Himalayas. The Andes Mountain range runs along Argentina’s western border with Chile and boasts many peaks higher than 6,500 meters.
For instance, at 6,961 meters, the Aconcagua Peak in the Andes is the tallest mountain in Argentina and the tallest mountain in South America. It’s also the highest mountain in the world outside the Himalayas and is in the famed “Seven Summits,” the seven tallest mountains on each continent. Just like India and China, Argentina also has some disputed areas along the mountainous border with Chile.
To safeguard these mountain ranges, the armies of both countries have established specialized mountain units, such as the 8th Mountain Infantry Brigade in Argentina, the Indian Army’s XVII Mountain Strike Corps, and Ladakh Scouts.
This shared topography means that both countries can learn from each other’s experience in mountain warfare training and exchange best practices.
Argentina’s 8th Mountain Infantry Brigade has historically trained at California’s U.S. Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center. However, the recent visit to HAWS by the Argentinian Defense Attache has raised the possibility of Argentinian soldiers training with Indian Army soldiers at the HAWS training institute in the near future.
HAWS – Globally Reputed Mountain Warfare Training Institute
The Argentinian Defense Attache’s visit underscored HAWS’s global reputation as a center of excellence in mountain warfare training and its commitment to building international partnerships.
Established in 1948, HAWS is the Indian Army’s top training establishment for special operations in high-altitude, glaciated, and snow-bound areas. It trains army personnel in Mountain warfare and Ice/Snow Crafting.
The school operates from three different locations in Kashmir. HAWS conducts winter warfare courses at Gulmarg, mountain warfare courses at Sonamarg, and ice craft courses at Machoi across Zojila.
Over the years, HAWS has trained soldiers not just from India but also from countries like the US, UK, Germany, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Botswana, and Bhutan, who come here regularly for specialized training in High-Altitude mountain warfare.
The Indian Army soldiers posted in Siachen Glacier, the world’s highest militarized zone, and other high-altitude areas along the northern borders with Pakistan and China are trained in HAWS.
HAWS offers two training programs: the mountain warfare course and the Winter Warfare course. The school trains soldiers and officers in high-altitude warfare, Snow Cliff Climbing, Mountain Survival Skills, and Ice Crafting. It also trains Indian Army personnel in winter sports and trains them for rescue operations in the mountains.
HAWS also played an important role during the 1999 Kargil conflict by conducting crash courses for troops prior to their induction in the actual operations to dislodge Pakistani intruders from the icy heights.
“Its facilities, with mountain warfare courses in Sonamarg area and snow-craft and winter warfare in Gulmarg area, are among the best in the world…we can teach most armies a thing or two about this kind of warfare,” an Indian Army instructor at HAWS was quoted as saying by the Times of India.
U.S. Army artillery officer Capt. Matthew Hickey, who attended the HAWS training course in 2013, has described it as an advanced mountain warfare school.
“It’s akin to our Airborne school a little bit, like how we pioneered this idea of putting Paratroopers behind enemy lines … HAWS is kind of like that. It has evolved into this very important and advanced mountain warfare school that has a training side and an operation side, and it has a lot of strategic value,” Hickey was quoted as saying by the US Army.
“It’s just as much of a warfare course as it is a mountaineering course … Everything is taught with military operations in mind. It’s not just, ‘How do I climb a mountain?’ It’s, ‘How do I get a lot of Soldiers to a particular place on the mountain to achieve a particular objective?’” Hickey added.
India-Argentina Relations
The year 2024 also marked the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. To mark the occasion, both New Delhi and Buenos Aires have decided to strengthen relations in various areas, from defense to trade.
India-Argentina bilateral trade more than doubled in three years from 2019 to 2022, peaking at USD 6.4 billion in 2022. In 2021 and 2022, India was Argentina’s fourth-largest trading partner. Argentina is one of the prime suppliers of edible oils, especially soyabean oil, to India.
The two countries are also expanding defense relations. In February 2023, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and the Argentine Air Force signed the first-ever commercial agreement in the defense sector for the supply of helicopter spares and engine maintenance. The two PSUs, HAL and FAdeA, signed a cooperation agreement in June 2023.
- Sumit Ahlawat has over a decade of experience in news media. He has worked with Press Trust of India, Times Now, Zee News, Economic Times, and Microsoft News. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Media and Modern History from The University of Sheffield, UK.
- He can be reached at ahlawat.sumit85 (at) gmail.com
