Patriot missile and its variants like PAC-2 GEM, GEM/C, GEM/T (or GEM+) (made by Raytheon) and most advance Patriot Advance Capability -3(PAC-3) made by Lockheed Martin. Israel has offered a joint venture with the DRDO calling it the MRSAM (earlier named Barak ‘Next Generation’) with a possible range of 70 km. This actually is meant for the Indian Air Force, but AAD and the Indian Navy should join the project to make it a more viable option. Evidently, the state of preparedness of AAD is very low and it would require strong a strong push at the decision-making level to steer the ship of modernisation to its logical end.
Communications, ISR & PGMs
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BMP1-Infantory Combat Vehicle
to be ongoing, aims to equip future soldiers with lightweight force multipliers. Soldiers of the future will have miniaturised communication and GPS systems, small power packs, weapon platforms and smart vests with fibre-optic sensors. The soldiers will also have better and lighter combat fatigues, boots, belts, ammunition pouches, rucksacks and rations in the form of meals-ready-to-eat. Though somewhat akin to the US Army’s Land Warrior programme, the Indian Army programme for modernisation of infantry battalions will result in only incremental changes. However, these would be significant enough to make a difference on the future battlefields of the Indian Sub-continent. The infantryman’s average combat load is approximately 27 kg, including the 3.06 kg 5.56 mm INSAS assault rifle and its “on weapon” ammunition. If this can be reduced by even a few kg, it will enable the soldier to improve his agility in battle and counter-insurgency operations. Ultimately an infantryman has to be prepared to engage in hand-to-hand combat and agility can make a difference between life and death. For over 350 infantry battalions, plus about 150 Rashtriya Rifles, Assam Rifles and Territorial Army battalions, these major changes will be extremely costly to implement and will spill over at least 10 to 12 years—that is, if the funds can be found. What is certain is that there is no alternative to making the financial commitment that is necessary to enhance the operational capabilities of the army’s infantry battalions. Without modernising this cutting edge of its sword, the army will soon begin to resemble the armies of India’s lesser neighbours. Anti-Tank Capability: Another DRDO project that is way behind schedule is the Nag anti-tank missile system. The antiquated Jonga-mounted SS-11 B1 ATGM system has been replaced in missile battalions by MILAN shoulder-fired ATGMs. However, a vehicle-mounted missile system like the Nag is definitely necessary for reconnaissance and attrition tasks and for anti-tank screens.
Army Air Defence
L70 Gun System: AAD inherited L60 gun of Second World War vintage in
1947, which was replaced by L70 gun system. During the early 1960s, this was a fairly modern system with its own fire control radar for night firing and it took almost two decades to transform the complete L60 inventory into L70. Meanwhile, the DRDO commenced development of an AD gun which was to replace the L70. However, after many twists and turns lasting over two decades the project failed and was shelved. AAD now started looking at the global market for replacement but it appeared that guns were going out of flavour and possible choice narrowed down to Skyshield of Rheinmetall Defence which has an effective range of 4 km and rate of fire of 1,000 rounds per minute. It can be matched with any fire control radar and the most redeeming feature is the Ahead (advance hit efficiency and destruction technology) ammunition. It contains 152 heavy tungsten metal, spin stabilised sub-projectiles and ejected by a time fuse. Since it led to a single vendor situation thus it is likely that the process will be repeated and a fresh RFP is issued, causing a delay of a couple of years. Meanwhile, the L70 gun will shortly celebrate its 50th anniversary, much to the glee of some of India’s hostile neighbours. Suppose the future gun’s induction starts in 2015, then to change the whole inventory may take another 20 years and notionally, if the gun remains current for another 20 years, which brings us to 2055. This is a mind boggling and unimaginable time frame. Unless some drastic action is taken, L70 may die of old age without leaving a successor. 23mm Twin Gun: This is a highly mobile light gun with a high rate of fire of 2,000 rounds/minute and eminently suited for the field army but it is purely a mechanical gun thus has become obsolete to meet the current and future threat specially with respect to UAVs, which are going to proliferate at battalion and brigade level. Adding a fire control radar will only make it heavier, but giving it a power drive and a modern optronic sight will more than foot the bill at reasonable cost. Such an upgradation project has been going on for the last decade or so with Bharat Electronics Limited and hope that it succeeds soon. Finally, it will be most cost effective to have a common successor
to L70 and 23mm Twin Gun. Schilka: This is a self-propelled gun system, having a fire control radar and a very high rate of fire of 3,400 rounds/minute with its four barrels. It is ideally suited for supporting mechanised forces and, after 35 years of service, it has become obsolete. Its successor was Tanguska and one regiment worth equipment was imported but for some unexplained reason no further procurement was carried out. There is a requirement for finding a suitable replacement which ideally could be the latest version of Tanguska or try to mount L70’s successor on a suitable platform.
Missile Systems
Quick Reaction Surface-To-Air Missile: OSA-AK system was imported from erstwhile Russia to fill the void of threat against armed/attack helicopters. Meanwhile, Trishul was being developed to succeed OSA-AK by the DRDO. However, the project did not succeed and was foreclosed. OSA-AK is fast becoming obsolescent and the options to succeed are the Surface Launched Advanced Medium
A tri-Service Defence Communication Network is in the stage of advanced planning. An RFP for the system is expected to be issued in 2010. Range Air-to-Air Missile (SL-AMRAAM) and Hawk-21, both Raytheon’s, Spyder of Israeli (already selected for the Indian Air Force), Russia’s Tor M-1 and so on. Medium Range Surface-To-Air Missile: The current system is Kvadrat of Russian origin with a range of 25 km and has been in service for more than three decades. It is now obsolete and needs replacement immediately. The DRDO was developing the Akash system for more than two decades but without success and perforce AAD has to look for global options of which there are many, such as Russia’s BUK-M1, Aster30, MICA,
An automated command and control and decision support system for use by the General Staff is still a far cry and so are supporting systems like the battlefield surveillance system and air space management system. The urgent requirement of real-time satellite reconnaissance systems has still not been operationalised despite the nuclear overhang under which the armed forces now operate. Even though the cameras on India’s remote sensing and cartographic satellites now have sharply enhanced resolutions, less than one metre, military-grade photographs of still better resolution need to be purchased from the open market. These sources may dry up quickly during war. A “system of systems” approach must be followed so that scarce RSTA and communications resources can be synergistically configured and optimally exploited. The war in Iraq fought in March-April 2003 was based on the concept of “network-centric warfare” in which surveillance sensors, targeting systems and “shooters” are fused together in a seamless “system of systems” that reduces response time between the acquisition of a target and its destruction to 15 to 20 minutes. While such a system may take over a decade to establish, a beginning must be made right away. While some Stentor long-range BFSRs have been in service for over a decade, medium-range radars are still to be acquired. Israeli Searcher-I unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been introduced into service but these are few in number and it will be a long time before these will really make a difference by providing a real-time surveillance capability so that ground forces can initiate action even as a fresh input is received. Only a small number of Searcher–II UAVs, with an upper ceiling that makes them suitable for the mountains, have been acquired. Indigenously designed UAVs that are in the design and development pipeline include Gagan, Pawan and Rustom. Pilot-less target aircraft include Lakshya and Nishant. India does not as yet have a programme to either acquire or indigenously produce unmanned combat air vehicles of the Predator variety being used to kill terrorists in the Af-Pak region by the US and NATO forces. PGMs are increasingly gaining currency as weapons of choice in conflict on land, both to accurately destroy critical hard targets quickly as well as to avoid or at least minimise collateral damage. During Gulf War I in 1991, despite all the CNN-generated hype of smart bombs flying unerringly through ventilators, PGMs formed less than 10 per cent of the total high explosive dropped over Iraq and were rather inaccurate. The “collateral” destruction of an air raid shelter harbouring women and children has been too well documented to bear recounting. The coalition forces did not destroy a single Iraqi Scud missile launcher. In Kosovo, PGMs accounted for about 30 per cent of the ordnance dropped and accuracies had improved considerably by 1999. In the post-September 11, 2001 retribuContinued on page 13
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