Indian army's modernisation woes

24 Pages·2016·7.46 MB·English

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Ear panel 2015-16.indd 1 06/11/15 5:42 PM
In ThIs Issue >> modernisation
Page 4 Indian army’s
exclusive
modernisation woes
The army’s ‘critical shortages’ and obsolescence of its current equipment include
155mm howitzers, light utility helicopters, attack helicopters, air defence assets,
various categories of ammunition, anti-tank and AD missile systems, close
quarter battle (CQb) carbines, assault rifles, machine guns, sniper rifles and
anti-material rifles
ministry of commerce ‘facilitator’ of ‘make
PhoToGrAPh: SP GuIDe PubNS
in India’ Initiatives
Page 6
army air defence – an Update
The security environment in India’s
neighbourhood is always on a dangerous
threshold thus it is essential to
continuously modernise AAD weaponry and
manpower.
lt General naresh chand (retd)
Page 8
defence Budget 2016-17 and the
status of Indian army
lt General V.K. Kapoor (retd)
Page 10
modernisation of artillery
lt General V.K. Kapoor (retd)
Page 12
Indo-Israeli defence cooperation (army)
Praising Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative,
Israel’s Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon said
that Israel wants to take advantage of it and
added that the NDA Government has brought
a new vigour to bilateral defence ties
lt General naresh chand (retd)
Page 14
Helicopters: expanding capabilities and
Akash AD Weapon System
emerging missions
Military aviation today is looking at the next-
generation of military helicopters and the  Lt GeneraL V.K. Kapoor (retd) fleets are night-blind and its light utility sources, are given in the succeeding para-
strategy to modernise vertical-lift capability helicopter (LUh) fleet, inducted into service graphs with respect to armour, mecha-
T
in the long term, with improved avionics, he past decade or so has from 1964, is obsolete. engineering equip- nised infantry, artillery, air defence artil-
electronics, range, speed, propulsion, severely degraded the war-fight- ment, anti-tank guided missiles (atGMs), lery and infantry.
survivability and high altitude performance ing capabilities of the Indian armoured recovery vehicles and other
lt General B.s. pawar (retd) army. the army’s ‘critical short- specialist vehicles, are either outdated, in Armour
ages’ and obsolescence of its cur- short supply, or simply non-existent.
PlUs
rent equipment include 155mm howitzers, adding to the existing shortages is the Arjun Tank
exercise force 18 22 light utility helicopters, attack helicopters, new raising of the Mountain strike corps the army had equipped two regiments
news in Brief 23 air defence assets, various categories of for our eastern theatre, which is expected with arjun tanks out of the 124 arjun
ammunition, anti-tank and ad missile sys- to reduce the army’s reserve stocks called main battle tanks ordered by it earlier.
tems, close quarter battle (cQB) carbines, “War Wastage reserves” in terms of equip- as a result of the satisfactory feedback
assault rifles, machine guns, sniper rifles, ment and munitions further. by the units and from the tank crews, an
and anti-material rifles. the notable features of arm wise additional 124 arjun Mark II tanks have
the majority of its main battle tanks modernisation required in the army and been ordered subject to satisfactory devel-
(MBts) and infantry combat vehicle (IcV) the steps taken, as known through open opment of the upgraded Mark II version
Applied for
1/2016 sp’s land forces 1
>> modernisation
proxy war launched by Pakistan The latest talking point of mili- to be maintained and modernised the type of overall capability
on our western borders, our re- tary and strategic analysts is the by an allocation less than two per that should be acquired by the
sponses, organisational drills and defence budget 2016-17. The cent of the GDP. armed forces.
procedures at national level and most intriguing part is the obvi- Currently the Indian Army is l India should evolve and enact
our combat equipment are still far ously deliberate omission of any organised and trained to fight con- a National Security Strategy
from satisfactory. mention of the defence budget in ventional wars of the 20th century, which should broadly indicate
Seven weeks later another op- the Finance Minister’s 90 minutes which are unlikely to occur. They our interests and responses
eration was carried by three well presentation of the union budget also have the capability and the within the country, in the re-
armed terrorists from Pakistan in in the Parliament. Whatever may will to fight insurgencies and proxy gional as well as in the global
l
Pampore on the outskirts of Sri- be the reasons, what needs to wars but with outdated technolo- context. This will give broad in-
A
i nagar. While the Para Comman- be understood by all is that while gies, methodologies and weapon dications to the military for their
R
dos of the Army killed the three old adversarial threats due to un- systems which is taking a heavy planning purposes.
o
The onset of the New Year terrorists, they lost two officers resolved borders remain, new toll of its soldiery. This issue of SP’s Land Forc-
witnessed the attack on the and a commando jawan in the challenges like insurgencies and Thus we recommend: es carries articles on defence
t
Pathankot airbase of the Indian Air process. Both operations showed terrorism have emerged. If the l I ndia should immediately insti- modernisation, and separate ar-
Force, which has an area of about significant lack of use of modern armed forces have to prepare for tute a Strategic Defence and ticles on artillery and air defence
i
D 800 hectares and a 24-km-long technology, surveillance devices, the full spectrum of threat then the Security Review, comprising modernisation among others.
e perimeter wall. The general laxity modern weapon systems and nation will have to set aside three experts from various fields, with
in protecting this forward airbase night-fighting aids. We are losing to four per cent of GDP for de- a wide ranging mandate given
was evident. So was the perceived well trained young officers and fence services minus the defence to this body of experts. They
lack of command, control and co- soldiers for want of better equip- pensions which do not contribute should indicate the type of op-
ordination among different security ment and for this we must blame to capability development of the erations that the armed forces
agencies during the conduct of the our senior military hierarchy who armed forces. We cannot expect should be prepared to respond
operation. It is distressing to note seem to have lost their will to a 40-division Army, a 42-squadron to on the borders, in out of area
that despite 25 years of facing stand up to their political leaders. Air Force and 150-platform Navy, operations, and internally and Lt General V.K. Kapoor (Retd)
of the tank for equipping two more regi- alone sights (tIsas). thus about 1,000 combat platform concept, the FrcV will vate manufacturers bidding for the FIcV
ments. these tanks will have substantially remaining t-72 tanks will be fitted with more form the base platform on which a family project include: Mahendra defence teamed
upgraded capabilities of firepower, mobil- modern integrated fire control systems (IFcs) of combat vehicles will be developed. these with Bae systems; L&t, which is partnering
ity and protection. the development of which will be fitted on the new gun barrel, will include ambulance, bridge-laying, with samsung heavy engineering; pipavav
arjun Mark II tank with a large number of i.e. gun barrels of t-90M capable of firing mine clearing, self-propelled howitzers, air defence; tata Motors in a consortium with
improvements has commenced and techni- conventional munitions and guided mis- defence, artillery observation post and engi- Bharat Forge and General dynamics of the
cal trials incorporating the improvements siles. therefore the problem that is likely to neering reconnaissance vehicles. United states; and tata power (sed), which
have been carried out in rajasthan. how- be encountered is the synchronisation of this has a joint venture with titagarh Wagons.
ever due to unsuccessful trials especially gun with the integrated fire control system as Mechanised infantry Mod has appointed a 10-member Inte-
concerning the main armament of the tank these are from different vendors. command- grated project Management team (IpMt),
in which problems are being encountered ers thermal Imaging night sight is being BMP2 Upgrade headed by a two-star army general who
in integrating the anti-tank guided missiles acquired through BeL Ltd. the mechanised infantry is currently will evaluate the bids and shortlist two
to fire through the main 120mm tank gun. the t-72 tanks are additionally being equipped with the BMp-2 infantry combat development agencies (da) that will build
Further delay is expected in series manufac- equipped with new type of explosive reac- vehicle (IcV) named sarath manufactured one FIcV prototype each within 24-36
ture of the arjun Mk II. tive armour (era) panels which will pro- by ordnance Factory Medak under licence months. the oFB gets an automatic nomi-
presently the army is hard put to main- vide protection against kinetic energy as from russia. over 1,500 of these have nation for the FIcV project, which is being
tain its current fleet of arjun tanks because well as tandem warhead, chemical energy been manufactured since 1987. a number implemented under the ‘Make (Indian)’
of lack of spares. the arjun tank is indig- projectiles, along with a laser warning sys- of variants have been made. the vehicle’s category of the dpp 2008. the Mod will
enous in name only because a large number tem and new radio sets for better and more chassis is also modified and developed into finance 80 per cent of the FIcV proto-
of its systems and parts amounting to about secure communications. versions such as the Nag anti-tank mis- types, one of which will be selected follow-
60 per cent are still imported. a new power pack of 1,000 hp is also sile carrier (NaMIca) and the akash air- ing user trials around 2020-21.
under consideration to further enhance defence missile system. It is expected that the FIcV will be pow-
T-90s mobility in view of the heavy era packages the Indian army will upgrade around ered by a 600 hp engine and armed with
these have now been fully operationalised that are being strapped on. an auxiliary 1,000 of its BMp-2 / 2K infantry combat fire-and-forget anti-tank guided missiles
and integrated in the armoured regiments. power pack for environmental control and vehicle fleet in an effort to enhance their (atGMs) with a 4.5-km range, 40mm gre-
as per media reports the army has till now integrated fire detection and suppression capability to address operational require- nade launchers, a secondary armament
inducted around 780 t-90 tanks out of a system are also being introduced. The mod- ments. Upgrades include integration of latest with a 2-km range, and a 7.62mm coaxial
total 1,657 t-90s tanks it eventually wants. ernisation of the T-72 is way behind schedule generation fire control system, twin missile machine gun. It will be operated by a three-
the defects in feeding the ballistic data of due to complicated procurement procedures launchers and commander’s thermal imag- man crew and capable of transporting
various lots of ammunition fired from the exacerbated by delayed decision-making and in- ing panoramic sights, anti-tank guided mis- seven infantrymen. NBc protection and
tanks has now been brought under control. house disagreements. siles, as well as automatic grenade launch- communications on army’s network-cen-
on september 13, 2013, a major deal the t-90, the improved t-72 M1 tanks ers, upgrading its existing NBc system, fire tric grid will be a part of the project.
was cleared by the defence acquisition and arjun tanks, will constitute India’s detection and suppression system, and era
council (dac) for the manufacturing of armour might in the future till the FrcV panels to provide extra protection and a new Artillery
236 additional t-90 tanks for the Indian becomes a reality. power pack. the russian Utd-20 engine 285
army, worth over `6,000 crore ($940 mil- hp will be replaced by a 380 hp power pack Artillery Fire power
lion), will be executed by the avadi heavy Future Ready Combat Vehicle to enable the platform to carry the additional as part of its artillery modernisation plan,
Vehicles Factory that already has a licence the army aims to develop a multi-purpose weapon load and traverse rough terrain, gra- the army is looking at inducting several types
from russia to manufacture t-90 tanks Future ready combat Vehicle (FrcV) to dients, and water. No vendor has yet been of howitzers through in house manufacture
from kits purchased from russia. replace its ageing fleet of over 2,200 licence- selected for the retrofit, but the Ministry of by the defence research and development
a contract, worth about `3,200 crore built russian t-72M/M1 MBts by 2027. defence (Mod) is believed to favour the ord- organisation (drdo)/ordnance Factory
($470 million), has been signed for the deliv- the proposed FrcV will supplement nance Factory at Medak in telangana, that Board (oFB), inter-governmental pacts and
eries of the Invar missiles, fired through rus- the army’s 657 imported t-90s MBts and licence-builds the current IcVs. global tenders. the last major acquisition of
sian-built t-90 tanks. according to media another 1,000 that will be locally built, as towed gun-howitzers was that of 400 pieces
reports, India plans to purchase 25,000 well as 242 indigenously developed arjun Future Infantry Combat Vehicle of 39-calibre 155mm Fh-77B howitzers with
Invar missiles for its t-90 tanks, including MBts, of which around 100 are presently Programme a range of 30-km from Bofors of sweden in
10,000 to be procured directly from rus- under manufacture. on February 15, six local companies sub- 1987. this gun proved its mettle in the Kar-
sia and 15,000 more to be manufactured Based on the russian armata Universal mitted their project reports for the army’s gil conflict. after about 25 years of neglect
domestically under a russian licence. `1,00,000-crore Future Infantry combat during which the 100mm and 122mm field
Vehicle (FIcV) programme which was initi- guns of russian origin and the indigenously
Improvements in T-72 Tank The arjun tank is ated in 2008-09 but abandoned three years developed and manufactured 75/24 howitzer
the t-72 M1 modernisation programme later, and resurrected once again in 2014. joined the long list of obsolete equipment, the
under project rhino is inordinately delayed. indigenous in name only the FIcV project is a ‘test case’ for India’s artillery modernisation continues to stagnate.
m
o this was intended to extend the service life of indigenous weapon-designing capability. details of the actions underway to modernise
c because a large number
s. the MBt by 20 years; enhance their accuracy the bids are from five private sec- the artillery are given in a seperate article.
e
c with new fire control system (Fcs) whose tri- tor companies that have technology tie-
r of its systems and parts
dfo als have been completed. this will give night ups with overseas vendors and the oFB. Air Defence Artillery
an fighting capability through a thermal imager amounting to about 60 per they will design and build 2,610 tracked, the corps of army air defence holds a large
sl integrated with the tank’s Fcs. this contract amphibious and air-transportable 20-tonne variety of guns and missile systems. It has
p
s is in an advanced stage of being finalised. In cent are still imported FIcVs to replace the army’s ageing fleet of 40mm L/70, ZU-23-2 twin gun, ZsU-23-4
w.
the meanwhile 600 t-72 tanks of the army russian BMp-2/2K sarath IcVs under the
w
w have been fitted with thermal imaging stand- dpp’s ‘Make (Indian)’ category. the pri- Continued on page 5...
2 sp’s land forces 1/2016
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>> maKe in india
exclusive
The Narendra Modi-led Government is going aggressive on several initiatives and
top of them all is the ‘Make in India’ plan. All the ministries are working in that
direction, more so the Ministry of Commerce and Industry which is key to the
push that is required for not just self-reliance in several sectors but also to give
it an export momentum.
In response to questions from Jayant Baranwal, editor-in-Chief of Sp’s land
forces, the ‘Make in India’/Invest India team at the respective offices, on behalf
of the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Nirmala Sitharaman, has outlined
the ‘Make in India’ plans in the aerospace and defence sectors, the sectors that
are going to give a massive thrust to development. The team on behalf of the
Minister has responded to SP’s specific questions. excerpts:
ministry of commerce
‘facilitator’ of ‘make in India’
Initiatives
sp’s land forces (sp’s): when you say
‘make in India’ what exactly is the desti-
nation – (a) to get foreign oems to manu-
facture the military platforms in India for
Indian market and (b) to get foreign oems
to manufacture for the overseas markets?
ministry: the main objective of the ‘Make
in India’ campaign is to transform India
into a global design and manufacturing
hub. the products manufactured in India
can be used for domestic consumption and
can be exported as well.
sp’s: what all incentives the foreign oems
are supposed to get under the campaign?
ministry: as per the extant defence procure-
ment procedure 2013, foreign direct invest-
ment (FdI) in joint ventures with Indian
enterprises is considered as an eligible avenue
for discharge of offset obligations in India.
sp’s: In view of creating a solid India-
based industrial complex, what all steps
are being taken?
ministry: the government has taken the
following initiatives in order to build an l Notified strategy for export of defence country so far. what all is being done to the results do not really align with those
indigenous defence manufacturing base in products? the detailed strategy can be expand the number of players in India? dimensions?
India: accessed from the link pasted (http:// ministry: the government is considering ministry: the government is taking steps to
l Liberalisation of FDI cap in defence ddpmod.gov.in/showfile.php?lid=174) providing incentives for undertaking r&d improve the performance of drdo to trans-
manufacturing. FdI up to 49 per cent is l Notified list of military stores requiring activities in India. as per the information form the organisation into a hub for defence
allowed under the automatic route. FdI No Objection Certificate from Depart- available in public domain, the govern- manufacturing.
beyond 49 per cent is allowed under gov- ment of Defence Production? the ment is considering to fund private r&d
ernment route on a case to case basis, detailed list can be accessed from the link for building a defence technology base in foReiGN DiReCt iNveStMeNt (fDi)
which is likely to result in access to mod- pasted (http://dgft.gov.in/exim/2000/ the country for which various norms will
ern and state-of-the-art technology in Not/Not13/not11513.pdf) be stipulated in the defence procurement sp’s: as current level is 49 per cent
the country. procedure 2016. Moreover, the first bud- (raised from 26 to 49), which kind of pro-
l Issue of list of equipment requiring an sp’s: will the technologies be borrowed/ get of the current government had also grammes may still attract beyond the
industrial licence and liberalising regu- purchased from overseas? provided for creating a `100-crore technol- limit of 49 per cent?
lations. the detailed list can be accessed ministry: Yes, the technologies will be trans- ogy development fund to provide resources ministry: as per the FdI policy, now FdI
from the link pasted (http://dipp.nic. ferred by the foreign companies. to public and private sector companies to beyond 49 per cent is allowed under
in/english/acts_rules/press_Notes/ support research and development (r&d) approval route in cases which result in
pn3_2014.pdf) sp’s: will the route of transfer of technol- of defence systems. access to modern and state-of-the-art tech-
l Finalisation of security manual for ogy (ToT) be used to enable fast establish- nology in the country.
licensed defence industry? the security ment of industries offering instant delivery sp’s: will the government be funding any
m
o manual can be accessed from the link possibilities? programmes in case private sector compa- sp’s: what has been the total of fdI till now
c
s. pasted (http://ddpmod.gov.in/showfile. ministry: No, transfer of technology will nies are willing to work on development of as a result of the referred raise?
e
c php?lid=151) only enable the foreign companies to get certain military programmes? ministry: as per the statistics published on
r
dfo l Increase in initial validity of industrial more incentives. It will not enable faster ministry: Yes. the fund is being created to dIpp (department of Industrial policy and
n licence? the initial validity of indus- establishment of such industries. support companies to invest in r&d. promotion) website, defence sector has man-
a
sl trial licence has been extended to 15 aged to received FdI amounting to `0.48
p
s years, which is further extendable up sp’s: research & development – it has sp’s: How about stronger accountabil- crore between september 2014 to decem-
w. to 18 years for existing as well as future been confined to drdo (defence research ity within drdo ensuring that there is ber 2015 (i.e the time since the FdI cap was
w
w licences. and development organisation), in our less wastage of public monies, while increased from 26 to 49 per cent). SP
4 sp’s land forces 1/2016
RELENTLESS JOURNEY OF
EXCELLENCE SINCE 1964
>> modernisation
Indian army’s modernisation...
...continued from page 2
schilka, tanguska, Kvadrat (medium-range displays for soldiers and clipboards for com- system (INsas) 5.56 x 45mm assault rifle, Army Aviation Corps—helicopters
missile system), osa-aK (short-range mis- manders. additionally, integrated ballistic which the army rejected in 2010 for being presently the army aviation corps (aac)
sile system) and Igla shoulder-fired missile helmets with head-up displays (hUds), min- ‘operationally inadequate.’ the gas-oper- has in its inventory the light observation
system in its inventory. the 40mm L/70 iature radios, global positioning systems, and ated, fully automatic rifle has a foldable class (cheetah and chetak) mostly. these
which is about four decades old, needs portable power packs complete the F-INsas butt, a picatinny rail for sights, sensors, and helicopters are obsolete and have been in
immediate replacement. considering the makeover. the point to note is that not even bipods, and its polycarbonate magazine is service since the 1960s and require immedi-
high costs of new weapon systems, the one part of the project has made any progress. superior to that of the INsas rifle, known ate replacement. as per the latest informa-
army is going in for weapon upgrades for to frequently crack in extreme hot and cold tion in this field the aac is likely to receive
L-70, ZU-23-2 twin gun, and ZsU-23-4 Assault Rifles climates. the excalibur’s barrel is 4mm licence-built russian Kamov Ka-226t
schilka. Meanwhile, the army is looking for army is on the lookout for assault rifles shorter than the INsas model and its hand ‘hoodlum’ light multi-role helicopters from
successors to L-70 and the ZU-23-2. suc- (ar) to replace the INsas 5.56mm rifles guard is smaller. 2018 onwards. haL is likely to form a joint
cessor to schilka (ZsU-23-4) already exists with technologically superior weapons. the the drdo is also designing a second venture with russian helicopters to licence-
in the form of tangushka, but in limited Mod issued the tender for 66,000, 5.56mm version of the excalibur, the ar-2 that fires build 200 Kamov Ka-226t ‘hoodlum’ light
numbers. a request for information has multi-calibre assault rifles out of a total 7.62 x 39mm rounds used by aK-47. the multi-role helicopters. the public sector hin-
already been issued to find a replacement requirement of about 2,00,000 assault rifles ar-2 will be offered as an alternative to the dustan aeronautics Limited (haL) is sched-
for schilka. actions to replace the obsolete in November 2011 to 43 overseas vendors. aK-47, russian origin, rifle. uled to produce the first of 140 twin-engine
missile systems for mechanised columns is Five vendors responded positively. however Ka-226ts within two years for the aac and
also underway. all five vendors comprising Italian manufac- Carbines the Indian air Force (IaF) at a new facility
a dedicated article on air defence artil- turer Beretta’s arX160, the czech repub- For over five years the Indian army has in tumakuru, 74 km north of Bengaluru.
lery is included separately in this issue. lic-based cZ’s 805 BreN, Israel Weapon operated without a cQB carbine, a basic according to officials, haL will gradually
Industries’ (IWI) ace, and Us-based colt’s infantry weapon, essential to a force which increase the platform’s indigenous content
infantry combat rifle were rejected by the army fol- claims to be among the best and most opera- to a maximum 30 per cent. the first 60
the F-INsas project was mooted in 2005 lowing field trials in the western rajasthan tionally committed in the world, ever ready Ka-226ts will be imported directly to meet
and it aimed at deploying a fully networked, desert and in high-altitude regions. to take on any challenge. urgent operational requirements, under a
all-weather, and all-terrain infantry, with the army has instead keeping the ‘Make the current situation is the verdict on $1-billion inter-governmental agreement
enhanced firepower and the mobility to in India’ concept in mind has decided to do the outcome of the 2010 tender for 44,618, (IGa) announced during prime Minister
operate in the digitalised battlefield. this away with its multi-calibre requirement cQB carbines (5.56mm), trials for which Modi’s Moscow visit in december 2015.
involved a mix of imported and locally and has opted instead for the indigenously concluded in 2013, after which Beretta’s the tumakuru complex is also expected
developed systems, to equip about 400 bat- designed excalibur 5.56 x 45mm assault arX160 and IWI’s Galil ace models were to manufacture 187 haL-designed single-
talions of infantry and rashtriya rifles with rifle. around 200 excalibur prototypes, shortlisted, is yet to be given. the selected engine light utility helicopters (LUhs) for the
a modular, multi-calibre suite of weapons made at the oFB’s rifle Factory Ishapur (rFI) weapon system will be licence-produced by aac and the IaF.
and body armour. in eastern India, are scheduled to undergo the oFB to meet the requirement of three to
the entire capability desired includes user evaluation trials later this year in var- four lakh cQB carbines for the army, paramil- Conclusion
target acquisition, communications, and ied terrain. once approved, the army plans itary, and state police forces. the army has the list of voids and obsolescence of army’s
portable surveillance equipment, including to induct over 6,00,000 excalibur rifles for been without a carbine since 2010, after the major weapon systems is alarming. this
third-generation night-vision devices, as well around `26,000 crore (`3.6 billion). oFB discontinued the licensed production of happens to a force when it is neglected by
as computers capable of transmitting and the excalibur is an upgraded version the sterling 1a1 9mm sub-machine gun it the government for a long period of time as
uploading voice, data and video clips on wrist of the drdo-designed Indian small arms had employed for decades. it has happened in the case of the army. SP
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1/2016 sp’s land forces 5
>> air defence
army air defence – an Update
The security environment in India’s neighbourhood is always on a dangerous threshold thus it is essential to
continuously modernise AAD weaponry and manpower
PhoToGrAPh: SP GuIDe PubNS
 Lt GeneraL naresh chand (retd)
Schilka Air
a Defence gun
rMY aIr deFeNce (aad) is an
important component of mod-
ern warfare as air power and
air threat is developing rapidly
due to improved aeronautics,
avionics and armament. Unmanned aerial
vehicles (UaVs), cruise and ballistic mis-
siles have added another dimension to
the threat. UaVs are cost effective, easy to
acquire and operate thus a counter to this
threat has to be acquired. the security
environment in India’s neighbourhood is
always on a dangerous threshold thus it is
essential to continuously modernise aad
weaponry and manpower.
Current scenario and future plans
Gun Systems
40mm-L/70. 40mm-L/70 is the main stay
of aad and has been the warhorse of aad
since 1964. It was to be replaced by 2000
however there is no progress. the defence
research and development organisation’s
(drdo) development effort also kept its
replacement at a limb for about two decades.
Not many gun systems are currently avail-
able but a possible choice was skyshield of
rheinmetall ad but unfortunately the com-
pany was blacklisted by India but the pres-
ent government is reviewing the situation Schilka upgrade. the schilka upgrade the move. the system can be brought into number of radars and missile systems to the
and the process of acquisition may restart has been carried out jointly by BeL with action in three minutes and typical reaction Fdc. It has been reported that hawk has
soon. this area is most critical as India can- Israel aerospace Industries (IaI) for the time, from target detection to missile launch, been upgraded and named hawk 21 with
not afford to replace all of them with mis- fire control radar and elta for the ther- could range from 3.4 seconds for stationary the Fdc developed by Kongsberg as part of
siles. the time frame for such a major acqui- mal imager and the laser range finder. the positions to 10 seconds while on the move. NasaM system.
sition will take about five years to fructify. upgrade package includes a more power- each fire unit can engage two separate tar-
after that notionally if 10 regiments have to ful engine, digital computer, better electro- gets. tor-M1 can detect and track up to 48 Medium Range SAM (MRSAM) System
be provided with the new guns then at the optical sighting system and a new fire con- targets at a maximum range of 25 km. It can Kvadrat. Kvadrat is the current system
rather ambitious rate of one regiment per trol radar. the four barrel 23mm gun with engage two targets simultaneously at a range which is more than 35 years old and has
year, it will take 10 years to equip all the 10 a rate of fire of 3,400 rounds per minute of 1 to 12 km and altitude of 10 to 6,000 m the technology of early 1960s thus an rFp
regiments. that takes it to 2030 and if the has been retained and there is a provision with a kill probability of 92-95 per cent. has been issued but later on withdrawn due
gun remains current for even three decades, for firing shoulder fired missiles. the induc- Surface launched advanced to poor response. as drdo’s akash has not
the time frame will be 2060. the air threat tion has also started and the upgraded sys- medium-range air-to-air missile been found suitable for mobile role, a few
will change rapidly and these systems will tem will manage the air threat for the next (SLAMRAAM). sLaMraaM is a key player regiments of akash has been contracted for
become obsolete thus the need for urgency decade or so. Meanwhile, a better system in raytheon Integrated defense systems’ semi-static role.
with more modern guns and ammunition. should be acquired. state-of-the-art integrated air and missile Joint venture (JV) of DRDO and
Upgrade of 40mm L70. the gun has Super-Vulcan of IAI. the super-Vul- defence systems which can counter current Israel Aerospace Industries. this JV is
been upgraded jointly by BeL and ordnance can is an advanced tank-based, mobile air and future cruise missile threats, and a wide for the development of long/medium-range
Factory, Jabalpur; with electric power lay defence system in service in the Israeli air range of air breathing threats. sLaMraaM saM. there are many name to the same
and electro-optical sighting system. the Force. It has M113/Vulcan/stinger launch- is capable of defending manoeuvring land system like Barak next-generation, long-
process of induction of this system is in ers with an enhanced suit of tV and FLIr tar- forces, high-value fixed assets and mass range saM (LrsaM) and MrsaM. the
progress. however at best this an interim get auto-tracking capability. It has an effec- population centres. sLaMraaM is the Us LrsaM is the naval version which has been
solution as the basic gun remains of the tive range from 500 m to 6,000 m against army’s domestic variant of the Norwegian successfully fired on december 30, 2015,
early 1960s vintage and this combination helicopters and 8,000 m against aircraft. advanced surface-to-air missile system from INs Kolkata. Land version is called
cannot work in the night and fire control (NasaMs). sLaMraaM system uses the MrsaM, is said to be a very advanced saM
radar is still required. Missile Systems aMraaM fire-and-forget missile, a surveil- that can track and shoot down incoming
23mm Twin gun. this is a fair weather Quick Reaction SAM (QR SAM) system. lance radar, a fire distribution centre and missiles and other flying objects with very
gun system which is of more than three the current system is osa-aK which is a aMraaM launchers. the sLaMraaM high level of accuracy. While LrsaM is for
decades old however its rate of firing is very highly mobile system, acquired for the air launcher mounts six aMraaM missiles Navy, the air Force has already an order
good (2,000 rounds per minute). It is suit- defence of armour formations. this system on a turreted high-mobility multi-purpose for MrsaM and the army variant has been
able for mobile role and employment in the is more than 20 years old and needs to be wheeled vehicle which provides 360° cover- recently approved. the system includes a
mountains. replaced. drdo’s effort to develop trishul age. the Us army uses the raytheon aN/ missile and multi-functional surveillance
Upgrade of 23mm Twin gun. It has system did not succeed and a rFp had been MpQ-64 sentinel radar to carry out the and threat alert radar for detection, track-
been upgraded by BeL and punj Lloyd. punj issued twice. hopefully the current rFp will surveillance and target search, acquisition, ing and guidance of the missile. an army
Lloyd had tied up with a polish company be taken to its logical conclusion. Following identification and tracking functions. the version of the MrsaM for one regiment
and their system has been shortlisted for the systems are available globally: electronically scanned phased array radar worth about `9,000 crore (about $1.4 bil-
Indian army. the upgrade includes power Tor-M1 9M330 SHORAD system. uses range gate pulse doppler operation lion) was agreed upon between defence
lay and electro-optical sighting system which the tor-M1 shorad (saM-15) designed at X-band, has a scan rate of 30 rpm and Minister Manohar parrikar and his Israeli
will enhance its capability manifold and also by almaz-antey of russia, is a classic mobile range of 75 km. counterpart Moshe Ya’alon during his visit
provide it with night firing capability. russian system designed especially for air Hawk-AMRAAM air defence sys- to India in February 2015. however, given
m
o Schilka system. It is a highly mobile sys- defence of armoured and other mobile for- tem. raytheon and Kongsberg defence the requirement this number is expected to
c
s. tem for supporting armour formations and is mations. tor is successor to osa-aK sho- have jointly developed the hawk-aMraaM go up. the missiles will be manufactured by
e
c in service since the early 1970s. Its succes- rad (saM-8) system. It can engage targets air defence system, which combines the the Bharat dynamics Limited.
r
dfo sor was tangushka, one regiment of which from medium to very low-altitudes, against capabilities of hawk and aMraaM missiles Shoulder-fired SAM Systems. the
n was procured, but there were many twists many types of aerial targets like helicopters, by integrating the system with Fdc. the current system is Igla which is also in ser-
a
sl and turns for buying additional mounts. fighters, UaVs, guided/cruise missiles and system can include the sentinel radar and vice with the Indian Navy and the air Force.
p
s the result is that the armour formations are precision guided weapon; in an intense jam- the hawk aN/MpQ-61 high power illumi- a tri-service rFp was issued and compara-
w.
devoid of mobile aad guns as the old schil- ming environment. the combat vehicle can nator for target tracking and illumination, tive trials have been carried out but there
w
w kas are obsolete and difficult to maintain. operate autonomously and can also fire on although it is possible to hook up with any has been no further development. SP
6 sp’s land forces 1/2016
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on lessons derived from vast operational
experience, incorporate state-of-the-art
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DEFEXPO 2016
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[email protected]
>> budGet
defence Budget 2016-17 and
the status of Indian army
 Lt GeneraL V.K. Kapoor (retd) full spectrum of warfare ranging from low
share of defence services and others in
intensity conflict involving counter-insur-
T
he deFeNce BUdGet aLLoca- defence Budget 2016-17 gency and counter-terrorist operations to
tIoN for the year 2015-16 was conventional conflicts under the nuclear
`2,46,727 crore where as the Ordnance shadow on two widely separated fronts on
allocation for the year 2016-17 Factories Others its western and eastern flanks. the dilemma
is `2,58,589.3 crore an increase 1% 9% is only regarding the extent of emphasis
D army
of less than 5 per cent over the bud- RD that should be laid to acquiring each type of
O
get estimate figures of the previous year. 5% Navy capability. this requires political direction
these calculations are based on sum of in the form of a national security strategy
defence expenditure (revenue), defence Air Force Army air Force as otherwise the services tend to go by the
expenditure (capital) and the Ministry 20% 50% worst case scenario.
drdo
of defence (Mod) expenditure (miscella-
neous) which amounts to the above figure ordnanace Building Defence Capability
of `2,58,589.3 crore. defence pensions Factories sustaining and building defence capabilty
Navy
have not been added in this figure as is a continuous and gradual process. delays
15%
they do not contribute to the maintenance others in implementing plans not only create a
and development of combat capability of void in capability build up but if the delay
the three services. these have never been in procurement of weapons and equipment
taken into account in the past. this time to extends to a few years, it upsets the funds
perhaps impress the public and the opposi- earmarked for the purpose because of the
tion regarding the BJp Government’s sym- inflationary trends of the global market. It
pathy for the defence sector they are want- requires both, adequate budget allocations
ing all to believe that more is being done and full, efficient and judicious utilisation of
than earlier whereas the fact is that this the third aspect that gets highlighted be 3 to 4 per cent of Gdp 9 (minus defence the allocated budget. this does not appear
time the increase in defence budget is the is the lack of growth of the capital budget pensions) to counter china and pakistan’s to have happened in the past and the trend
least in the last about six decades since the which is responsible for the modernisation increased defence spending and growing appears to continue in the current year. the
1962 war with china. this is also perhaps of the three services. this aspect indicates militarisation in the asia-pacific region. allocation on account of capital budget as
the first time in the history of independent that 2016-17 will also be a wasted year per the budget estimates in 2015-16 was
India that the Finance Minister (FM) made as far as modernisation is concerned. the threats and Challenges `94,588 crore while at the revised estimates
no mention of the defence budget in his services had returned `13,188 crore as the security threats and challenges facing stage the allocation is shown as `90,209
90 minutes speech to the parliament. the unspent amount last year and the likely rea- India have increased enormously. While the crore, thus showing the inability of the
reasons can only be given by the Finance sons for this phenomenon are given in the old adversarial threats due to unresolved defence Ministry to utilise the funds allot-
Minister himself, however the lack of paragraph under the heading “Non-utiliza- borders remain, new threats and challenges ted. the services returned `13,188 crore as
security consciousness among the politi- tion of the defence Budget”. like terrorism and insurgencies have been unspent amount last year. It also indicates
cal class can be seen by the fact that not Military analysts are of the opinion added to the old inventory. thus on the face the complicated procedures in place which
even one political leader from any party that India’s defence expenditure needed to of it India needs to prepare itself for the prevent the services from timely utilisation
commented on this issue even outside the of the allotted resources. this has been hap-
parliament to the media. coming from the pening year after year and has created a
Table 1: comparative statistics of defence Budget:
Finance Minister of a party which claims critical adverse in our war-fighting capabili-
2014-15, 2015-16 & 2016-17
to be the nationalistic party, the omission ties. It is well known that the services even
is even more astounding considering that lack certain categories of ammunition to
2014-15 2015-16 2016-17
the challenges and threats to the country fight a war of a given duration and the war
are looming large on the horizon virtually defence Budget (` in crore) 229000.0 246727.0 258589.3 wastage reserves are well below the accept-
from all directions. Growth of defence Budget (%) 12.4 7.74 5 able figures. overall, lack of availability of
this allocation which is merely 1.47 per some of the munitions also reflect on the
revenue expenditure (` in crore) 134412 152139.0 168379.7
cent of the Gdp and is even lower than last effective training of crews of various weap-
Growth of revenue expenditure (%) 14.9 13.2 11
year’s (2015-16) when it was 1.75 per cent ons systems.
of the Gdp. It should be seen in light of the share of revenue expenditure in 58.7 61.7 65
existing hollowness in the capabilities and defence Budget (%) Current Status of Army’s Weapons
voids of all the three services which have capital expenditure (` in crore) 94587.95 94588.0 90209.63 and equipment
accumulated over the past one decade and the army’s ‘critical shortages’ and obso-
Growth of capital expenditure (%) 9. 0 0.0 -4.62
more of compulsive inaction by the Upa lescence of its current equipment include
share of capital expenditure in 41.3 38.3 35
Government and now by the present gov- 155mm howitzers, light utility helicop-
defence Budget (%)
ernment. the current allocation is bound to ters, attack helicopters, air defence assets,
share of defence Budget in Gdp (%) 1.81 1.75 1.47
further derail the process of modernisation various categories of ammunition, anti-
and create dismay and anguish among the share of defence Budget in central 12.8 13.9 ? tank and ad missile systems, close quar-
serving soldiery. Government expenditure (%) ter battle (cQB) carbines, assault rifles,
table 1 below gives the comparative Note: *: approximate figure. `1.0 crore = `10 million = $1,44,927.53 (as per the average exchange rate of machine guns, sniper rifles and anti-mate-
figures of defence allocations in three `69 to a dollar). Defence pensions have not been included as they do not contribute to modernisation or develop- rial rifles. the situation has worsened in
years starting from 2014-15 to the cur- ment military capability. the last three years or so. adding to the
rent financial year and shows the growth existing shortages is the new raising of the
where applicable. Table 2: capital outlay, army (extract of demand no. 23) 17 Mountain strike corps for our eastern
theatre, which is expected to reduce the
2015-16 (BE) 2016-17 (BE)
Comments army’s reserve stocks called ‘War Wast-
It is clear from the above table that there is no Land 377 300 age reserves’ in terms of equipment and
growth of the defence budget and considering construction 4363.92 5057.40 munitions further.
that during the past two years the rupee has
aircraft & aero-engine 2365.35 1565.94
depreciated by 39 per cent against the dol- Capital Budget
heavy and Medium Vehicles 1783.83 3411.72
lar and if we add this depreciation to the rise the capital budget, which is meant for pro-
in prices of military equipment in the global other equipment 17335.22 16173.35 curement of equipment, when analysed for
m
o market the adverse impact stands out clearly. procurement of rolling stock 364.02 282.76 the years 2014-15 and 2015-16 seem to
c
s. the other drawback is the trend of suggest that no significant changes in equip-
e Total 26589.34 26791.17
c increasing revenue expenditure as com- ment status of the army will come about in
r
dfo pared to the capital expenditure and the Capital Outlay (Extract of Demand No. 20) the near future despite many projects hav-
n increasing adverse ratio between the two. 2015-16 (BE) 2016-17 (BE) ing been sanctioned by the defence acquisi-
a
psl With the raising of the Mountain strike rashtriya rifles 90.97 101.49 tion council (dac). a more detailed analy-
s corps and the consequent increase in man- sis of the various projects has been done in
w. Total 90.97 101.49
power, the ratio is bound to lean even more the article on ‘Indian army’s Modernisation
w
w heavily towards revenue expenditure. Note: All figures are in crores. Woes’ in this issue of SP’s Land Forces. this
8 sp’s land forces 1/2016
RELENTLESS JOURNEY OF
EXCELLENCE SINCE 1964
>> budGet
Table 3: defence allocations (capital and revenue) Table 4: revenue outlay, army (extract of demand no. 22)
Revenue Expenditure Capital Expenditure Total (` in crore) 2015-16 (BE) 2015-16 (RE) 2016-17 (BE)
(` in crore) (` in crore)
pay & allowances of the army 60548.18 59303.18 67721.78
2014-15 (Be) 134412 94588 229000 pay and allowances and 1172.20 1162.20 1501.13
2014-15 (re) 140405 81965 222370 miscellaneous expenses of
auxiliary forces
2015-16 (Be) 152139 94588 246727
pay and allowances of civilians 4878.80 4798.97 5505.27
2015–16 (re) 158739 90209 248948
transportation 2828.10 2828.10 3054.35
2016-17 (Be) 168379 90209 258589
stores 16697.84 16180.75 17728.18
Works 8259 7180.99 7860.75
other expenditure 2298.18 2009.63 2298.17
will give the readers an idea of the gigantic defence allocations, both revenue and capi-
Less revenue receipts -2667.42 -2667.42 -2880.79
task that awaits the Indian army as far as tal in the case of the Mod.
modernisation is concerned. Total 94014.88 90796.4 102788
Revenue Budget, Army Revenue Outlay (Extract of Demand No. 20)
Components of Capital Budget this year’s overall revenue budget has 2015-16 (BE) 2015-16 (RE) 2016-17 (BE)
the capital budget has two components. increased by `16,240 crore if the Be fig-
JaK LI 1050.40 966.08 1210.61
the first component is modernisation of the ures of the year 2015-16 are compared to
rashtriya rifles 5453 5453 6234.88
three services which has been given in the the Be of year 2016-17. If the re figures
Total 6503.4 6419 7445.49
demand No. 23 of the demands for Grants are taken then the increase in revenue
in respect of the three services of the Min- expenditure is `10,360 crore. this increase Total revenue expenditure 132540.61 125808.67 143869.46
of Ministry of Defence
istry of defence. and the second pertains perhaps takes into account the increase
to demand No. 20, which is in respect of in pay and allowances due to the seventh
Ministry of defence (Miscellaneous) which pay commission’s recommendations. dur- ness towards the military at a time when was the worst as they were unable to dis-
includes the Ministry itself, Border roads, ing the time of sixth pay commission the more serious challenges are looming large burse some 55 per cent of its modernisation
coast Guard, defence estates, ordnance increase was catered for by allocating an over the horizon shows the attitude of the outlay to meet enduring shortages of mul-
Factories, defence research and develop- additional `17,000 crore. present government to national security. tiple platforms and systems.
ment organisation, rashtriya rifles, Jammu all three services had surrendered Military analysts and former Mod
and Kashmir Light Infantry (JaK LI), Mili- Conclusion `13,188 crore or 16 per cent of the capital financial advisors for acquisitions have
tary Farms, ex servicemen contributory the requirements of the services are vast outlay for FY 2015-16 for failing to con- warned that the ability of the three ser-
health scheme, Ncc, etc. and wide ranging and the defence budgets in clude contracts, cancelling tenders due to vices to disburse their allocations in a
Modernisation budget caters for both, the past as well as the current allocations do over ambitious qualitative requirements timely manner needs overhauling as oth-
i.e. ‘committed Liabilities’, the payments not meet the requirements of the services. or being unable to complete field trials on erwise, India’s military modernisation will
due in respect of contracts signed in the past; at the present rate the services will never schedule. In this the army’s performance remain a mirage. SP
and the first stage payment due on signing be able to make up their
of new contracts. the amount due as first deficiencies and moder-
stage payment is as per the conditions of the nise hence the time has
request for proposal (rFp) and may vary in come to take some hard
each contract, but for rule of thumb calcu- decisions. the options
lation purposes, it may be assumed to be 10 available are only two,
per cent. In most cases more than 50 per i.e. either we become a
cent of the allocated amount in respect of lean force with greater
the capital budget will be consumed by com- reliance on technology
mitted liabilities. In case of some services or we accept the present/
this figure may be higher. anticipated manpower
intensive force structure
Non-utilistation of the Defence Budget and give greater alloca-
the reasons for non-utilisation of all the tions to defence. the lat-
allocated capital funds are many. some ter option is unlikely due
understanding can be gained from the 7th to the socio-economic
report of the defence committee of the conditions prevailing
parliament. this report was presented in in the country and the
May 2015 and it brings out that during the government’s cumpul-
year 2014-15, the army could not utilise sions in a democracy like
`7,874 crore in the capital head due to sev- ours. hence the answer
eral reasons like cuts imposed by the Minis- lies in conducting a stra-
try of Finance, slippages in committed Lia- tegic and defence and
bilities, non-fructification of 14 schemes security review to go
at the competent Financial authority into the optimum force
(cFa) stage, and under-utilisation by levels required based
the director General ordnance Factories on clear and pragmatic
(dGoF), etc. therefore to reduce the alloca- strategic guidelines from
tion based on the justification of previous the political leadership.
year’s re figures or the reasoning that the the current increases
services cannot utilise the funds allotted in force levels, in the
are excuses to deny funds by not clearing absence of a clear strat- Dyneema®. Next generation
the projects. this has been happening year egy are unviable.
after year leading to the current critical For the first time in
armor technology.
shortages and lack of modernisation of the independent India’s his-
three services. tory, the defence outlay
for FY 2016-17 found
Capital Budget, Army no mention in Finance
the total capital budget allocated to the Minister arun Jaitley’s
defence services is `78,587 crore out of budget speech. official
which after taking out committed liabilities sources said this was Armor made with Dyneema® technologies is raising the personal protection
only `12,000 crore is likely to be available due as much as to the benchmark. Dyneema® makes armor lighter and more comfortable to wear
for new procurements/ developments. restructuring of bud- without compromising ballistic performance.
the capital budget of the army can be getary allocations that
seen at a glance from table 2. made it more complex
Let’s develop the next generation of armor together.
considering the shortages given in the and difficult to com-
paragraph on current equipment status of pare with previous
the army and the fact that a large percent- defence outlays and for
28 – 31 MAR 2016
age will go into paying for the committed arun Jaitley to explain, NAQUERI QUITOL IN QUEPEM
liabilities, it will be clear that the allocated as to its paltry spend- TALUKA OF SOUTH GOA, INDIA
HALL 4, BOOTH NUMBER: 4.1.7
budget for the type of deficiencies that exist ing increase. this lapse
will not suffice and will compel the decision (in not referring to the
Visit us at www.dyneema.com
makers to limit the sanctions only to a few defence budget) also
projects during the year which would imply reveals the low priority
an ever increasing backlog which will have that BJp Government
its own ramifications in the future. accords to defence mat-
table 3 gives the figures of three years of ters. the lack of serious-
SP_LandForcesMonthlyIssue_210x146.indd 1 29/02/16 09:09
1/2016 sp’s land forces 9
>> artiLLery
NEW TOOLS FOR NEW RULES
modernisation of artillery
PhoToGrAPhS: uS ArMY, SP GuIDe PubNS
 Lt GeneraL V.K. Kapoor (retd) 145 ultra light howitzers (M777)
In May 2015 the Mod approved the import
a
s part oF Its artillery Mod- of 145 M777s along with selex Laser Iner-
ernisation plan, the Indian tial pointing systems (LINaps) via the Us
army is looking at induct- foreign military sales (FMs) programme. on
ing several types of howitzers February 17, 2016, the United states sub-
through in-house manufacture mitted its letter of acceptance (Loa) sanc-
by drdo/ordnance Factory Board, inter- tioning India’s purchase of 145 M777s.
governmental pacts and global tenders. the other than the upwardly revised tender
last major acquisition of towed gun-how- price of around `4,900 crore ($700 mil-
itzers was that of 400 pieces of 39-calibre lion), the Loa included delivery schedules,
/155mm Fh-77B howitzers with a range of guarantees, and after-sales technical, mate-
30-km from Bofors of sweden in 1987. this rial, and spares support, Bae systems is also
gun proved its mettle in the Kargil conflict. believed to have submitted to the Mod its list
after about 25 years of neglect the artillery of offset agreements with local companies,
modernisation continues to stagnate. valued at 30 per cent of the overall contract
attempts are being made to resurrect value and estimated at around `1,400 crore
and fulfil its long-postponed 1999 Field ($210 million). the Loa also imposed a
artillery rationalisation plan (Farp), 180-day deadline on the Mod within which
under which the army aims to import, to confirm the deal for the M777s and LIN-
locally develop, and licence-produce around aps units. the M777 purchase to equip the
3,000, 155mm howitzers of various cat- army’s 17 Mountain strike corps, which is
egories to equip 220-odd artillery regiments presently being raised for deployment along
for an estimated `56,000 to `63,000 crore the disputed border with china, has an indig-
($8-9 billion). these include 1,580 towed enous perspective. In November 2014 Bae
gun systems (tGs), 814 mounted gun sys- systems announced the transfer of its M777
tems (MGs), 100 self-propelled howitzers assembly, integration & test (aIt) facilities
(sphs) — all of which are 155mm/52- from hattiesburg, Mississippi, to India, and
calibre — and 145 Bae systems M777 has selected Mahindra defence as its local
155mm/39-calibre lightweight howitzers. partner to operationalise the programme,
Locally upgraded and retrofitted guns will ahead of signing the deal. however, some
make up additional numbers. key elements of the M777 will continue to
be sourced from the Bae systems facility at
trials of 155mm towed howitzers of Barrow-in-Furness in the United Kingdom.
Nexter and elbit Systems Military sources say the M777 numbers
trials involving two competing could increase to 350-400 units.
155mm/52-calibre towed guns for the the M777 matches the firepower of
Ministry of defence (Mod) 2011/12 ten- current generation 155mm towed systems
der for 1,580 such platforms concluded at less than half the weight. the howitzer is
in November 2015. the two guns are cur- equipped with a 39-calibre barrel. the muz-
rently undergoing General staff evalua- zle velocity (at charge 8 super) is 827m/s.
tion by the army before one is shortlisted the maximum firing range is 24.7 km with
and price negotiations begin. trials for unassisted rounds and 30 km with rocket-
two systems namely the Nexter’s 155mm assisted rounds.
‘trajan’ 155mm/52-calibre howitzer, and Excalibur munitions: the M777a2
Israels athos 2052 gun built by elbit were can fire the raytheon/Bofors XM982
required to undergo the supplementary tri- (top) M777 howitzer (Above) Dhanush 155mm 45-calibre gun excalibur Gps/inertial navigation-guided
extended-range 155mm projectiles using
als from mid-2015 after completing desert dling, and nuclear, biological, and chemical the modular artillery charge systems
Technical data of
and high-altitude firings in 2013-14. the (NBc) system and muzzle velocity radar, to (Macs). excalibur has a maximum range
m777 155 mm Howitzer army plans to acquire 400 guns under the help it bypass the 30 per cent offset obligation. of 40 to 57 km and accuracy of 10 m. the
defence procurment procedure’s (dpp) Military sources say the sph deal is likely to M777 is able to deliver up to five rounds a
‘Buy and Make (Foreign)’ category and be signed during the upcoming financial year, minute under intense firing conditions and
Range
licence-build the remaining 1,180 howit- beginning april 1, and includes a follow-on is able to provide a sustained rate of fire of
• Maximum Unassisted: 24.7 km
zers. Nexter is a French Government com- option for an additional 50 K9 guns. two rounds a minute.
• Maximum Assisted: + 30 km
pany formerly called GIat has a tie-up Catapult the interim solution: In
Rate of Fire with Larsen &tubro (L& t) and elbit from the interim the army is expected to induct indigenous efforts to manufacture
• Intense: 5 rounds per minute Israel has tied up with the Kalyani Group/ 40 indigenously developed catapult Mk II 155mm howitzer (Dhanush)
• Sustained: 2 rounds per minute
Bharat Forge in pune, but who will be the sphs, which mount a 130mm gun on the oFB have been tasked to produce a 45-cali-
Into/Out of Action designated manufacturer of the shortlisted chassis of the locally designed arjun MBt. bre 155mm howitzer based on the transfer
• Emplacement: < 3 minutes howitzer is presently not known. these will replace an equal number of cata- of technology (tot) obtained from Bofors in Visit us at
• Displacement: < 2 minutes pult Mk Is, designed in the early 1980s by the 1980s. the defence acquisition council
Pointing limits Self-propelled howitzers (Sph) mating the M-46 weapons onto the length- (dac) approved a proposal from the oFB to DEFEXPO, INDIA 2016
• Elevation: + 1275mm K9 Vajra-T: In december 2015 the Mod ened chassis of an oFB-built Vijayanta manufacture 144 pieces of 155mm/45- Israel Pavilion, Stand 1.1.2-D
• Depression: - 43mm began price negotiations with L&t for 100 (Vickers Mk 1) MBt. calibre howitzers with the option to acquire
• Traverse (on carriage): 400mm modified south Korean sphs, worth around another 400 provided the prototypes suc-
left and right (6400mm through `5,600 crore ($800 million). the K9 Vajra- cessfully meet the army’s GsQr in user tri- Armored Fighting Vehicle Systems
The defence acquisition
quick switch) t, an L&t version of samsung techwin’s als. Meanwhile, the drdo has embarked
K9 thunder 155mm/52-calibre gun cus- on its own venture to design and develop a
Ammunition council approved a
tomised for India’s 2012 sph tender, was 155mm howitzer in partnership with a pri-
• All current developmental US and
shortlisted for acquisition in late september vate sector company. Strength, efficiency and survivability - all the components for success
Nato standard 155mm projectiles proposal from the ofB to
2015 following trials the previous year. In
and charges including Modular
these the K9 bested russia’s Msta-s self- manufacture 144 pieces the acquisition of 814
artillery charge system. Elbit Systems’ AFV systems address the entire combat vehicle with the emphasis on
propelled gun, which had been modified to truck-mounted guns
Mobility 155mm/52-calibre standard and mounted of 155mm/45-calibre this has been approved by the dac in Novem- efficiency and crew survivability. With access to our full spectrum of AFV systems, we
• Maximum Road Speed: 88 kmph/ on a t-72 tank chassis. ber 2014 will be undertaken under the
55 mph according to industry sources the K9, howitzers with the option ‘Buy and Make (Indian)’ category with tot. customize solutions for any vehicle type. In addition, our Weapon Integrated Battle
m
o • Cross Country: 24 kmph/15 mph which is being procured under the dpp 2012 While the first 100 guns will be imported,
c to acquire another 400 Management system allows Task Force integration between all platforms of the
s. Towing Vehicles: MtVr, FMtV, ‘Buy (Global)’ category, will be built at L&t’s the remaining 714 will be produced in
e
c M-800, M-900, 5 tonne trucks, any 2.5 talegaon facility near pune. this classifica- India. tata power sed with its 155mm Maneuvering Force.
r provided the prototypes
dfo tonne truck, hMWV in Local area tion permits domestic companies to enter truck mounted gun system and L&t-ashok
an Fixed Wing: c130, c141,c 17, c 5, roll into tie-ups with oeMs to offer cooperatively successfully meet the Leyland-Nexter with their 155mm gun are TM
sl on, roll off / LVad developed equipment and platforms to the among the private companies in India that
p
s Indian military. the K9 is expected to con- army’s GsQr in user trials. are likely to submit proposals for the project,
w. Rotary Wing: ch 53e, ch 47 d,
tain some 13 major indigenous subsystems, as reported by the media. the total project
ww MV 22. SP including its fire control, ammunition han- cost is estimated to be `15,750 crore. SP
N E X T I S N O W™
10 sp’s land forces 1/2016