Mighty Lion
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NEW DELHI: The 13-lakh strong Army is now steadily building its ammunition stocks ranging from rockets and missiles to high-caliber tank and artillery shells to ensure it can comfortably fight a full-blown war for over 10 days, with the eventual aim to have adequate stockpiles in place to last 40 days.
Defence ministry sources say all the different types of ammunition for the Army will be built up to “10(I) levels”, which mean adequate stocks to undertake 10 days of “intensive” full-spectrum fighting on two fronts, by 2022-2023, as per the latest assessment.
This, of course, does not mean the Army is not operationally ready for war as of now. “It has adequate stocks for more than 10 days of intense war on the western front. But ammunition reserves have to be built keeping both Pakistan and China in mind,” said a source.
The “earlier huge deficiencies” in several types of “critical” ammunition have already been “substantially plugged”, with more supplies in the pipeline under the 24 contracts (19 with foreign arms companies) worth Rs 12,890 crore inked for the Army.
“The next target will be to gradually achieve 40(I) levels after some major rationalisation because not all types of ammunition are needed in such large numbers. Holding large reserves is neither economically nor logistically feasible,” said the source.
The MoD is also in the process of contracting the domestic private sector to manufacture with foreign collaboration eight different types of tank, artillery and infantry ammunition worth around Rs 1,700 crore per year for a decade from 2022-2023 onwards.
Over the last several years, at least since 2012, TOI has repeatedly reported the Army was fast running out of ammunition, with tanks and air defence units, artillery batteries and infantry soldiers all facing the crunch under the hugely depleted war wastage reserves (WWR). Successive parliamentary and CAG reports have also underscored the critical operational deficiency.
Defence ministry sources say all the different types of ammunition for the Army will be built up to “10(I) levels”, which mean adequate stocks to undertake 10 days of “intensive” full-spectrum fighting on two fronts, by 2022-2023, as per the latest assessment.
This, of course, does not mean the Army is not operationally ready for war as of now. “It has adequate stocks for more than 10 days of intense war on the western front. But ammunition reserves have to be built keeping both Pakistan and China in mind,” said a source.
The “earlier huge deficiencies” in several types of “critical” ammunition have already been “substantially plugged”, with more supplies in the pipeline under the 24 contracts (19 with foreign arms companies) worth Rs 12,890 crore inked for the Army.
“The next target will be to gradually achieve 40(I) levels after some major rationalisation because not all types of ammunition are needed in such large numbers. Holding large reserves is neither economically nor logistically feasible,” said the source.
The MoD is also in the process of contracting the domestic private sector to manufacture with foreign collaboration eight different types of tank, artillery and infantry ammunition worth around Rs 1,700 crore per year for a decade from 2022-2023 onwards.
Over the last several years, at least since 2012, TOI has repeatedly reported the Army was fast running out of ammunition, with tanks and air defence units, artillery batteries and infantry soldiers all facing the crunch under the hugely depleted war wastage reserves (WWR). Successive parliamentary and CAG reports have also underscored the critical operational deficiency.
and don't worry we will not let you response with nuke..
bring it. We will give you 80 day war then.
