Indian Army News & Discussions

[Daedalus]

Where Eagles Dare

The First Team of Women Officers to have scaled the heights of Mt Everest in 2012.

 

[Juggernautjatt]

Maratha Light Infantry turns 246
August 1 marks the birth of the Maratha Light Infantry (MLI), one of the regiments of the Army. A potent land and naval force in 16th-18th century, the Marathas had performed well in campaigns against the Mughals and the British. The 1st Battalion of the Regiment, known as Jangi Paltan, was raised in August 1768 as the 2nd Battalion, Bombay Sepoys, to protect the British East India Company's assets on the islands of Bombay, with a second battalion being raised the next year. The MLI is a highly decorated regiment with two Victoria Cross, four Ashok Chakra and four Maha Vir Chakra among numerous other awards and battle honours.

 

[ravinderpalrulez]

INDIAN TANK CREW IN RUSSIA

 

[SRP]

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, interacting with troops at Leh, Ladakh on 12 Aug

 

[kurup]

 

[Daedalus]

 

[Agent_47]

Indian Army scouts 'Smart' artillery shells
By SP's Special Correspondent

August 19, 2014: The Indian Army is looking to procure 155mm Trajectory Correctable Munitions (Course Correctable Fuze) for its 155mm artillery guns, and to include 39/45/52 calibre equipment. Interested vendors have been sent a 34-point questionaire to identify all parameters of prospective systems, including dimensions and weight of Course Correctable Fuze, whether it has any limitations in operating in different types of terrain prevalent in India, the extreme atmospheric conditions in which Course Correctable Fuze can effectively operate, whether it is compatible with 39/45/52 calibre of 155mm artillery in service with the Indian Army, the maximum and minimum range achieved by firing Course Correctable Fuze with 39/45/52 calibre of 155mm Gun Systems, whether this fuze affects the minimum or maximum range of the standard HE projectile of 155mm gun system, type of guidance being used, accuracy (in terms of Line and Range), different modes of Course Correctable Fuze, efficacy in firing in High Altitude Area etc. The procurement has been accorded high priority by the Army, which will be looking to wrap up an order within 18 months.

 

[Echo_419]

Indian Army scouts 'Smart' artillery shells
By SP's Special Correspondent

August 19, 2014: The Indian Army is looking to procure 155mm Trajectory Correctable Munitions (Course Correctable Fuze) for its 155mm artillery guns, and to include 39/45/52 calibre equipment. Interested vendors have been sent a 34-point questionaire to identify all parameters of prospective systems, including dimensions and weight of Course Correctable Fuze, whether it has any limitations in operating in different types of terrain prevalent in India, the extreme atmospheric conditions in which Course Correctable Fuze can effectively operate, whether it is compatible with 39/45/52 calibre of 155mm artillery in service with the Indian Army, the maximum and minimum range achieved by firing Course Correctable Fuze with 39/45/52 calibre of 155mm Gun Systems, whether this fuze affects the minimum or maximum range of the standard HE projectile of 155mm gun system, type of guidance being used, accuracy (in terms of Line and Range), different modes of Course Correctable Fuze, efficacy in firing in High Altitude Area etc. The procurement has been accorded high priority by the Army, which will be looking to wrap up an order within 18 months.

Do we have anything like this in Development

 

[Jai_Hind]

JOINT INDO NEPAL COMBINED TRAINING : EX SURYA KIRAN - VII

Indo-Nepal Combined Training Exercise, SURYA KIRAN-VII, is being conducted from 18 Aug 14 to 31 Aug14. The combined training will be carried out in the mountainous terrain of Pithoragarh in the Northern Himalayas under the aegis of the GARUD Division.

 

[ANPP]

Do we have anything like this in Development

Excalber type rounds, hum..... IA did show interest in such type of weapons in past, now they are serious. Good.
I didn't get any news of in house production of this kind of weapon.

 

[RPK]

 

[Levina]

@Abingdonboy

I am sure you know the truth behind this.Is this true???
I did not want to start a new thread on this topic as that would have attracted trolls from across the border.

Army's ammunition won't last 20 days of war

TOI had reported that India did not have enough ammunition to undertake a full-blown war with "intense fighting" for even 20 days.

NEW DELHI: Even as mortars and guns once again boom along the border with Pakistan, alarm bells continue to clang over the crippling shortage of ammunition reserves in the 1.18-million strong Indian Army.

In a grim reality check in March, TOI had reported that India did not have enough ammunition to undertake a full-blown war with "intense fighting" for even 20 days. Six months down the line, the situation on the ground has not changed much.

Officials, however, contend the Modi government is "fully cognizant" of the "shocking state of affairs". Though "urgent steps" are being taken, it will take time to build up the war wastage reserves (WWR) due to the "long-winded" arms procurement procedures as well as the sluggish performance of the 39 factories under the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), they say.

The WWR, incidentally, should be sufficient for 30 days of "intense" and 30 days of "normal" fighting. With three days of "normal" equal to one of "intense", the WWR should consequently be adequate for 40 days of "intense" fighting.

"But there are deficiencies across the board. The critical ones are for tank and air defence ammunition, anti-tank guided missiles, specialized machine-gun magazines, grenades, mine fuses and the like. Some types of ammunition will not last even a week in a full-fledged war," said a source.

As per the overall Army "ammunition roadmap", the WWR will reach 100% only by 2019 if there is budgetary support of around Rs 97,000 crore. "While 23 types of ammunition have to be imported, OFB will manufacture the rest," said another source.

Phase-I of the roadmap will ensure deficiency of critical ammunition is made up to sustain 20 days of "intense" fighting and three years of training ammunition by March 2015. This will cost Rs 19,250 crore.

Under it, Rs 963 crore worth of ammunition was ordered from the OFB in 2013-2014, while contracts worth another Rs 1,964 crore are already underway in the ongoing fiscal. Similarly, orders for 15,000 3UBK-Invar missiles and 66,000 armour-piercing rounds for the T-90S main-battle tanks have already been inked.

Moreover, 17 import cases are now being "progressed'' for specialized ammunition. "Around 10 RFPs (request for proposals) have already been issued. These things take time. Overall, for instance, there were 23 contracts worth Rs 16,177 crore inked for the Army in 2013-2014," said an official.

But ammunition shortages have become the norm in the world's second-largest Army over the last couple of decades. India, in fact, had to undertake "emergency purchases" at exorbitant prices from Israel during the almost 70-day but limited Kargil conflict in 1999.

Ammunition, incidentally, is held at three levels. The "first line" of "on-weapon" and "unit reserve" is held at the battalion-level. The "second line" is with brigades and divisions. Finally, there is the WWR held in a dispersed manner in different depots.

 

[Abingdonboy]

@Abingdonboy

I am sure you know the truth behind this.Is this true???
I did not want to start a new thread on this topic as that would have attracted trolls from across the border.
Army's ammunition won't last 20 days of war

TOI had reported that India did not have enough ammunition to undertake a full-blown war with "intense fighting" for even 20 days.

NEW DELHI: Even as mortars and guns once again boom along the border with Pakistan, alarm bells continue to clang over the crippling shortage of ammunition reserves in the 1.18-million strong Indian Army.

In a grim reality check in March, TOI had reported that India did not have enough ammunition to undertake a full-blown war with "intense fighting" for even 20 days. Six months down the line, the situation on the ground has not changed much.

Officials, however, contend the Modi government is "fully cognizant" of the "shocking state of affairs". Though "urgent steps" are being taken, it will take time to build up the war wastage reserves (WWR) due to the "long-winded" arms procurement procedures as well as the sluggish performance of the 39 factories under the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), they say.

The WWR, incidentally, should be sufficient for 30 days of "intense" and 30 days of "normal" fighting. With three days of "normal" equal to one of "intense", the WWR should consequently be adequate for 40 days of "intense" fighting.

"But there are deficiencies across the board. The critical ones are for tank and air defence ammunition, anti-tank guided missiles, specialized machine-gun magazines, grenades, mine fuses and the like. Some types of ammunition will not last even a week in a full-fledged war," said a source.

As per the overall Army "ammunition roadmap", the WWR will reach 100% only by 2019 if there is budgetary support of around Rs 97,000 crore. "While 23 types of ammunition have to be imported, OFB will manufacture the rest," said another source.

Phase-I of the roadmap will ensure deficiency of critical ammunition is made up to sustain 20 days of "intense" fighting and three years of training ammunition by March 2015. This will cost Rs 19,250 crore.

Under it, Rs 963 crore worth of ammunition was ordered from the OFB in 2013-2014, while contracts worth another Rs 1,964 crore are already underway in the ongoing fiscal. Similarly, orders for 15,000 3UBK-Invar missiles and 66,000 armour-piercing rounds for the T-90S main-battle tanks have already been inked.

Moreover, 17 import cases are now being "progressed'' for specialized ammunition. "Around 10 RFPs (request for proposals) have already been issued. These things take time. Overall, for instance, there were 23 contracts worth Rs 16,177 crore inked for the Army in 2013-2014," said an official.

But ammunition shortages have become the norm in the world's second-largest Army over the last couple of decades. India, in fact, had to undertake "emergency purchases" at exorbitant prices from Israel during the almost 70-day but limited Kargil conflict in 1999.

Ammunition, incidentally, is held at three levels. The "first line" of "on-weapon" and "unit reserve" is held at the battalion-level. The "second line" is with brigades and divisions. Finally, there is the WWR held in a dispersed manner in different depots.

There is already a thread running on this ma'am but I had refrained from participating as, like you pointed out, it is a topic that invites trolls.

My take on this is pretty simple- it's not something that is of major concern to me because a)the IA is aware of this (as is the MoD) b) the IA is taking steps to address this in the very near term (within 5 years).

Unless anyone expects India to be fighting a full-scale war in the next 5 years then this really is a non-issue. And even IF a full scale war were to occur between now and 2019 there are contingencies in place and India could in an emergency source the relevant ammunition from abroad in vast quantities if it comes to it.

 

[Levina]

India could in an emergency source the relevant ammunition from abroad in vast quantities if it comes to it.

Like we did during Kargil??
Then I guess we havent learnt any lesson from Kargil.

 

[Abingdonboy]

Like we did during Kargil??
Then I guess we havent learnt any lesson from Kargil.

Lessons have been learnt for sure (various commissions have seen to that) it is the implementation that has suffered thanks to the longest serving Defence Minister in India's history stalling procurements of every value/importance.

With Modi's impetus on "make India" and Improving the indigenous capabilities of defence firms in India the situation should be addressed within a decade (needing to rely on others for ammunition) also consider that on the high-end munitions (PGMs) India has developed the capacity to design and manufacture such munitions that it did not have during Kargil (and thus had to go to Israel) and these capabilities will only grow going foreword....