They specialise in urban warfare operation scenarios including anti-irregular military, apprehension of armed and dangerous criminals, combat patrol, counterinsurgency, covert operation, hostage rescue situations, HUMINT, protecting high-ranking officials at risk of assassination, providing security in areas at risk of attack or terrorism in Bhubaneswar, special operations, support crowd control, and urban counterterrorism.
Later, Andhra Pradesh also started a similar force called Organisation for Counter Terrorists Operations (OCTOPUS).
[3] The STU is derived from the Special Operation Group (SOG) of the Odisha Police, which is an anti-Naxalite division specialising in jungle and guerilla warfare.
STU personnel have been trained by the National Security Guard (NSG) at Manesar, Haryana, and specialise in urban scenarios including hostage situations.
[1] They will be also used to protect military installations like the Chandipur missile test range and monuments like the Jagannath Temple, Puri.