More Men or Better Technology? Government Rethinking Strategy to Counter China

[hkdas]

India is said to be re-thinking a decision made two years ago to raise a mountain strike corps to guard the hilly northern borders with China. Sources said the government is now weighing whether it will make more sense to invest in better technology rather than raise an 80,000 strong force at considerable expense.

The Manmohan Singh government of the Congress had hastily cleared the raising of the corp after repeated transgression by Chinese troops in Ladakh in 2013, one of which lasted for over a month. The Mountain Strike Corps, or the Panagarh based 17 Corps, would add on about 80,000 men at a cost of Rs. 64000 crore to be spent over eight years.

The corps headquarters have come up at Panagarh in West Bengal; a few battalions have come up as well.For the last two years, no separate funds have been allocated to the Indian Army to raise the corps and neither has border infrastructure been built to house troops. The Indian Army has been forced use war reserves to raise and equip the corps.

Sources told NDTV that plans to reposition troops in the northern command were put on hold temporarily because the existing infrastructure was found to be “incapable of absorbing more troops.”

“Are we preparing for wars of the past or wars of future? Wars of the future will depend on disruptive technologies. The emphasis should be modern means of combat and not bayonet to bayonet or muzzle to muzzle war,” Major General (retd) B K Sharma, who heads Centre for Strategic Studies at the United Services Institute told NDTV.

The Chief of Integrated Defence Staff and the National Security Council Secretariat have asked the government whether it wants a huge army or then a small but smart army with a focus on technology and non-contact fighting capabilities.

Besides, questions have also been raised about the huge cost by way of salaries and pensions, for the Indian Army. Already, manpower accounts for nearly 90 per cent of the Army’s budget.

“Going by the average budget allocations, there may come a time when the Army finds itself unable to set aside money for capital expenditure, therefore, force accretion should be thought through,” a top Defence Ministry official told NDTV.

More Men or Better Technology? Government Rethinking Strategy to Counter China: Sources | idrw.org

 

[DeathInvader]

Both

 

[axisofevil]

Now we see the lack of planning under Congress. No wonder we are in such a sorry state of affairs.

 

[SrNair]

We need both of them ,a balanced approach.Men is must because in that terrain mechanized infantry dont have anything to do.
Artillery,missiles,Air power.These are tge main technologies we need in there.

 

[SuperSubrayan]

Not in another 10 years at least before we are fully equipped with large number of troops . Number of troops are preferred on the basis of our enemy and his strength. In western country population is very less and hence the threat perception can be brought down with technology with less men . It's not the case in Indian subcontinent. We must maintain robust numbers to match 2 front war or 3/4 front war just in case . So the when luck favours our enemies we won't loss our land or risk our civilisation . Arm our men with full fire power . Each of them with high tech weapons . Don't rely on technology alone. There must be a balance. Hope IA and Indian govt will take a right forward . For the nation to live long and for ever

 

[axisofevil]

We need both of them ,a balanced approach.Men is must because in that terrain mechanized infantry dont have anything to do.
Artillery,missiles,Air power.These are tge main technologies we need in there.

I always remember a tactic used in Anicent China that applies to modern warfare. The use of arrows back then was considered cutting edge tech. So in a particular battle, there is an observation on how the military archers blaced out the sky with arrows! Our missiles need to be produced and fielded in such numbers to use effectively...

 

[SrNair]

For missiles we have Brahmos andNirbhay in our inventory.For airpower we have HAL LCH, Apache if it is sign.
Artillery is the weak factor except those Pinaka

 

[Bornubus]

Men

as atleast 80000 strong force would be required to invade and hold TAR region of china as bargain chip in case PLA atttacked and capture Arunachal Pradesh

 

[axisofevil]

Every soldier should be armed with anti tank missiles. There should be enough missiles to black out the sky. Every soldier should have night vision, grenades, and a gun that kills, not injures.

 

[axisofevil]

For missiles we have Brahmos andNirbhay in our inventory.For airpower we have HAL LCH, Apache if it is sign.
Artillery is the weak factor except those Pinaka

Our numbers are weak in eery sphere. Another major concern and need for investment is manufacturing ability. Our missiles, ammunitiion and plane reliability is directly related to issues in manufacturing which currently rely on human factors heavily. Steps should be taken to increase robotics any way we can adopt such tech.