India has largest, most experienced mountain army in the world, says Chinese military expert

[Zapper]

India has the world’s largest and most experienced troops trained for high-altitude battles, a military expert affiliated to China’s leading maker of equipment for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has said, adding that mountaineering is an “essential skill” for each Indian soldier deployed in the mountains.

“At present, the world’s largest and experienced country with plateau and mountain troops is neither the US, Russia, nor any European powerhouse, but India,” wrote Huang Guozhi, senior editor of Modern Weaponry magazine.

The magazine, considered a comprehensive military and defence journal, is affiliated to the state-owned China North Industries Group Corporation Limited (NORINCO), which describes itself as “the main platform responsible for developing mechanised, digitised and intellectualised equipment for PLA”.


It’s one of the world’s largest defence contractors and is also closely involved in President Xi Jinping’s legacy project, the Belt and Road Initiative.

The write-up comes in the backdrop of a stand-off between Indian and Chinese border troops along the line of actual control (LAC) in the mountainous Ladakh region. It began last month and was the topic of talks between military commanders last weekend.

Huang’s article published in thepaper.cn is a rare critique of an Indian army wing in Chinese media, which usually takes the more nationalistic tone of brandishing its own capabilities along the border with India.

Huang’s take was nuanced.

“Mountaineering is an essential skill for almost every member of the Indian mountain army. To this end, India even recruited a large number of professional mountaineers and amateur mountaineers from the private sector,” Huang wrote.

“With more than 200000 troops in 12 divisions, the Indian mountain force is the largest mountain fighting force in the world,” Huang wrote.

Huang said that since the 1970s, the Indian military has established and expanded the size and personnel of the mountain army on a large-scale, and also plans to create a mountain strike force of more than 50,000 troops.

Giving the example of the Siachen Glacier, Huang wrote: “The Indian army has set up hundreds of outposts in the Siachen Glacier area with an altitude of more than 5,000 metres, with 6,000 to 7,000 fighters stationed. The highest post has reached 6,749 metres.”

Huang didn’t mention the source of the information but went on to give a list of weaponry that the Indian army has deployed in the mountains suitable to high-altitude battles.

“In terms of equipment, the Indian military, through procurement from abroad and domestic research and development, has equipped a large number of main battle weapons adapted to the combat environment of the plateau and mountains.”

“The Indian military has also spent heavily on advanced heavy equipment from the US including the M777, the world’s lightest 155mm-towed howitzer, and the Chinook heavy transport helicopter that lifts the gun, to boost its fire support and anti-armour capabilities”.

Huang also mentioned the high-calibre sniper rifles that Indian soldiers deployed at high-altitudes are now equipped with.

The author also listed shortcomings of the Indian army mountain troops including lack of self-sufficiency in weaponry and ammunition especially needed for western weaponry.

“In addition, there are many conflicts and differences between the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force. This has also led the Indian Army to decide to equip its own US-made AH-64E Longbow Apache attack helicopters instead of relying entirely on airfield support from the air force,” Huang wrote.

Incidentally, India and the US signed an estimated $800 million contract in February this year in New Delhi for the delivery of six Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopters to the Indian Army’s Aviation Corps (AAC).

https://www.hindustantimes.com/indi...d's largest,soldier deployed in the mountains.

 

[Smoke]

Lol

China k ghar mein ghuss k ab maaro.

 

[Trango Towers]

India has the world’s largest and most experienced troops trained for high-altitude battles, a military expert affiliated to China’s leading maker of equipment for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has said, adding that mountaineering is an “essential skill” for each Indian soldier deployed in the mountains.

“At present, the world’s largest and experienced country with plateau and mountain troops is neither the US, Russia, nor any European powerhouse, but India,” wrote Huang Guozhi, senior editor of Modern Weaponry magazine.

The magazine, considered a comprehensive military and defence journal, is affiliated to the state-owned China North Industries Group Corporation Limited (NORINCO), which describes itself as “the main platform responsible for developing mechanised, digitised and intellectualised equipment for PLA”.


It’s one of the world’s largest defence contractors and is also closely involved in President Xi Jinping’s legacy project, the Belt and Road Initiative.

The write-up comes in the backdrop of a stand-off between Indian and Chinese border troops along the line of actual control (LAC) in the mountainous Ladakh region. It began last month and was the topic of talks between military commanders last weekend.

Huang’s article published in thepaper.cn is a rare critique of an Indian army wing in Chinese media, which usually takes the more nationalistic tone of brandishing its own capabilities along the border with India.

Huang’s take was nuanced.

“Mountaineering is an essential skill for almost every member of the Indian mountain army. To this end, India even recruited a large number of professional mountaineers and amateur mountaineers from the private sector,” Huang wrote.

“With more than 200000 troops in 12 divisions, the Indian mountain force is the largest mountain fighting force in the world,” Huang wrote.

Huang said that since the 1970s, the Indian military has established and expanded the size and personnel of the mountain army on a large-scale, and also plans to create a mountain strike force of more than 50,000 troops.

Giving the example of the Siachen Glacier, Huang wrote: “The Indian army has set up hundreds of outposts in the Siachen Glacier area with an altitude of more than 5,000 metres, with 6,000 to 7,000 fighters stationed. The highest post has reached 6,749 metres.”

Huang didn’t mention the source of the information but went on to give a list of weaponry that the Indian army has deployed in the mountains suitable to high-altitude battles.

“In terms of equipment, the Indian military, through procurement from abroad and domestic research and development, has equipped a large number of main battle weapons adapted to the combat environment of the plateau and mountains.”

“The Indian military has also spent heavily on advanced heavy equipment from the US including the M777, the world’s lightest 155mm-towed howitzer, and the Chinook heavy transport helicopter that lifts the gun, to boost its fire support and anti-armour capabilities”.

Huang also mentioned the high-calibre sniper rifles that Indian soldiers deployed at high-altitudes are now equipped with.

The author also listed shortcomings of the Indian army mountain troops including lack of self-sufficiency in weaponry and ammunition especially needed for western weaponry.

“In addition, there are many conflicts and differences between the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force. This has also led the Indian Army to decide to equip its own US-made AH-64E Longbow Apache attack helicopters instead of relying entirely on airfield support from the air force,” Huang wrote.

Incidentally, India and the US signed an estimated $800 million contract in February this year in New Delhi for the delivery of six Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopters to the Indian Army’s Aviation Corps (AAC).

https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/india-has-largest-most-experienced-mountain-army-in-the-world-says-chinese-military-expert/story-4eR8hDrrshV7j59OHvfIYO.html#:~:text=India has the world's largest,soldier deployed in the mountains.

Hindustan times..no other article on this will be found anywhere else

 

[Kyusuibu Honbu]

Original article google translate


Talking about military affairs and preparing for war｜Preparing for the plateau, what new development has India's mountain combat capabilities made in recent years?
Contributed by surging news Huang Guozhi

2020-06-09 10:39 Source: Surging News

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The battlefield environment is diverse, and some environments are very different, such as jungles, deserts, coastal seas, cities, plains, etc. However, the worst and most difficult combat environment recognized by all countries in the world is mountainous, especially plateau mountainous combat.

At present, the world’s largest and most experienced country with plateau and mountain troops is neither the United States, Russia, nor the European powerhouse, but India, which is committed to becoming a “sound and colorful” power.

Highland and mountain combat environment is not easy

Generally, we call the area with an altitude of more than 500 meters as a plateau, and the altitude of the plateau mountains is generally 3000 to 3500 meters. If the altitude reaches more than 5000 meters, it is called extremely high mountain. Under the plateau and mountain environment, natural conditions such as temperature, climate, topographic environment, and light radiation are extremely harsh. Not to mention high-intensity combat operations, even survival is extremely difficult.

For example, the temperature and air pressure in the plateau and mountainous region have been greatly reduced compared to sea level. For every 1000 meters of increase, the temperature will fall by more than 6°C and the air pressure by more than 100 mbar. The Indian Army has set up hundreds of outposts in the Siachen Glacier area with an altitude of more than 5,000 meters, with 6,000 to 7,000 fighters stationed. The highest post has reached 6,749 meters. In this environment, combatants should not only protect themselves against heat, but also prevent acute plateau diseases such as cerebral pulmonary edema due to low pressure and hypoxia.

Poor natural conditions bring all kinds of difficulties to plateau operations

The climate of the plateau and mountainous regions is variable, often with strong winds and heavy snowfall. The temperature difference between day and night is extremely large. The wind speeds on the tops, ridges and canyons are large and changeable. These characteristics will bring a lot of difficulties to the maintenance and combat use of weapons and equipment, especially the trajectory of projectiles launched by barrel weapons such as firearms and artillery will be greatly interfered by the airflow. The shooting table data calculated and summarized in the plains will be Completely out of order.

The plateau and mountainous regions are covered with thick snow all the year round, cliffs and cliffs can be seen everywhere, the roads are rugged and the conditions are poor, which brings great difficulties to the long-term execution of combat missions. For example, in the Siachen Glacier area, the Indian Army Mountain Corps’ patrol had more than one tragedy in which all personnel were buried in an avalanche or killed in an ice crack. Moreover, during the period of heavy snow closure from November to May of the following year, it was extremely difficult for officers and soldiers of the Indian Army’s mountain forces to be stationed at the outposts. They could only rely on light helicopters to obtain a small amount of much-needed supplies. The plateau and mountainous areas are basically free of vegetation, which also greatly limits the troops' ability to camouflage and conceal.

In addition, the ultraviolet rays in the high-intensity solar radiation can damage the skin and eyes of combatants, forming sunburn, edema, acute keratitis, and cataracts. Moreover, the white snow environment will also cause snow blindness for combatants.

Indian Mi-8 helicopters conduct rocket launch training in the plateau area

Actively introduce American plateau combat weapons

The difficulties caused by the above-mentioned plateau and mountain environment to combat are actually just the tip of the iceberg. The actual situation is far worse than we thought.

In terms of equipment, the Indian military has procured a large number of main battle weapons adapted to the plateau and mountain combat environment through procurement from abroad and domestic research and development. For example, the light helicopter mentioned above that can provide emergency supplies to the high mountain post during the period of heavy snow closure is the Indian-made "Indian Leopard". Although the aircraft is an imitation model of the French SA-3158 "Rhea" light helicopter, it was specifically designed for the flight requirements of the plateau, and once set a world record of taking off and landing at an altitude of 7,500 meters.

In addition, in response to the special requirements of the plateau and mountain environment, in recent years, the Indian military has decided to purchase a batch of large and medium-caliber sniper rifles equipped with mountain troops from abroad to replace the Russian SVD sniper rifles with poor performance, including more than 70,000 SIG716G2 7.62 mm precision shooter rifle, more than 5,700 Beretta "Scorpio" TGT 8.6 mm high-precision sniper rifles and an unknown number of Barrett M95 12.7 mm anti-material rifles. In addition, the Indian military plans to phase out all domestically produced "Inzas" 5.56mm automatic rifles in the mountain troops, and replace them with AK-103/203 7.62mm automatic rifles produced by technology imported from Russia. This means that in the future, the Indian plateau mountain troops will be equipped with medium-caliber and large-caliber light weapons, which seems to be contrary to the current mainstream of small-caliber in the world. In fact, this is also due to the need for combat in the plateau and mountains: the lethality and accuracy of 5.56 mm small-caliber bullets within 500 meters are relatively good, but they are very susceptible to long-range shooting conditions such as mountains Airflow interference. The high-power medium- and large-caliber bullets such as 7.62×51 mm, 8.6×70 mm, and 12.7×99 mm are much less disturbed by wind deviation during long-range shooting.

Indian Army equipped M-777 howitzer

In order to improve the fire support and anti-armor capabilities of the mountain troops, the Indian military has not hesitated to purchase a batch of advanced heavy equipment from the United States, including the world's lightest 155 mm towed howitzer-M777 and the crane that lifts the gun. Chinook" heavy transport helicopter. In this way, the Indian mountain forces can receive 155 mm artillery support with faster response and more maneuverability. Dozens of AH-64E "Longbow Apache" gunships and C-17 large transport aircraft purchased by the Indian military are also prepared for mountain combat. During wartime, the C-17 large transport aircraft can transport the AH-64E "Longbow Apache Guard" attack helicopter to the plateau airport, and after the latter is ready to take off, it can provide the most powerful air-to-ground support capabilities for Indian mountain troops.

For example, when the local soldiers use light weapons to shoot at enemy soldiers, they should use semi-automatic mode as much as possible, and focus on precision shooting. This is because in the plateau and mountain environment, the continuous automatic shooting of light weapons is likely to cause a terrible avalanche and bury all life on the battlefield. Similarly, don't use high-explosive ammunition without using it. This is also one of the main reasons why we mentioned that the Indian military has spent huge sums of money to purchase the SIG716G2 7.62mm precision shooter rifle for the mountain troops.

The "Apache" armed helicopter imported from the United States by India relies on a powerful engine, and it has a high plateau combat capability

Mountaineering is a must-have skill for almost every officer of the Indian mountain troops. For this reason, India has even recruited large numbers of professional mountaineers and amateur mountaineering enthusiasts from the private sector. These people with mountaineering skills can not only have the ability to successfully carry out their tasks in the plateau mountains after entering the mountain troops, but also pass on the skills to other officers and men, so that the mountaineering skills of the entire army have been improved.

Moreover, the Indian mountain troops also explored the tactical experience of using main battle tanks in plateau mountain environments. They deployed the upgraded Russian T-72M1 main battle tank to the plateau mountain area at an altitude of 4500 meters. They used special fuels and lubricating oil to withstand low temperatures. They designed a special pressurized fuel tank to overcome the low air pressure at night. It is also necessary to start the engine twice specifically to prevent the components from freezing completely, and so on. Although the Russian-made T-72M1 main battle tanks of the Indian Mountain Forces in the highlands and mountainous areas have reduced their power and maneuverability somewhat, they can also provide the strongest direct-fire support for infantry.

What are the deficiencies of the Indian mountain troops

The Indian Mountain Force currently has 12 divisions and more than 200,000 people. It is the largest mountain combat force in the world.

Since the 1970s, the Indian military has organized and expanded the establishment and personnel of mountain troops on a large scale. Under the premise that it is now the largest in the world in size, the Indian military also plans to form a mountain strike force with a strength of more than 50,000.

The CH-47 helicopter introduced by India from the United States recently appeared at the airport in the northern border area

Moreover, in the two highland and mountain border conflicts that broke out with neighboring Pakistan in the last century, Indian mountain troops have won the final victory after paying a considerable price. This is the Battle of Siachen Glacier that broke out in 1984 and the Battle of Cargill that broke out in 1999. Especially in the Battle of Cargill, although the size of the infantry dispatched by the Indian mountain troops was not large, a large number of heavy caliber heavy artillery was used, including the British L118 105 mm light howitzer, the Soviet M46 130 mm cannon and the most advanced Swedish FH- 77B type 155 mm howitzer. Moreover, the Indian Air Force also sent more than 100 fighters to carry out air-to-ground strikes against enemy positions.

Of course, in view of the above-mentioned battle examples and the current status of the Indian army, the shortcomings and defects of its mountain troops are also obvious. For example, in terms of weapons and equipment, the Indian military is not yet fully self-sufficient. Especially when India purchases a large number of advanced light weapons using Western calibers, the supply of ammunition becomes a big problem. Indian domestic military enterprises can only guarantee the production of 7.62 mm bullets made in Russia, and they have not been able to produce Western-style bullets. In addition, there will be many conflicts and differences between the Indian Army and the Air Force in combat. This also made the Indian Army determined to equip the US-made AH-64E "Longbow Apache" gunship instead of relying solely on air-ground support from the Air Force.


https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_7764883

 

[hussain0216]

Oh Indians

Now they are forced to try so hard

 

[scorpionx]

An enemy that understands and respects its adversary is the most formidable and dangerous one. Excellent article. Some serious loop holes have been pointed out. Some more serious loopholes he opted to miss out deliberately(Just one para on our weaknesses). Surely Indian strategists and military high command is working on the weak areas we need to make up fast.

 

[newb3e]

If a Chinese magazine is praising and apraising the IndianArmy and is lofty in words... the good Indians should worry about it...instead of blushing at the compliments!!!

The US is also full of praise for the IndianArmedForces and their professionalism....

And then after 27thFeb19 ...NYT calls the glorious, valiant Indians as VintageArmy!!!

i like what they are doing knowing how delusional indians are these goody goody articles priasing IA will fuel their delusion and supa will become moghtier and fail hard!!

 

[Clutch]

Lol... Is this some sort of a joke or trolling by China??!!!.

India??...

 

[scorpionx]

i like what they are doing knowing how delusional indians are these goody goody articles priasing IA will fuel their delusion and supa will become moghtier and fail hard!!

Chinese kuch bura likhe to bhi problem, accha likhe toh bhi problem. Kehna kya chahte ho bhai?

 

[Pakistani Fighter]

India may have the largest but Pakistan has better and experienced mountain troops

 

[Great Janjua]

Have to give India credit for this they train their regular soldiers in mountain warfare extremely well whilst in Pakistan mountain warfare is a privilege I hope our military generals are not sleeping we need to train our marines in mountain warfare and setup a special mountain brigade armed with light howitzer and troop transport helicopters also why is there no airborne regiment in Pakistan they can also be used to good effective for taking back strategic posts and position be it on mountain ridge or a desert for god sake give the marines vehicles with a 105mm gun so at least they can be independent in case of a offensive against India and leaves the army to plan its counter offensive without logistical sacrifice

 

[American Pakistani]

India is a Supa Pawa too according to many Indian top officials. Just mountain army...how unfair with Supa pawa army...

 

[Mrc]

I smell a bollywood movie with 3 item songs

 

[newb3e]

Chinese kuch bura likhe to bhi problem, accha likhe toh bhi problem. Kehna kya chahte ho bhai?

wah Modi g wah!

 

[Kyusuibu Honbu]

Chinese kuch bura likhe to bhi problem, accha likhe toh bhi problem. Kehna kya chahte ho bhai?

Err...... its very obvious below views of Chinese in regards to Kargil and Siachen is not going to go well with pdf Pakistani members

Moreover, in the two highland and mountain border conflicts that broke out with neighboring Pakistan in the last century, Indian mountain troops have won the final victory after paying a considerable price.