pune the need for coordinated intelligence gathering and sharing of information by armed forces and civil police was the key lesson that emerged from the 2611 terror attacks in mumbai said brigadier pawan bajaj commanding officer of shivneri brigade the indian armys premier infantry combat formation based in the city the brigade which houses three battalions 26 maratha light infantry 10 mahar and 17 kumaon is the only combat formation located in the state and was the first to move unit columns to take on the terrorists who had laid siege to various installations in mumbai during the 2611 attacks coordinated intelligence is one aspect that needs to be looked at we need more such intelligence and sharing of vital inputs by all those concerned with security to counter urban terror strikes like the one on mumbai bajaj told reporters on the sidelines of a media visit to the aundh military station on saturday the brigade has put substantial focus on the use of advanced simulators to train its soldiers in counter insurgency counter terrorism modern weaponry and other combat aspects as of now we are using the latest version of the drona simulator mkiii for training in weapons grenade and missile launch besides city driving desert driving and a host of other activities bajaj said he added that the use of simulators also helps reduce costs as actual practice at the firing range is a costly affair the eventual goal is to ensure that our soldiers are on a par with their counterparts in the us and uk armies and we are gradually moving in that direction he said adding that the infantry currently based on regimentation is moving towards the use of technologies required in modern warfare at present our infantry is based on regimentation but we are moving towards use of technologies required for modern day warfare he added in the last few years the brigade has acquired several techdriven equipment and weaponry such as gps fire controllers and night sights for accurate firing and minimal collateral damage the advent of computers and the establishment of a wide area network between all army units and commands have further widened the scope for training in cyber technology at all levels including the soldiers bajaj said an infantry brigade is widely regarded as the armys most potent combat arm which sees conflict in all its forms be it in a war zone counterinsurgency or an armed battle in urban terrain as was witnessed during the mumbai terror attacks the shivneri brigade has also been a part of joint exercises between indian and foreign armies since 2008 when the first such exercise was held with the peoples liberation army of china at belgaum last month a contingent of the sikh light infantry visited chengdu in china for a similar exercise other joint exercises involved the us the uk and the mongolian armies the purpose of these exercises is primarily to promote understanding of each other and build relationships