Meet K9 Zac: Indian Army's Assault Dog Trained In Specialised Tactical Ops

The two and half-year-old specialised Belgian Malinois is trained in highly specialised skill set of Radio Guided Directional control and tactical operations such as FIBUA,CASO, SADO, Jungle Search and Area Sanitisation.

Meerut: Indian Army dog squad took part in the 10th edition of India- Sri Lanka Joint Military Exercise MITRA SHAKTI at Sri Lankan Army Training School, Maduru Oya, Sri Lanka. The exercise began on August 12 and will end on August 25, 2024.

Indian Army Assault K9 Zac is a specialised Belgian Malinois trained at Dog Training Faculty of RVC Centre and College, Meerut. At two and half years of age, K9 Zac is trained in specialised tactical ops such as FIBUA,CASO, SADO, Jungle Search and Area Sanitisation.

The K9 has additionally been trained in specialised skills of Laser Guided Assault and Weapon Retrieval which greatly augment the K9 Capabilities of our forces.

These K9 are also also trained in highly specialised skill set of Radio Guided Directional control, which with the help for Live Video Transmission from their Head Mounted Tactical Cameras give the benefit of Real Time Video Surveillance in addition to Stealth and Attack capability of these Assault K9s.

These highly-trained K9s are being extensively used in Active CI/CT areas and Special Forces Ops as First Responders of Op Teams, providing a definitive upper hand to our forces. The K9 Detachment of Ex Mitra Shakti comprises of Maj Rishi Sharma, ADT Pranjal Sakiya and K9 Zac.

During the course of the Joint Exercise, Zac will participate in plethora of activities, including, House Intervention, Jungle searches, Laser guided assaults, area sanitisation among other facets of CI ops. Maj Rishi Sharma, the K9 Det Commander said, “He is a force multiplier and first responder in majority of related tactical ops”.

Over 500 dogs are trained to meet the requirements of different units of the Indian Army at this Dog Training Faculty. The centre takes care of these dogs right from birth till the time they retire from army duty.

The army primarily breeds three kinds of dogs — Labradors, German Shepherds and Belgian Malinois. However, indigenous dogs such as the Mudhol Hound, Chippiparai, Kombai, and Rajapalayam were included at the unit after 2016 as part of the ‘Make in India’ initiative, the army said.