SP's Land Forces Issue 4 - 2017

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August-September 2017

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Volume 14 No. 4

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ROUNDUP

The ONLY magazine in Asia-Pacific dedicated to Land Forces

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08/02/17 9:40 AM

>> LEad story

In This Issue Page 3 Exclusive Interview

Photograph: Indian Army

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with General Bipin Rawat, COAS and Lt General P.K. Srivastava, DG Artillery

Lt General P.K. Srivastava Director General of Artillery, Indian Army Page 8 Modernisation of Artillery in the Indian Army Attempts are now being made to resurrect and fulfil its long-postponed 1999 Field Artillery Rationalisation Plan (FARP), under which the army aims to import, locally develop, and licence-produce around 3,000, 155mm howitzers of various categories to equip 220-odd artillery regiments for an estimated `56,000 crore to `63,000 crore ($8-9 billion).

Lt General V.K. Kapoor (Retd) Page 10 Infantry Deprived of Basic Weaponry Infantry is indeed the most vital combat arm of Indian army whose roles range from countering terrorism and insurgencies in peace and in war, conducting defensive and offensive operations in the mountains, plains, and deserts and when required be an important part of an out of area contingency force.

Lt General V.K. Kapoor (Retd) Page 11 Dynamic Approach of the New Defence Minister The Ministry of Defence is a mammoth ministry with a very large number of defence public sector industrial units whose efficiency and output is by and large unsatisfactory.

Lt General V.K. Kapoor (Retd) Plus The World’s Largest Arms Fair R. Chandrakanth

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Indo-US Joint Exercise Yudh Abhyas-2017

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India-Nepal Joint Exercise Surya Kiran-xii

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News in Brief

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Guns and Glory – A Saga of Dedication and Valour Over a period of time Regiment of Artillery has become a highly effective fighting machine which delivers fire power wherever and whenever required and assists in shaping the battlefield

Applied for 4/2017 SP’s Land Forces

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E D I T O R I A L

>> LEAD story

Nirmala Sitharaman has been made the Defence Minister of India and has taken over her new appointment on September 7, 2017. The fact that the Prime Minister of India has entrusted her with this important portfolio also speaks volumes for her administrative talent and past efficiency when she was holding the Commerce portfolio as a Minister of State. Ms Sitharaman is the first woman Defence Minister of the country since Indira

Gandhi held the charge and to her credit, she has “hit the ground running”. She has already stated that she intends to hold daily meetings with all three service chiefs and the defence secretary to ensure quick decision making in her ministry. She has laid special emphasis on the need to step up the pace of military procurement which despite some dynamism showed by the erstwhile defence minister Manohar Parrikar in the past, the state of equipment modernisation and replacement of obsolete weaponry, on the ground, is deplorable in the army. In the Indian Army from basic weapons like carbines and assault rifles, to artillery howitzers and helicopters, surveillance and communication equipment, night fighting aids, etc all need replacement. Moreover, even certain categories of ammunition are in such short supply that training ammunition is being curtailed. So while

at one end our military leaders are talking about their capability to fight a two and a half front war at the same time the Finance cum Defence Minister was responding to the Chinese taunt, of the need to learn lessons from 1962 war during the Dokalam standoff, by saying “The situation in 1962 was different and India of 2017 is different”. While the nation applauds the military bravado and the political polemic against the Chinese taunt yet it does not in any way reflect the preparedness of the nation for war. The poor state of equipment modernisation and lack of replacement of obsolete weapons especially in the case of the army, is alarming. Hence we recommend reserve and restraint on part of our leaders till we have acquired the desired capabilities and they need dynamism in their approach to acquiring the capabilities which are considered vital to win future conflicts.

While there are many challenges facing the new Defence Minister, the lack of modernisation of the three services is unmistakably the first priority as far as operational preparedness is concerned and therefore all that is required in this sphere of activity must be done at the earliest. Why is it that we are cancelling the request for proposals (RFPs) after many months of field trials of new equipment. This has happened in the case of the assault rifles, close quarter battles carbines and the light machine guns with the result that the army is functioning either without these weapons or with operationally inadequate and obsolescent equipment. And this phenomenon of rejection is happening again and again? What is wrong with us?

We recommend that the ­Defence Minister identifies her Key Result Areas (KRAs) so that she can focus on specific

areas of prime concern and not drift or digress to areas of lesser importance.

We convey our best wishes to the defence minister, Ms Nirmala Sitharaman, for a constructive and rewarding tenure, while implementing and overseeing major changes in the Ministry of Defence.

This is a special issue on the occasion of the Artillery Raising Day and comprises an interview of the Director General Artillery along with a brief history of this vital arm of the army and an article on modernisation of artillery apart from other articles of topical interest.

Lt General V.K. Kapoor (Retd)

photographS: Indian Army

 Lt General Naresh Chand (Retd)

1935, ‘A’ Field Brigade, comprising four batteries of horse-drawn guns, was raised at Bangalore. ‘A’ Field Brigade was the first Artillery unit to be officered by Indians. 2 Lt (later Lt General) P.S. Gyani was the first Indian officer to be commissioned into an Artillery unit. In 1937 the mountain batteries were transferred to the Indian Artillery, which later became 1st Indian Field Regiment. The generic title the Regiment of Indian Artillery was conferred upon the new Arm. B Field Brigade and the first unit of the anti-tank, anti-aircraft and coastal artillery were also raised.

World War II saw Indian Gunners in action in East and North Africa, Middle East and displayed valour and dedication. By the end of Second World War Indian gunners had won one Victoria Cross, One George Medal, 15 Military Crosses, two IOMs, 22 IDSMs, 18 Military Medals, five OBEs, One MBE, three British Empire Medals, 13 Burma Gallantry Medals and 467 “Jangi Inams”. During 1947 Indian Artillery was allotted eighteen and half of all types of artillery regiments while Pakistan was allotted the remaining nine and half units.

H

istorically Artillery was first employed by the Roman legions at Syracuse in 399 BC but until the introduction of gunpowder, artillery was solely dependent on mechanical means of lobbying a large object or a huge stone towards the enemy. The Roman army was very successful in employing artillery weapons like the ballistae which was more or less a giant catapult. Gunpowder was invented in China during the late Tang dynasty in 9th century but the earliest record of a written formula appeared in the Song dynasty during the 11th century. Since then the progress of artillery as a battle winning factor was relentless and inventive. Artillery became the most lethal land based armament and caused the majority of the combat casualties during World War I and II. In 1944, Joseph Stalin called artillery “the God of War”.

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Artillery in India Guns were first used on the Indian sub continent guns by Babur during the Battle of Paniput in 1526. However, there are records to show that guns were employed in battle earlier. The East India Company raised the first regular company of Artillery in 1748, with a small percentage of Indian Gunners called Gun Lashkars, Tindals and Serangs.

Bombay Artillery was raised on September 28,1827 and was later on renamed 5 Bombay Mountain Battery. Thus September 28 is celebrated as the ‘Gunners Day’. The first Indian War of Independence started at Meerut on May 10, 1857 which resulted in total ban by the British on the Indian artillery units except mountain artillery batteries. A few Indian Mountain Batteries were raised in the 19th century and formed part of the Royal Artillery. These batteries were officered by the British. During the late 19th century, the Indian Gunners saw action in Abyssinia (Ethiopia), Afghanistan, Aden, Burma, Somaliland (Somalia), Tibet, Persia (Iran) and the erstwhile North West Frontier Province. The advent of the First World War gave Indian Artillery an opportunity to show their real mettle. The Indian Mountain Batteries served with rare courage and enterprise on the battlefields of Mesopotamia (Iraq), East Africa, Gallipoli, Persia, Egypt and Palestine. The British Government reviewed their order of the banning native artillery, and thus on January 15,

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Jammu and Kashmir Operations During the Jammu and Kashmir operations of 1947-48, 1 SIKH Battalion was transported to Srinagar by air and personnel of 2 Field Regiment (SP) and 13 Field Regiment were employed in infantry role under Capt R.L. Chauhan of 13 Field Regiment until the first week of November 1947 when four 3.7 inch howitzer reached the area. The artillery units then helped in driving out the infiltrators, successfully defended Srinagar airfield and subsequent rout of Pakistani tribesmen in Jammu region and Kashmir Valley. Artillery played a dominant role in recapture of Poonch, Rajauri, Thangdar, Tithwal, Dras and Kargil.

Against China in 1962 Chinese Army attacked Indian positions on October 10, 1962 in general area of Tawang in Kameng Frontier Division. On October 23 Chinese came through Bum La Pass and attacked 1 SIKH position. They were immediately engaged by the guns of 7 (Bengal) Mountain Battery directed

by Capt Gosal which broke the attack.

Artillery kept supporting the infantry till Tawang was abandoned. Subsequently guns of 116 Mortar Battery, 34 Heavy Bofors Gun helped the Indian Army to win the Kargil War against Pakistan in 1999

Continued on page 6...

>> interview

‘Successful shaping of battlefield facilitates channelising of the enemy to conform to own strategy and will’ Lt General P.K. Srivastava, Director General of Artillery, in an exclusive interview with SP’s Land Forces, on the occasion of the Gunners Day on September 28, 2017, covered a wide range of subjects including the role of Artillery in the future battlefield, future artillery technologies and modernisation of Artillery. photograph: Indian Army

Exclusive

SP’s Land Forces (SP’s): What is likely to be the shape of the future battlefield and the likely roles of artillery in this new dispensation?

Director General of Artillery (DG): Likely shape of the future battlefield and the roles of artillery in new dispensation would be as under: l Likely Shape of Future Battle Field. The future battlefield will be characterised by short and intense engagements; non – linear battles; simultaneity of operations; increased battle field transparency; synergised and orchestrated employment of fire power resources and employment of precision and high lethality weapon systems in a hybrid warfare environment. All of this under the overall backdrop of a nuclear, biological and chemical warfare threat. l Likely Roles of Artillery in this Dispensation. The role of artillery in such a dispensation i.e. a short and intense futuristic battlefield are as under: – Due to high tempo of operations, there will be a requirement of real time surveillance and target acquisition at all stages of battle. This would entail employment of state-of-the-art surveillance equipment like battlefield surveillance radars, electro optronics devices and remotely piloted vehicles (RPVs) of various types.

– Synergised and orchestrated employment of all available firepower resources to shape the battlefield and to degrade the enemy in contact and depth battle entailing employment of mortars, guns and long range vectors in conjunction with Indian Air Force to achieve decisive defeat of the enemy. Therefore artillery should have a balance of guns (towed and self propelled), rockets and missiles. There is also a need to have a variety of ammunition and warheads to achieve desired results at the target with minimum burden on logistics.

– Artillery will be responsible for detecting enemy artillery and rocket positions with the help of weapon locating radars and effectively neutralise them with own firepower resources.

– The trend is towards precision so as to reduce logistic cost of each successful engagement.

– Dependance on artillery to achieve favourable outcomes will increase.

SP’s: Military analysts often talk about the characteristic of fire power to shape a battlefield. Can you elaborate on this issue for the understanding of the layman?

DGArty: Shaping the battlefield is a concept involved in the practice of manoeuvre warfare that refers to shaping a desired situation on the battlefield and gaining military advantage for own forces. Successful shaping of the battlefield facilitates channelising the enemy to conform to own strategy and will. In this, Artillery plays a major role, which includes discerning the enemies’ intentions by employing surveillance resources; engaging them with firepower simultaneously in forward and depth areas as well as on the flanks, and employing appropriate fire power assets with the intention of making them lose their initiative, coherence and force them to fight a disorganised battle while ensuring the integrity of own forces and plans.

SP’s: What are the future trends in the development of gun systems as there is a view that it has reached its plateau of development in terms of reach, destructive power and accuracy?

4/2017 SP’s Land Forces

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>> interview photograph: PIB

DGArty: While delivery means may have reached a plateau in reach of gun systems, a lot of work is on for improving the efficacy of ammunition. This includes improved accuracies and destructive power. Micro electronics are being increasingly used for development of smart, precision, near precision and area denial ammunition systems.

At present the technology is extremely expensive and needs to be refined to make it qualify in a cost benefit analysis.

SP’s: What are your plans to develop/ acquire precision guided ammunitions?

What are the ranges and the type of accuracy that you are looking for?

DGArty: We would be interested in affordable solutions for smart ammunition, precision ammunition or ammunition with improved accuracy at ranges of up to 45 km for guns. Typically a precision system has to give pin point accuracy while a near precision ammunition should provide accuracies of up to 30-50 m. In addition, solutions for extension of range of 155mm ammunition beyond 45 km with precision capability are also of interest to us. Army has commenced involvement of academia and industry in addition to DRDO/OFB through initiatives of Army Design Bureau and Army Tech Board for the purpose.

SP’s: After about 25 years of neglect, it is now understood that attempts are afoot by the Army to fulfill its long-postponed 1999 Field Artillery Rationalisation Plan (FARP), under which the army aims to import, locally develop, and licence-produce some 2,820-3,000 assorted 155mm howitzers to equip its artillery regiments. Would you like to amplify on the progress so far?

DGArty: Artillery Rationalization Plan was first perceived in year 2000, wherein 155mm was made the standard gun system for Indian Artillery. Accordingly, ‘Artillery Profile’ was conceived and promulgated with emphasis on Mediumisation of Artillery. Since then, based on our operational necessity, concerted effort has resulted in successfully contracting of 155mm/39 Cal Ultra-Light Howitzers from US Government and 155mm/52 Cal Tracked (Self Propelled) Artillery guns with L & T. To give impetus to indigenisation major projects such as 155 mm/45 Cal Dhanush Gun System, design and development by OFB and 155 mm/52 Calibre Advance Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS) designed by DRDO in partnership with private industry is also being pursued.

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SP’s: It was reported that in May 2015 the Ministry of Defence (MoD) approved the import of 145 M777s, 155mm ultra light howitzer, along with Selex Laser Inertial Artillery Pointing Systems through the US foreign military sales programme. Can you elaborate on its progress?

DGArty: The contract for procurement of 145 Nos of 155mm/9 calibre Ultra Light Howitzer (ULH) was signed with US Government in Nov 2016. These howitzers are being procured under US Foreign Military Sales Programme. As per the contract, US Government will deliver 25 fully formed howitzers from USA/UK and balance 120 howitzers will be assembled in India. The delivery of these howitzers will be completed over a period of four years.

SP’s: What is the progress on Dhanush Towed Howitzer 155mm, 45 calibre, being manufactured by the OFB? DGArty: 155mm/45 Calibre Dhanush Towed Howitzer being manufactured by OFB has completed the Field Evaluation Trials (FET) less DGQA trials of Automatic Gun Sighting System and Digital Intercommunication System. The guns are currently undergoing the user exploitation to test the robustness and efficacy of the system.

Recently, within a span of three months,

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Indian Army’s Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launcher on Rajpath, New Delhi

in summer of 2017, two incidents were noticed during the user exploitation phase at Pokhran and investigation has been ordered to establish the cause. Once the investigation is completed, remedial action will be taken and user exploitation will be resumed. Post successful GS Evaluation and user exploitation, the Bulk Production Clearance (BPC) will be granted to OFB. SP’s: Are there any new developments in mortar systems that artillery should looking at?

DGArty: Presently Regiment of Artillery is holding 120mm Mortar Regiments which are mainly orbatted to field formations in mountains/high altitude area (HAA). However, as per operational and tactical requirement for high angle firing with higher rate of fire in mountains/HAA, the importance of mortars is likely to continue in the future.

The existing 120mm mortar is reliable, robust and meeting our operational and tactical requirements. The development of guided bombs for increasing the accuracy and range are under consideration depending on cost benefit analysis.

SP’s: The battlefield is getting deeper with long range artillery weapons resulting in the requirement of better target acquisition and battle damage assessment systems.

What are the plans for the modernisation of Surveillance and Target Acquisition branch of the Indian Artillery?

DGArty: The surveillance and target acquisition aspects contribute to real time situational awareness and targeting. This is a key result area for us. We are in the process of developing multi-dimensional, multi-spectral and all weather capability for the same to be able to cover the length and breadth of the battle space. For this we are developing satellite, airborne as well as ground based capability. Sensors ranging from airborne synthetic aperture radars, and optical devices to ground based battlefield surveillance radars, weapon locating radars and electro-optical sensor are available. We are in touch with domestic and international advances in these technologies and constantly seek to upgrade and develop indigenous solutions in consonance with operational environment.

SP’s: A part of the Battle Management System (BMS), is every artillery weapon platform to be a ‘situational awareness platform’ or is this going to be done on a selective basis?

DGArty: Artillery is a part of the BMS. However, this is still at evolving stage. Unlike

other arms of Army, Artillery Command and Control Centres will be made BMS compatible, rather than platforms.

SP’s: Sensors play an important role in the present battle field for providing persistent situational awareness by day, night and adverse weather conditions. What are your plans for acquiring such advance systems?

DGArty: Our RPVs are capable of spot surveillance on any emerging target. We are looking at wide area electro-optical payloads and exploiting the synthetic aperture radar, payloads along with on demand satellite/imagery to enable acquisition of persistent surveillance capability over any given area of responsibility. BMS once inducted will give adequate impetus to enhancing battlefield transparency. Of special interest are the foliage penetration radars to enhance our surveillance capability in forested areas to give our forces the requisite edge by achieving complete battlefield transparency.

Artillery plays a major role, which includes discerning the enemies’ intentions by employing surveillance resources; engaging them with firepower simultaneously in forward and depth areas as well as on the flanks, and employing appropriate fire power assets with the intention of making them lose their initiative, coherence and force them to fight a disorganised battle while ensuring the integrity of own forces and plans.

SP’s: What is the progress on BMS and has the digitised network reached a level for providing seamless fire power?

DGArty: The BMS is at prototype development stage by the developing agencies.

SP’s: UAVs, UCAVs and aerostats are recognised as force-multipliers in the modern battlefield and have become important part of weapon inventory of many advanced armies of the world. Will the artillery be the custodian of such force-multipliers or will they be inducted in all combat arms. What are your plans regarding their induction and employment?

DGArty: There is no doubt that unmanned systems are the future in all three dimensions of warfare. RPAs have various classifications including micro/mini, short-range and HALE/MALE. The Artillery will be custodians of the short-range and HALE/ MALE class of RPAs while the micro/mini RPAs will be authorised to other arms and services based on requirement. As far as the short-range and HALE/MALE class of RPAs is concerned, we intend to equip all our fighting formations with this critical technology so as to enhance our intelligence, surveillance and the targeting capability.

SP’s: What is likely to be ratio of guns, rockets and missiles in the artillery?

DGArty: Guns will continue as the mainstay of the Artillery, while rockets and missiles will be held selectively to cater for operational depths.

SP’s: What are the plans for ‘Make in India’ and indigenisation, are there any gun development programmes being carried under this?

DGArty: The Artillery is looking at ‘Make in India’ and indigenisation in a very big way. All our procurements are based on indigenisation as the ultimate aim. The Dhanush, Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS) and upgunned 130mm are indigenous gun development and production programmes that we are whole heartedly supporting. The other gun systems such as the tracked SP guns, mounted gun system and towed gun systems will also have fair degree of indigenous content. Every weapon platform has a large number of support systems. This is one area where we are giving impetus to indigenisation so as to negate the heavy import costs. Ammunition for existing and futuristic gun systems is completely made in India. In addition, the Pinaka rocket system and its ammunition is completely indigenous while efforts are being made for indigenous production of other types of rockets, as well. SP

>> LEAD story Guns and Glory: ... continued from page 2

photographs: Indian Army, Wikipedia

Indian artillery: A Brief History

The East India Company raised the first regular company of Artillery in 1748, with a small percentage of Indian Gunners called Gun Lashkars, Tindals and Serangs. Bombay Artillery was raised on September 28, 1827 and was later on renamed 5 Bombay Mountain Battery. Thus September 28 is celebrated as the ‘Gunners Day’.

January 15, 1935, ‘A’ Field Brigade, comprising four batteries of horsedrawn guns, was raised at Bangalore.

‘A’ Field Brigade was the first Artillery unit to be officered by Indians.

2 Lt (later Lt General) P.S. Gyani was the first Indian officer to be commissioned into an Artillery unit.

In 1937 the mountain batteries were transferred to the Indian Artillery, which later became 1st Indian Field Regiment. The generic title the Regiment of Indian Artillery was conferred upon the new Arm.

World War II saw Indian Gunners in action in East and North Africa, Middle East and displayed valour and dedication. By the end of World War II, Indian gunners had won one Victoria Cross, One George Medal, 15 Military Crosses, two IOMs, 22 IDSMs, 18 Military Medals, five OBEs, among others.

During 1947 Indian Artillery was allotted eighteen and half of all types of artillery regiments while Pakistan was allotted the remaining nine and half units.

During the J&K operations of 194748, in the first week of November 1947 when four 3.7 inch howitzer reached the area. The artillery units helped in driving out the infiltrators, successfully defended Srinagar airfield and subsequent route of Pakistani tribesmen in Jammu region and Kashmir Valley.

Against China in 1962.

The Artillery broke the attack of the Chinese who came through Bum La Pass by engaging the Chinese by 7 (Bengal) Mountain Battery. They also provided the covering fire to extricate 4 Mountain Division. In the Ladakh sector 13 Field Regiment and 38 Field Battery played a significant role to defend Chushul heights.

Major restructuring of Artillery took place after 1962. Before the 1965 war artillery was called upon to counter Pakistani evil designs in the Rann of Kutch in which 11 Field Regiment, 17 Para Field Regiment and Air Observation Post made the Regiment proud.

1971 War with Pakistan.

In the Western sector artillery played major role in capture of important Pakistani piquets in Ladakh, Kashmir, Rajauri, Jammu, Punjab and Rajasthan.

In the Kargil operations during 1999, Regiment of Artillery unleashed a blizzard of fire power which overwhelmed the Pakistan Forces by systematically destroying the enemy’s defenses. The brave gunners contributed immensely in hoisting the Tricolor hoisted on Tiger Hill and multiple peaks of the high Himalayas in Kargil district, will be always remembered for ever.

Mortar Battery, 5 Field Regiment, 22 Mountain Regiment and 6 Field Regiment provided covering fire to the infantry units of 4 Mountain Division to extricate themselves and launch counterattacks. Similar support were provided by guns of 17 Para Field Regiment and 71 Heavy Mortar Battery in Walong sector. In Ladakh Sector too artillery of 13 Field Regiment and 38 Field Battery played significant role to hold the enemy and defend Chushul heights.

1965 War with Pakistan Major restructuring of Artillery took place after 1962. Before the 1965 war artillery was called upon to counter Pakistani evil designs in the Rann of Kutch in which 11 Field Regiment, 17 Para Field Regiment and Air Observation Post made the Regiment proud. The strategic Haji Pir Pass in Kashmir was captured after heavy fighting with the support of 164 Field Regiment, battery ex 7 Field Regiment, a medium and a mountain battery.

est battlefield in the world. The guns for the sector were initially dismantled and air dropped in 1983-84. Medium and field guns are providing close support to infantry in Siachen while artillery observation post officers are manning the piquet along with infantry.

In the Kargil operations during 1999, Regiment of Artillery unleashed a blizzard of fire power which overwhelmed the Pakistan Forces by systematically destroying the enemy’s defenses and, ultimately, it broke his will to fight. It was not the first time that the Gunners had met a challenge head-on. The brave gunners contributed immensely in hoisting the Tricolor hoisted on Tiger Hill and multiple peaks of the high Himalayas in Kargil district, will be always remembered for ever.

In its peace time duties the Regiment is undertaking infantry tasks in Jammu and

Kashmir and in the North Eastern States of Assam, Manipur and Nagaland.

Governors/Lt Governors

Streamlining of Regiment of Artillery

l Late Lt General J.F.R. Jacob, PVSM, VSM

In 1964 Coastal Artillery was handed over to Indian Navy. Air Observation Post was separated on 1986 and became a separate corps named Army Aviation Corps. Similarly Air Defence branch bifurcated from Artillery in 1994 and formed new arm of Indian Army named Army Air Defence. This has resulted in the Regiment of Artillery to become a keen, mean and lean fighting machine which delivers fire power wherever and whenever required.

- Goa (1998 to 1999) and Punjab (1999 to 2003) l Lt General K.M. Seth, PVSM, AVSM - Tripura (2002-2003),Chattisgarh (20032007) and Madhya Pradesh (2004) l General S.F. Rodrigues, PVSM, VSM Punjab (2004-2009) l Captain Shekhar Dutt, SM, IAS - Chattisgarh l Lt General M.M. Lakhera, PVSM, AVSM, VSM - Governor of Mizoram & Lt Governor of Puducherry and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

Accolades The Regiment of Artillery has the honour of having its officers nominated/selected as Governors/Lt Governors and Chiefs of the Army Staff (COAS). photograph: Indian Army

Punjab (1990-1991)

COAS l General P.P. Kumaramangalam DSO,

MBE - June 8, 1966 - June 7, 1969 l General O.P. Malhotra, PVSM - June 1,

1978 - May 31, 1981 l General S.F. Rodrigues, PVSM, VSM -

1971 War with Pakistan

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l Late General O.P. Malhotra, PVSM -

July 1, 1990 - June 30, 1993 S. Padmanabhan, PVSM, AVSM, VSM - October 1, 2000 - December 31, 2002 l General Deepak Kapoor, PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM - October 1, 2007 - March 31, 2010

The 1971 Indo-Pakistan War was more challenging as the war was being fought on two fronts. During these operations 49 Para Field Battery took part in para drop with 2 Para Battalion to capture Pongli bridge on Lohaganj river near Tangail which expedited surrender by Pakistani Army in East Pakistan. 2 Para was first to enter Dacca around 11.30 AM on 16 December16, 1971, followed by 851 Light Battery. Soon 563 Mountain Battery also entered Dacca. With this a new nation was born. In the Western sector artillery played major role in capture of important Pakistani piquets in Ladakh, Kashmir, Rajauri, Jammu, Punjab and Rajasthan.

l General

Post 1971 –Kargil Conflict

Honour Titles

The Regiment of Artillery has been performing effectively in Siachen – the high-

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Gallantry Awards-All ranks l Ashok Chakra - 01 l Mahavir Chakra - 07 l Kirti Chakra - 08 l Vir Chakra - 92 l Yudh Sewa Medal - 03 l Shaurya Chakra - 56 l Sena Medal (Gallantry) - 441

130mm gun firing, with Cheetah helicopter delivering messages at gun point

The Regiment has been awarded Forty Honour Titles. SP

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>> modernisation

Modernisation of Artillery in the Indian Army Attempts are now being made to resurrect and fulfil its long-postponed 1999 Field Artillery Rationalisation Plan (FARP), under which the army aims to import, locally develop, and licence-produce around 3,000, 155mm howitzers of various categories to equip 220-odd artillery regiments for an estimated `56,000 crore to `63,000 crore ($8-9 billion) photograph: US Army

 Lt General V.K. Kapoor (Retd)

T

he past 15 years or so have severely degraded the war fighting capabilities of the Indian Army.

The army’s ‘critical shortages’ and obsolescence of its current equipment include 155 mm artillery howitzers, light utility helicopters, attack helicopters, air defence assets, various categories of ammunition, anti-tank and AD missile systems, infantry’s basic weapons such as, close quarter battle (CQB) carbines, assault rifles, machine guns, sniper rifles, and anti material rifles. To this deplorable state you may add another negative and that is that we do not have any night fighting capability as there are no night sights on any infantry weapon held presently.

The artillery howitzers, currently held i.e. 155 mm, 39 calibre, FH 77B (Bofors), are more than 30 years old because after acquiring these howitzers India has not acquired any new artillery gun/howitzer. The recent deal of acquiring 145, M777, Ultra Light Howitzers, manufactured by BAE Systems, from the US, for the mountainous regions will take another three to four years to fully fructify. As a result the artillery as a combat support arm, vital in war, is currently equipped with outdated and obsolescent weapons which do not have the capabilities for fighting on future battlefields. This article pertains to the modernisation of artillery.

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Modernisation Plan As part of its Artillery Modernisation Plan, the Army is looking at inducting several types of howitzers through in house manufacture

by DRDO/Ordnance Factory Board, intergovernmental pacts and global tenders. The last major acquisition of towed gun-howitzers was that of 400 pieces of 39-calibre 155mm FH-77B howitzers with a range of 30 km from Bofors of Sweden in 1987. This gun proved its mettle in the Kargil conflict.

Even after about 30 years of neglect the artillery modernisation continues to stagnate because on the ground there is no change.

Attempts are being made to resurrect and fulfil its long-postponed 1999 Field Artillery Rationalisation Plan (FARP), under which the army aims to import, locally develop, and licence-produce around 3,000, 155mm howitzers of various categories to equip 220-odd artillery regiments for an estimated `56,000 to `63,000 Crore (USD8-9 billion). These include 1,580 towed gun systems (TGS), 814 mounted gun systems (MGS), 100 self-propelled howitzers (SPHs) – all of which are 155 mm/52 calibre – and 145 BAE Systems M777 155 mm/39 calibre lightweight howitzers for the mountains.

Locally upgraded and retrofitted guns will make up additional numbers.

Trials of 155mm Towed Howitzers of Nexter and Elbit Systems Trials involving two competing 155 mm/52 calibre towed guns for the MoD’s 2011/12 tender for 1,580 such platforms concluded in November 2015. The two guns are cur-

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BAE Systems M777 ultra-lightweight howitzer in action

rently undergoing General Staff evaluation by the army before one is shortlisted and price negotiations begin. Trials for two systems namely the Nexter’s 155 mm Trajan 155 mm/52 calibre howitzer, and Israels ATHOS 2052 gun built by Elbit were required to undergo the supplementary trials from mid-2015 after completing desert and high-altitude firings in 2013-14. The army plans to acquire 400 guns under the DPP’s ‘Buy and Make’ category and licencebuild the remaining 1,180 howitzers. Nexter is a French government company formerly called GIAT has a tie-up with Larson & Tubro (L& T) and Elbit from Israel has tied up with the Kalyani Group/Bharat Forge in Pune. We have now learnt that fresh trials have been ordered for which two howitzers each from Nexter and Elbit Systems have been positioned.

Self Propelled Howitzers (SPH) K9 Vajra-T: In December 2015 the Ministry of Defence (MoD) began price negotiations with Larsen & Toubro (L&T) for 100 modified South Korean SPHs, worth around `5,600 crore ($800 million). The K9 VajraT, an L&T version of Samsung Techwin’s K9 Thunder 155mm/52 calibre gun customised for India’s 2012 SPH tender, was shortlisted for acquisition in late September 2015 following trials the previous year. In these the K9 bested Russia’s MSTA-S selfpropelled gun, which had been modified to 155mm/52 calibre standard and mounted on a T-72 tank chassis.

According to industry sources the K9, which is being procured under the DPP 2012 ‘Buy Global’ category, will be built at L&T’s Talegaon facility near Pune in western India. This classification permits domestic companies to enter into tie-ups with OEMs to offer cooperatively developed equipment and platforms to the Indian military. The K9 is expected to contain some 13 major indigenous subsystems, including its fire control, ammunition handling, and

nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) system and muzzle velocity radar, to help it bypass the 30 per cent offset obligation. It is learn that the contract has already been signed, and includes a follow-on option for an additional 50 K9 guns.

Catapult — The Interim Solution In the interim the army is expected to induct 40 indigenously developed Catapult Mk II SPHs, which mount a 130mm gun on the chassis of the locally designed Arjun MBT. These will replace an equal number of Catapult Mk Is, designed in the early 1980s by mating the M-46 weapons onto the lengthened chassis of an OFB-built Vijayanta (Vickers Mk 1) MBT.

145 Ultra Light Howitzers (M777) In May 2015 the MoD approved the import of 145 M777s along with Selex Laser Inertial Pointing Systems (LINAPS) via the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme.

On November 16, 2016, the Cabinet Committee on Security chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi cleared the acquisition of the guns from the US in a Government to Government deal worth $737 million (almost `5,000 crore). Of the 145 M-777 howitzers, 25 guns will be given in completed condition while 120 will be assembled, integrated and tested in India with BAE systems selecting Mahendra as its business partner. The first two howitzers have already arrived in India and are being used to formulate range tables with indigenous ammunition.

BAE Systems is also believed to have submitted to the MoD its list of offset agreements with local companies, valued at 30 per cent of the overall contract value and estimated at around `1,400crore, ($210 million). The deal involves a significant “Make in India” component. Mahindra is expected to bag a major share of the contract. The M777 purchase is meant to equip the army’s 17 Mountain Strike Corps, which is presently

being raised for deployment along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.

The M777 Howitzer is a towed 155mm artillery piece, manufactured by the USbased BAE Systems. It is one of the most capable guns in its class, currently being used by the US, Australia and Canada.

According to reports, United Arab Emirates is also in the process of acquiring the gun.

The M777 matches the firepower of current generation 155mm towed systems at less than half the weight. The Howitzer is equipped with a 39-calibre barrel. The muzzle velocity (at Charge 8 super) is 827 m/s.

The maximum firing range is 24.7 km with unassisted rounds and 30 km with rocketassisted rounds.

Excalibur Munitions: The M777A2 can fire the Raytheon/Bofors XM982 Excalibur GPS/Inertial Navigation-guided extendedrange 155mm projectiles using the Modular Artillery Charge Systems (MACS). Excalibur has a maximum range of 40 to 57 km and accuracy of 10 m. The M777 is able to deliver up to five rounds a minute under intense firing conditions and is able to provide a sustained rate of fire of two rounds a minute.

Indigenous Manufacture 155 mm Howitzer (Dhanush) Ordnance Factories Board (OFB) have been tasked to produce a 45-calibre 155 mm howitzer based on the Transfer of Technology (ToT) obtained from Bofors in the 1980s. The DAC approved a proposal from the OFB to manufacture 144 pieces of 155 mm/45-calibre howitzers with the option to acquire another 400 provided the prototypes successfully meet the army’s GSQR in user trials. Meanwhile, the DRDO has also embarked on its own venture to design and develop a 155 mm howitzer in partnership with a private sector company.

Media reports in August 2017, state that Dhanush 155mm/45-calibre artillery gun has failed on three occasions in a row in the last three months when the shell of the gun hit the muzzle brake in one of the six prototype guns currently undergoing user trials. In view of the problems being faced the induction programme may get delayed.

As per this programme, out of 114 Howitzers in the initial order, the first batch of 18 guns were slotted to be inducted this year, another 36 guns in 2018 and 60 guns in 2019, completing the initial order.

The Acquisition of 814 truck-mounted guns This has been approved by the Defence Acquisition Council in November 2014 will be undertaken under the ‘buy and make in India’ category with transfer of technology (ToT).

While the first 100 guns will be imported, the remaining 714 will be produced in India. Tata Power SED with its 155mm truck mounted gun system and L&T-Ashok Leyland-Nexter with their 155mm gun are among the private companies in India that are likely to submit proposals for the project, as reported by the media. The total project cost is estimated to be `15,750 crore. SP

>> advertorial

ORDNANCE FACTORY board FOURTH PILLAR OF INDIA’S DEFENCE Ordnance Factory Board [OFB], comprising of 41 units engaged in the manufacturing of diverse products, is the oldest and largest defence production organization in India. It is a forerunner of ‘Make in India’ initiative by the government in defence manufacturing.

OFB manufactures the entire weapon system platform – along with its ammunition and related accessories.

Remarkably, OFB has achieved 85% overall indigenization. Moreover, OFB has developed the indigenous defence industrial complex in the country by nurturing about 11,000 vendors keeping import substitution as OFB’s working mantra.

Along with Indian Army, OFB caters to the needs of CAPFs, Air Force and Indian Navy. Further, with changing demands of time, OFB is also diversifying its product portfolio and expanding its base in the international export market as well as domestic civil trade sector.

Research & Development [R&D] is being cultivated at OFB in a structured manner since 2006 with the establishment of 13 Ordnance Development Centres (ODCs). With the assistance of premier academic institutions like IITs at Mumbai, Kanpur and Kharagpur, to name a few, the Ordnance Factories are not only upgrading existing products but also developing new weapon platforms.

OFB has taken up R&D projects in the domains of Product Development/Upgrade, Indigenisation, Import substitution and Process Development. OFB has developed major weapon platforms, arms and ammunition and approximately 22% of the turnover of OFB is from products developed indigenously by Ordnance Factories.

The major products developed through in-house R&D are 155mm Artillery Gun ‘Dhanush’, Up-gunning of 130mm Artillery Gun to 155 mm x 45, Mine Protected

Vehicle (MPV) and Modernised Mine Protected Vehicle (MMPV), Bi-Modular Charge System (BMCS) for 155mm Artillery Ammunition, 7.62 x 39mm Assault Rifle ‘Ghatak’ among others.

OFB is presently developing Upgraded BMP-II, Futuristic Infantry Combat Vehicle (FICV), Air Defence Gun and 155mm x 52 Cal Mounted Gun System and related ammunitions and Electronic Fuzes.

Besides catering to the forces, OFB is also meeting the requirements of advanced technological materials for research establishments like ISRO, DMRL, NFC and others.

OFB – a “Complete Combat Solution Provider” for the Indian Armed forces is further emerging as key player in the globally-competitive defence industry.

OFB’s target is to produce technologically superior military equipment at competitive price fulfilling the aspirations of the customers.

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4/2017 SP’s Land Forces

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>> small arms

Infantry Deprived of Basic Weaponry Infantry is indeed the most vital combat arm of Indian army whose roles range from countering terrorism and insurgencies in peace and in war, conducting defensive and offensive operations in the mountains, plains, and deserts and when required be an important part of an out of area contingency force  Lt General V.K. Kapoor (Retd)

T

he past decade and a half or so has severely degraded the war fighting capabilities of the Indian Army due to complete neglect and apathy on part of the of the leadership, political, bureaucratic and military, to speed up the process of modernisation and procurement of vital equipment and munitions. The army’s ‘critical shortages’ and obsolescence of its current equipment include155mm artillery 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, the list is endless. To make matters worse the authorities that be, instead of hastening the process of acquisition and manufacture is busy scrapping/cancelling the ongoing procurements.

The latest one which has been axed is the procurement plan for over 44,000 light machine guns (LMGs) for the soldiers in the infantry. It has been scrapped by the defence ministry on the ground that it had become a “single-vendor situation” with only the Israeli Weapon Industries (IWI) left in the fray after protracted field trials from December 2015 to February 2017.

The sorry state of affairs as far as procurements of “small arms” meaning assault rifles, carbines, light machine guns, and other infantry weapons for the army, will be clarified as we go along in this article. Let us first deal with the overall issue of modernisation of the infantry.

F-INSAS

www.spslandforces.com

The Future Infantry Soldier as a System (F-INSAS) project was mooted in 2005 and it aimed at deploying a fully networked, all-weather, and all-terrain infantry, with enhanced firepower and the mobility to operate in the digitalized battlefield. This involved a mix of imported and locally developed systems, to equip all battalions of infantry and Rashtriya Rifles with a modular, multi-calibre suite of weapons and body armour.

The entire capability desired includes target acquisition means, communications, and portable surveillance equipment – including third-generation night-vision devices, as well as computers capable of transmitting and uploading voice, data, and video clips on wrist displays for soldiers and clipboards for commanders. Additionally, integrated ballistic helmets with head-up displays (HUDs), miniature radios, global positioning systems, and portable power packs complete the F-INSAS makeover. The concern is that not even a single part of the project has made any progress.

Assault Rifles Army is on the lookout for assault rifles (AR) to replace the INSAS 5.56 mm rifles with technologically superior weapons. The MoD issued the tender for 66,000, 5.56mm multi-calibre assault rifles (with interchangeable barrels of 5.56mmand 7.62 mm calibers) out of a total requirement of about 2,00,000 assault rifles in November

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2011 to 43 overseas vendors. Five vendors responded positively. However all five vendors comprising Italian manufacturer Beretta’s ARX160, the Czech Republicbased CZ’s 805 BREN, Israel Weapon Industries’ (IWI’s) ACE, and US-based Colt’s Combat Rifle were rejected by the army following field trials in the western Rajasthan desert and in high-altitude regions.

The above request for proposal ( RFP) for the assault rifles was scrapped in May 2015 because of the Army’s overambitious experiment to induct rifles with interchangeable barrels, with a 5.56x45mm primary barrel for conventional warfare and a 7.62x39mm secondary one for counter-terrorism.

The military wisdom till recently was that the 5.56mm rifle was better for conventional war because it generally injured an enemy soldier, tying down at least two of his colleagues to carry him in the battlefield.

Conversely, the 7.62mm rifle was better for counter-insurgency since terrorists had to be killed at the first instance, eliminating the risk of “suicide bombing”. Soldiers largely use the 7.62mm AK-47 rifles for counter-insurgency operations in Kashmir and the northeast, even though the infantry is saddled with the indigenous glitch-prone 5.56mm INSAS (Indian small arms system) rifles. The fully-automatic DRDO designed Excalibur, which fires 5.56x45mm ammunition, is an improved version of INSAS rifle that entered service in 1994-1995. But the Army now wants 7.62mm rifles for greater lethality. Thus the Army has re-launched its quest for a modern imported assault rifle, after recently rejecting the indigenous Excalibur, in order to plug a vital operational gap. The army has once again sent out its global request for information (RFI) for 7.62x51mm assault rifle.

The issue that was discussed in April 2016 during the Army Commanders’ conference was whether the force required a 7.62mm rifle that could kill the enemy or a 5.56mm rifle that could incapacitate the enemy soldiers and the decision was in favour of the former caliber. The Army Commanders unanimously opted to import the more powerful 7.62x51mm rifle for its infantry battalions and its 100 odd counter-insurgency units (both Rashtriya Rifles and Assam Rifles).

The indigenous Excalibur is an upgraded version of the DRDO-designed Indian Small Arms System (INSAS) 5.56x45 mm assault rifle. The INSAS was rejected by the army in 2010 for being “operationally inadequate”. The gas-operated, fully automatic rifle has a foldable butt, a Picatinny rail for sights, sensors,

Official sources said the MoD now aims to ‘fast track’ the long-delayed CQB procurement for the Indian Army via an ‘empowered committee’

and bipods, and its polycarbonate magazine is superior to that of the INSAS rifle, known to frequently crack in extreme hot and cold climates. The Excalibur’s barrel is 4 mm shorter than the INSAS model and its hand guard is smaller. The DRDO is also designing a second version of the Excalibur, the AR-2 that fires 7.62x39 mm rounds used by AK-47. The AR-2 will be offered as an alternative to the AK 47, Russian origin, assault rifle. Till the new assault rifle becomes a standard weapon it was rumoured that the Excalibur may be used in the interim to replenish stocks.

Carbines For over five years the Indian Army has operated without a CQB carbine, a basic infantry weapon, essential to a force which claims to be among the best in the world, ever ready to take on any challenge.

India’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) cancelled the December 2010 tender for 44,618, 5.56mm close quarter battle (CQB) carbines and 33.6 million rounds of ammunition on September 29, 2016. Official sources said the Ministry of Defence (MoD) now aims to ‘fast track’ the long-delayed CQB procurement for the Indian Army (IA) via an ‘empowered committee’, within the next 12-14 months. designators that will be acquired separately.

The original procurement, for which Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) ACE carbine was shortlisted along with the rival Italian Beretta’s ARX-160 model following the 2011-14 trials, was terminated following differences over the weapon systems sights and irregularities in the evaluation process.

The MoD’s Directorate General of Quality Assurance (DGQA) had certain objections which scuttled the procurement process.

It is reported that the proposed CQB carbines RFP has been issued on the same lines as the earlier one in which the carbine was required to weigh less than 3kg, fire 600 rounds per minute to a distance of 250-300m and be capable of operating in extreme cold and hot temperatures. It would also need to be fitted with a Picatinny rail for the sights, which would be procured separately, and multi-purpose detachable bayonets. The weapons will be acquired under the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP)-2016 ‘Buy and Make’ category. The selected CQB vendor would be required to transfer technology, in all likelihood, to India’s state-owned Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) to licence build some 300,000-400,000 carbines. These would equip the IA’s 400-odd infantry battalions and its specialised Rahstriya Rifles or counter insurgency units and eventually India’s paramilitaries and provincial police forces.

Light Machine Guns On August 9, 2017, India’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) has terminated its threeyear old global tender to procure 9,462 light machine guns (LMGs) of caliber 7.62 x 51mm for the Indian Army (IA). It was reported that the tender was cancelled after Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) emerged as the ‘sole vendor’ with its Negev NG7 model of the LMG. There were two contenders in

the field namely the NG7 of IWI and the LMG fielded by Bulgaria’s Arsenal in user trials between 2015 and early-2017. NG7 became the frontrunner.

The proposed LMG’s were aimed at replacing the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)designed 5.56x45mm LMG that was inducted into IA service in the 1990’s, but found to be inefficient.

Conclusion India’s Defence Procurement Procedure has been revised on various occasions. The Defence Procurement Procedure 2016 (DPP 2016) was unveiled by the former Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on the sidelines of the Defexpo-2016 which was held in Goa. The DPP 2016 replaced the Defence Procurement Procedure 2013 (DPP 2013) and has come into force on 1 April 2016.

In a major departure from the earlier DPPs, DPP-2016 has allowed the procurement process to continue in certain situations where only one bid is received in response to an RFP. The continuation of the process is, however, subject to the approval of the DAC, which must certify that there is no scope for change of the RFP conditions.

The cancellation of the global tender to procure LMGs is third such project, after the cases for new assault rifles and close-quarter battle carbines which were cancelled similarly. The elaborate process which mandates firing and maintenance trials in all types of terrain existing in our country involving extensive movements and arrangements across various theatres of operations which involves a large amount of manpower, and a long period of time and therefore scrapping tenders after the trials only wastes precious time, energy and money of the vendor and the government. We wonder why the single vendor issue could not be tackled under the dispensation of the above clause of the DPP2016. If the clause is ambiguous then it must be amended based on our experiences so far.

Infantry is indeed the most vital combat arm of Indian army whose roles range from countering terrorism and insurgencies in peace and in war, conducting defensive and offensive operations in the mountains, plains, and deserts and when required be an important part of an out of area contingency force.

And last but not the least, aid civil authorities, including tackling natural and manmade disasters for which the civil authorities are certainly not shy in seeking this assistance if only to hide their own weaknesses and incompetence. Hence depriving this indispensable arm of the army from its basic weapons which it needs to fulfill its missions is not only shocking but may prove disastrous for the nation in the future. Here we have not added the deficiencies of other equipment of the infantry like radio sets at platoon and company levels, soldiers web equipment, body armour etc. For this sorry state of affairs we have to accept that apart from political and bureaucratic leadership, the uniformed community is equally to blame for not being decisive and for not pursuing the infantry equipment related projects with adequate energy and zeal. SP

>> new leadership Photograph: Indian Army

Dynamic Approach of the New Defence Minister The Ministry of Defence is a mammoth ministry with a very large number of defence public sector industrial units whose efficiency and output is by and large unsatisfactory

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with General Bipin Rawat, COAS

 Lt General V.K. Kapoor (Retd)

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irmala Sitharaman has been made the Defence Minister of India. The fact that the Prime Minister of India has entrusted her with this important portfolio also speaks volumes for her administrative talent and past efficiency when she was holding the Commerce portfolio as a Minister of State. Sitharaman became the first woman Defence Minister of the country since Indira Gandhi held the charge.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has already stated that she intends to hold daily meetings with all three service chiefs and the defence secretary to ensure quick decision making in her ministry. Sitharaman has laid special emphasis on the need to step up the pace of military procurement which despite some dynamism showed by the erstwhile Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar in the past, the state of equipment and modernisation is in a deplorable across the board in all three services. In the Indian Army from basic weapons like carbines and assault rifles, to artillery howitzers and helicopters, surveillance and communication equipment, night fighting aids etc all need replacement/procurement.

Moreover, till very recently even certain categories of ammunition were in such short supply thus there was no ammunition available even for training. The Minister has also declared that she will also hold meetings of the Defence Acquisition Council once every two weeks.

An official statement said on Monday, September 11, 2017, that Sitharaman, who took charge on September 7, 2017, has held a number of meetings with senior officials to familiarise herself with the activities and functioning of the defence ministry, and has issued “clear directions” on “critical issues”. As she took over last week she had said she would be a roundthe-clock Defence Minister.

While we welcome the dynamic and no nonsense approach of the new defence minister, and her noble intentions, however at the strategic level, at which she is required

to function, daily meetings may not be necessary. In the beginning, say for a few weeks, when she familiarises herself with the organisational, functional and administrative details and the back log of cases relating to procurement and modernisation of the three Services and other important administrative cases which may be pending, daily meetings may prove useful but later on it will only lead to micro management of the Ministry and the three Services which is not desirable. Moreover, the three Chiefs and the Defence Secretary have their own functional requirements within their headquarters to attend to whereby their daily schedules are tightly packed and they can ill afford to spend too much time for such conferences/meetings if they carry on for long hours. Therefore she will perhaps have to lay down an upper time limit for such meetings. Moreover the Chiefs as well as the Defence Minister are required to visit many operational sectors and operational formations and other departments and establishments within their respective domains due to which they cannot be tied down to a daily rigid schedule.

The Ministry of Defence is a mammoth ministry with a very large number of defence public sector industrial units whose efficiency and output is by and large unsatisfactory. In the past our defence ministers who have been guided by the civilian bureaucracy have not been able to ensure, even after 70 years of independence, to give the nation a defence industrial complex capable of making us self sufficient for our weapons and equipment. All that our defence industry has achieved till date is that that they have imported equipment and assembled it in India and called this transfer of technology. A deplorable state of affairs to say the least.

Our Ordnance factories are legendary for their lethargic and poor work culture and are responsible for poor state of ammunition reserves in the country. The Director General Quality Assurance (DGQA) is another organisation which is known more for its wrong practices than its utility. Similarly the departments such as the Control-

lers of Defence Accounts (CDAs) are again establishments which have expanded manifold but have a poor record of competence notwithstanding some islands of efficiency.

So perhaps these are areas where the Minister should pay more attention to because they are ones who are required to provide the logistics (equipment and munitions) and are responsible for the good morale of the soldiery.

The next point that should concern the Minister is the Ministry itself where the understanding of National Security of the bureaucrats in the ministry is only from reading of the ministry files! Let me quote Admiral Arun Prakash, a former Naval Chief ’s article in a national daily of September 13, 2017. He states “One has to start by facing the unpalatable truth that our current national security dilemmas are almost entirely of our own making – a consequence of political indifference and bureaucratic lethargy resulting in egregious neglect of our national security.

Procrastination on defence reforms and delays in border roads constructions, dithering on purchase of arms and ammunition, and leaving the MoD headless for months have all been perceived as signs of weakness and a lack of resolve by our adversaries”.

As regards the procurement issues it must be brought out that our uniformed community and the senior hierarchy of the Services, have to accept their share of blame for the delays and the inferior state of our current equipment. Cases in point, in the

The fate of our military (and survival of our nation) depend on a MoD which is run exclusively by civilian officers of the IAS and Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS)

army, are the cases involving the procurement of carbines and assault rifles and the mess created in this regard. So while political indifference and bureaucratic lethargy may be responsible in the larger context, the senior hierarchy of the Services must accept their share of blame in many cases.

An irony pointed out by Admiral Arun Prakash is the fact that everything is controlled by a cadre of bureaucrats who are quite ignorant about matters military. He points out that even Military Operations are dependent on financial, material, personnel and infrastructure support — all of which require approvals of the MoD bureaucracy. The fate of our military (and survival of our nation) depend on a MoD which is run exclusively by civilian officers of the IAS and Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS). This does not happen in any other country in the world and it is an irony that while we have one of the largest armed forces in the world, an uninformed bureaucracy handles the administration.

The Admiral recommends restructuring of the defence industrial complex by reputed professionals from the business and industry and not scientists or government bureaucracy who would only end up protecting their turfs by adopting a status quo approach.

It is generally accepted by all military and strategic analysts that the time has come for the ministry to be manned by a cadre of officers who are skilled in the management of national security issues and in building and establishing military capabilities. This cadre can be drawn from the Services as well as the IAS officers who are especially trained in the management of such issues.

So while the enthusiasm of the Defence Minister to interact with the Service Chiefs is most welcome and is praiseworthy, however we recommend that she should pay more attention to the Department of Defence Production, the Ordnance Factory Board, DGQA, IDAS, DRDO and the reforms that are necessary in these departments and in the Ministry bureaucracy who at present are not entirely competent to handle issues involving national security and matters military. SP

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>> show report / dsei 2017

The World’s Largest Arms Fair The host country, Britain is all set to expand its export footprint and this was outlined by the Defence Secretary, Sir Michael Fallon who suggested that Britain would look for more of the pie of the international defence market, a demand driven by increasing war and terror PhotographS: DSEI, Lockheed Martin, Oshkosh

look for more of the pie of the international defence market, demand driven by increasing war and terror.

“As we look, exiting the European Union, to go increasingly global, we see our equipment as a platform for even stronger partnership,” Mr Fallon told delegates, including international military commanders. “As we look to life post Brexit and spread our wings further across the world, it’s high time we do more to compete for a share of this international export market.”

Mr Fallon said the UK secured defence orders totalling £5.9bn in 2016 and is already the world’s second-largest weapons exporter. “But now it’s time to build exportability into our thinking from the off, aligning it with the requirements of international clients,” he added.

New weapons include Dreadnought submarines, Apache attack helicopters, Ajax armoured vehicles, F35s and frigates. The UK is also working to develop artificial intelligence for use in warfare, including a “ship’s brain”, as well as advanced robots. Mr Fallon announced Britain is buying 56 bomb disposal robots from Harris Corporation, as well as commissioning a £10m “active protection system” for armoured vehicles frequently targeted by missiles and IEDs.

Lockheed Martin’s Modular Turret Lockheed Martin UK showcased the 40 mm Modular Turret, designed to up-arm the Warrior infantry fighting vehicle (IFV). Lockheed demonstrated the potential for upgrading and customising the turret to suit customer needs. The turret is the result of significant investment from Lockheed Martin and employs common systems from the Ajax reconnaissance vehicle in the United Kingdom and the Jaguar armoured fighting vehicle from France. The addition of an externally launched Javelin missile provides an engagement envelope of 4 km as well as gives the platform a credible firepower capability against main battle tanks

 R. Chandrakanth

www.spslandforces.com

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otal world military expenditure rose to $1686 billion in 2016, an increase of 0.4 per cent in real terms from 2015, according to new figures from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Military spending in North America saw its first annual increase since 2010, while spending in Western Europe grew for the second consecutive year.

The United States remains the country with the highest annual military expenditure in the world. US military spending grew by 1.7 per cent between 2015 and 2016 to $611 billion. Military expenditure

by China, which was the second largest spender in 2016, increased by 5.4 per cent to $215 billion, a much lower rate of growth than in previous years. Russia increased its spending by 5.9 per cent in 2016 to $69.2 billion, making it the third largest spender.

Saudi Arabia was the third largest spender in 2015 but dropped to fourth position in 2016. Spending by Saudi Arabia fell by 30 per cent in 2016 to $63.7 billion, despite its continued involvement in regional wars.

India’s military expenditure grew by 8.5 per cent in 2016 to $55.9 billion, making it the fifth largest spender.

This is indicative of the trend in increased arms acquisitions. This obvious trend was reflected at the world’s largest arms fair in London – DSEI which stands for Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) which concluded on September 15. The event hosted over 1,600 exhibitors from 54 countries, growing every year, though there were protests outside, opposing the proliferation of arms.

The host country, Britain is all set to expand its export footprint and this was outlined by the Defence Secretary, Sir Michael Fallon who suggested that Britain would

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SP’s Land Forces 4/2017

MBDA-led Consortium Unveils High Energy Laser Cannon A key component of a high energy laser cannon being produced under a £30 million contract for the UK Ministry of Defence was unveiled at DSEI. Under development by an MBDA-led consortium which includes Qinetiq, Leonardo-Finmeccanica, Arke, BAE Systems, Marshall and GKN, the Dragonfire system will be a 50kW class directed energy weapon designed for use on both land and sea.

Laser weapons have key advantages over traditional systems: the munition is potentially unlimited, and it operates at the speed of light so the time from when you say “fire” to the weapon hitting its target is more or less instantaneous.

Oshkosh’s JLTV

(Top) A view of the fair; (middle) Lockheed Martin’s Warrior IFV; (above) Oshkosh JLTV.

With a sale of the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle to the British military seemingly in the bag, platform-builder Oshkosh Defense showcased what the machine might look like when the British Army gets its hands on it. Oshkosh fitted its show vehicle with an in-service Kongsberg remote weapon station, AmSafe Bridport anti-rocket-propelled grenade armor and a Harris radio.

>> show report / dsei 2017 PhotographS: ST Engineering, Cobham, MBDA

All Terrain Tracked Carrier Bronco by ST Kinetics

Cobham’s new GD2049 multi-port antenna installed on a Thales Hawkei vehicle

be easily integrated thanks to a new open architecture, a new and improved human-computer interface utilising the Allisson Creative 2.pdf 1 25/10/16 latest graphical technologies embedAllisson Creative 2.pdf and 1 25/10/16 ded onboard training.

Thales Unmanned Technology Development Thales announced that it would develop future autonomous and unmanned technology across air and sea by investing in two new UK-based trials and training centres. Thales will invest £7 million

(€8 million). The new £1 million facility in Turnchapel Wharf, Plymouth will be Thales’s maritime autonomy trials and 3:44 PM training centre. This waterfront facility 3:44 PM will provide access to trials areas for development of cutting edge maritime autonomous systems and position Thales at the centre of future maritime autonomy capability. The facility will act as the key maritime integration, test and evaluation centre for the combined United Kingdom and French Maritime Mine Counter Measures (MMCM) Programme. SP

MBDA’s Dragonfire Laser Turret was unveiled at DSEI 2017

ST Kinetics Bronco for Variety of Mission Singapore’s ST Kinetics showcased its newest version of its Bronco all-terrain tracked carrier vehicle designed to support a wide variety of mission sets through easy reconfiguration. First fielded in 2001 to the Singapore Army in 2001, ST Kinetics has produced several hundred of its first-version vehicles with more than 20 variants. The second version of the vehicle was built for the British Army — known in the UK as the Warthog — for operations in Afghanistan.

The vehicle fleet was withdrawn from the country in 2014. Bronco 3 is “the combination of the best of the lessons that we have learned in Bronco 1 and 2,” Phillip Ou, an ST Kinetics executive, told presspersons.

Leonardo’s Icarus An active protection system electronic architecture that will allow the British Army to tailor its sensors and countermeasures to meet a changing threat was demonstrated in a £10 million ($13 million) deal between a Leonardo-led team and the government’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory. The technology demonstrator programme, known as Icarus, will lay the groundwork for the potential deployment of the capability across the Army’s vehicle fleet, according to Leonardo.

Cobham Launches ICE Cobham launched a new Integrated Com-

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munications Environment (ICE) product range which provides major improvements to existing communications systems on platforms. The new ICE products include a multi-radio interference cancellation system and new high-performance multi-port V/UHF antenna.

The integration of multiple radios and other communications systems on a single platform or in a congested environment causes radio frequency interference which can dramatically reduce the effective radio range. This increasingly operational problem is being exacerbated by the increase of on-board communications systems which can mean they are competing for data and spectrum allocation.

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BAE System unveils NAUTIS 5 BAE Systems unveiled NAUTIS 5, the latest version of its flagship mine countermeasures (MCM) system. NAUTIS stands for Naval Autonomy Tactical Information System and is used to counter the ever present threat of naval mines. It is installed on board over 65 ships from seven navies across the world, including the Royal Navy’s Hunt and Sandown class mine counter measure vessels (MCMVs).

NAUTIS 5 is the result of BAE Systems’ long term investment in MCM capabilities. It incorporate a number of new and improved features including: improved command and control for autonomous and off-board systems, which can

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>> joint-exercise

Indo-US Joint Exercise Yudh Abhyas-2017 PhotographS: US Army

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xercise Yudh Abhyas - 2017, a joint military exercise between Indian and US armies commenced on September 14, 2017, at Joint Base Lewis McChord, Washington, USA with a brief and impressive opening ceremony. The US contingent was represented

by Company of 5th Infantry Battalion from 20 Infantry Regiment of the US Army while the Indian side was represented by soldiers of Gorkha Rifles from the Surya Command.

Major General Willard M Burlesan, GOC

7th Infantry Division, US Army welcomed the Indian soldiers. In inaugural remarks, he highlighted the common shared beliefs of democracy, freedom, equality and justice that are precious to both the nations.

During the two-week long exercise soldiers from both countries honed their tactical skills in counter-insurgency and counter-terrorist operations under a joint brigade headquarter. Both sides jointly trained, planned and executed a series of well-developed tactical drills for neutralisa-

tion of likely threats that may be encountered in UN peacekeeping operations.

Experts from both sides held detailed discussions to share their experience and expertise on varied operational topics.

The initial days of field training comprised of platoon level training on basic manoeuvres, which then progressed towards company level operations. Helicopter-based mobilisation of teams for quick response was also practised.

The two Armies have gained from each

other’s expertise and experience in conduct of platoon and company level operations.

In addition, the Indian contingent got a first-hand experience of operating with the ‘Stryker’ Infantry Combat Vehicle and the US Army gained an insight on the training of an infantry unit in a mountainous terrain.

The joint exercise, concluded on September 27, 2017. Exercise Yudh Abhyas-2017 achieved all joint training objectives and this shall further reinforce defence cooperation between the two Nations. SP

India-Nepal Joint Exercise Surya Kiran-xii The aim of this exercise was to conduct battalion level joint training between Indian and Nepalese Army with emphasis on Counter Terrorism in mountainous terrain by facilitating interoperability

www.spslandforces.com

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Photograph: Indian Army

ndia-Nepal Joint Military Exercise Surya Kiran-XII, pitched at battalion level, was conducted at Nepal Army Battle School (NABS), Saljhandi, Nepal from September 3 to September 16, 2017. In this exercise, approximately 350 troops from both Indian Army and Nepal Army shared their experiences gained during conduct of various Counter Insurgency and Counter Terrorism operations. Together, both the Armies stand to benefit mutually from their shared experiences.

The Surya Kiran series of Exercises are being conducted annually, alternatively in Nepal and India. Notably in the series of military training exercises undertaken by India with various countries, Surya Kiran series with Nepal is the largest in terms of troop participation. The aim of this exercise was to conduct battalion level joint training between Indian and Nepalese Army with emphasis on Counter Terrorism in mountainous terrain by facilitating interoperability. Aspects of disaster management and the requirement of joint and concerted effort towards relief work were also included in the exercise.

The joint training, mutual interaction and sharing of experiences during exercise not only promotes cordial military relations

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Troops familiarising with the bomb disposal robot equipment.

but also further strengthens cultural and historical ties between the two nations.

The Indian Army was represented by troops of the KUMAON SCOUTS while Nara-

yan Dal Battalion participated on behalf of the Nepal Army.

The aim of the exercise was to train troops in Counter Insurgency/Counter Terrorism

Operations in both jungle & mountainous terrain and disaster management. The Joint Battalion Level Exercise being the largest exercise undertaken by India with any other country was an ideal platform for the contingent of both nations to share their experiences and mutually benefit from the joint training.

As part of the exercise important lectures, demonstrations and drills related to Counter Insurgency/Counter Terrorism Operations and Disaster Management were conducted by Indian Army to share their experiences in handling such situations with a view to conduct such operations jointly and refine drills and procedures.

The training culminated with a 72 hours outdoor exercise in which troops of both contingents carried out a Cordon and Search Operation in a mock Counter insurgency village.

Besides training, both the contingents also participated in number of extracurricular activities including friendly football, basketball, volleyball matches and a cultural programme on the final day. The joint training was an unprecedented success. Besides promoting understanding and interoperability between the two armies, it helped in cementing ties between both nations. SP

>> News in Brief Successful Flight Test of Anti Tank Guided Missile – NAG India’s indigenously developed 3rd generation Anti Tank Guided Missile (ATGM), Nag has been successfully flight tested twice by DRDO on September 8, 2017 against two different targets in the ranges of Rajasthan.

The ATGM Nag missile has successfully hit both the targets under different ranges and conditions with very high accuracy as desired by the Armed Forces.

With these two successful flight trials, and the flight test conducted earlier in June in the peak of summer, the complete functionality of Nag ATGM along with launcher system NAMICA has been established and marked the successful completion of development trials of Nag Missile.

battlefield. The M3E1 has extra shoulder padding and an improved sighting system that can be adjusted for better comfort without compromising performance. A wiring harness has also been added in the M3E1 configuration that provides a foregrip controller and programmable fuse setter for an interchangeable fire control system.

General Dynamics Chosen for Abrams main battle tank upgrades

nized forces in combat zone. The equipment consists of Trawl roller, track width mine plough and electro- magnetic device (EMD), which caters to the need of all types of mines usually encountered by the battle tank in such a scenario. The Trawl System developed by DRDO is capable of breaching a variety of land mines including passive and active influence mines.

BAE Systems new Unmanned Ground Vehicle takes on dangerous jobs

Ministry of Defence Approves First Phase of Reforms in The Armed Forces In a first ever exercise after Independence, the Ministry of Defence in consultation with the Indian Army has decided to reform the Indian Army in a planned manner.

These decisions were approved by the former Defence Minister Arun Jaitley after an extensive consultation with all stakeholders. The first phase of the reforms involves redeployment and restructuring of approximately 57,000 posts of officers/JCOs/ORs and civilians.

US Army to invest in 1,111 units of M3E1 shoulder-fired weapon system

The US Army is planning to procure 1,111 units of the M3E1 multi-role anti-armour anti-personnel weapon system (MAAWS).

The M3E1, which is the latest version of M3 MAAWS, is lighter and shorter with a longer handle and an enhanced grip. Said to be a part of the Product Manager Crew Served Weapons portfolio, the M3E1 is compatible with several ammunition types.

The current system that the army uses is the AT4, which only allows soldiers to fire one shot, and then they have to throw the system away. With the M3E1, soldiers can use different types of ammunition which gives them an increased capability on the

General Dynamics Land Systems has secured two contracts, worth a total $581m, to upgrade Abrams main battle tanks for the US Army. As part of the contracts, the Abrams tanks will be upgraded from M1A2 system enhancement package version 3 (SEPv3) to a SEPv4 variant.

The contracts cover design, development and integration of multiple engineering changes into Abrams tanks produced at the Joint Systems Manufacturing Center in Lima, Ohio, US. Under the first contract worth $311m, the tanks will receive SEPv4 upgrades, including commander’s primary sight, an improved gunner’s primary sight and improvements to sensors. A total of seven prototype M1A2 SEPv4 tanks will be delivered to the army by General Dynamics Land Systems.

PAC-3 MSE test successful from remote launcher A Lockheed Martin PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) interceptor successfully intercepted a tactical ballistic missile target on Saturday in the first-ever MSE test from a remote launcher.

The test demonstrated the expanded defended footprint available by deploying the launcher remotely from the Patriot radar. It also confirmed PAC-3 MSE’s unique ability to detect, track and intercept an incoming threat.

The upgraded PAC-3 MSE expands the lethal battlespace with a dual-pulse solid rocket motor, providing increased performance in altitude and range. PAC-3 MSE is a high-velocity interceptor that defends against incoming threats, including tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and aircraft. The missile uses Hit-to-Kill technology, which defeats threats through kinetic energy via body-to-body contact.

Indigenous Development of Trawl System by DRDO

>> Show Calendar 16–18 October Bahrain International Defence ­Exhibition & Conference BIECC, Manama, Bahrain www.bahraindefence.com 24–25 October Armoured Vehicles Asia Crowne Plaza, Jakarta, Indonesia www.armouredvehiclesasia.iqpc.com 29 October–1 November Future Ground Combat Vehicles DoubleTree by Hilton Dearborn Detroit, Detroit, MI, USA www.groundcombatvehicles.iqpc.com

Editor Lt General V.K. Kapoor (Retd) Senior Editorial Contributor Lt General P.C. Katoch (Retd) Senior Technical Group Editor Lt General Naresh Chand (Retd) Air Marshal B.K. Pandey (Retd) Assistant Group Editor R. Chandrakanth Contributors India General V.P. Malik (Retd), Lt General Vijay Oberoi (Retd), Lt General R.S. Nagra (Retd), Lt General S.R.R. Aiyengar (Retd), Major General Ashok Mehta (Retd), Major General G.K. Nischol (Retd), Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (Retd), Brigadier S. Mishra (Retd), Rohit Sharma

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has secured a contract worth `61bn ($951.9m) from the Indian Ministry of Defence to deliver advanced light helicopters (ALHs) to the nation’s armed forces. Under the contract, the company is tasked with supplying a total of 41 ALHs over a period of five years. Of the total ALHs, 40 will be delivered to the Indian Army, while one will be sent to the Indian Navy.

Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Jayant Baranwal

R&DE (Engrs), a premier system engineering laboratory under Armament & Combat Engineering (ACE) cluster of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has recently undertaken the design and development of Trawl System for the minefield area in the battle zone to meet the operational requirements of Indian Army.

The indigenous developed Trawl System is employed for breaching of land mines and creating a vehicle safe lane, through a minefield for the advancing columns of mecha-

Chairman & Managing Director Jayant Baranwal

Ironclad is small enough to negotiate tight urban environments, but maintains the mobility needed to handle extreme crosscountry terrain. It can also be fitted to carry out reconnaissance, combat and casualty evacuation roles. It is also protected against blast and small arms fire to increase mission survivability.”

Each Ironclad is built with a hardware interface that allows the different mission fits to be attached easily. This connection supplies both power and command from the main vehicle chassis, which houses the battery and a two-way remote control unit. The chassis is designed so that hardware needed for autonomous capability can be added at a later stage.

US installs additional THAAD launchers in South Korea The US has reportedly installed four additional launchers of the Terminal HighAltitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea. The deployment has been completed a month after South Korean President Moon Jae-in decided to resume deliveries of additional THAAD launchers. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korea President Moon Jaein stated: “Now is the time to further increase sanctions and pressures against the North as much as possible rather than seeking dialogue.”

Rockwell Collins launches NavHub navigation system with German Armed Forces The German Ministry of Defense selected Rockwell Collins’ NavHub navigation system to provide Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) availability to a variety of its military vehicles.

The NavHub system serves as a nextgeneration GNSS- and Military-Code (M-Code)-enabled solution for the German Armed Forces. Customizable for ground and maritime platforms, NavHub provides a variety of vehicle interfaces, meets the standards required by military vehicle operators, and allows users to receive data from multiple secure and open-service GNSS constellations to simultaneously confirm the navigational solution.

Access to multi-constellation GNSS and GPS M-Code will provide a significantly enhanced navigational solution over the current GPS-only solution.

“NavHub meets the critical mission need for accurate navigation support for fast-moving platforms and challenging environments,” said Claude Alber, vice president and managing director, Europe, Middle East and Africa for Rockwell Collins.

“Our military GNSS receivers will provide significantly enhanced navigational capabilities to military vehicles and will mitigate terrain, forest and urban degradation as it will raise the number of satellites used from 28 to well over 100.” SP

Executive Vice President (Planning & Business Development) Rohit Goel Administration Bharti Sharma Asst-Admin, HR & Infra Pooja Tehlani Creative Director Anoop Kamath Design Vimlesh Kumar Yadav, Sonu Singh Bisht Research Assistant: Graphics Survi Massey Sales & Marketing Director Sales & Marketing: Neetu Dhulia General Manager Sales: Rajeev Chugh SP’s Website Sr. Web Developer: Shailendra P. Ashish Web Developer: Ugrashen Vishwakarma Published bimonthly by Jayant Baranwal on behalf of SP Guide Publications Pvt Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, photocopying, recording, electronic, or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publishers.

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