SP's Land Forces 4/2022

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Trends in artillery weapons

Militaries around the world are constantly seeking extension of range of weapons, volume and accuracy of fire

Lt General P.c. Katoch (retd)

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As both nations marked 30 years of excellent ties, visit of the Israeli Defence Minister gave an opportunity to review the full range of India-Israel relations and reiterate their commitment to expanding cooperation for the security & prosperity of both nations ranjit Kumar

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Indo-Israel defence cooperation

There is a broad consensus between both the countries on further strengthening the bilateral strategic and defence cooperation. Both the countries have adopted a ‘vision statement’ which will pave the way for defence cooperation in the future.

Lt General P.c. Katoch (retd)

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what Type of Light Tank does India need?

There is no denying the need of Light Tank but is there prudence in going for a 25 tonne with similar firepower as T-90 and capable of floatation?

Lt General J.K. Sharma (retd)

PlUs PP-15 disengagement is no Loss to china 7

Lt General P.c. Katoch (retd)

Self-sufficiency is a Strategic Imperative for India now: coaS 9 ayushee chaudhary

army chief Visits nepal 10

Lt General P.c. Katoch (retd)

news in Brief / appointments 11

Story

Indian artillery modernisation

The IndIan army’s regIment of artillery will celebrate its 196th gunners day on septem ber 28, 2022. the date septem ber 28 has a special significance since 5 (Bombay) mountain Battery was raised on september 28, 1827 and this battery has been in uninterrupted service since it was raised. the raising day of this battery, therefore, is celebrated as gunners day every year. the regiment of artillery is the second largest arm of the Indian army after the Infantry and constitutes almost one sixth of the army’s strength, with its guns, mortars, rocket launchers, unmanned aerial vehicles, surveillance systems, missiles and artillery firepower.

Historical Perspective

On January 15, 1935, a Field Brigade was formed to take the place of an outgoing British Field Brigade. It consisted of four

batteries. In the following year, an Indian artillery training Battery was added to the establishment of the Field artillery train ing Centre at mathura. In march 1938, a decision to enhance the number of Indian artillery units was taken and Indian offi cers were inducted into the 1 Indian moun tain artillery Brigade, followed by the replacement of a second British Field Bri gade by an Indian Field Brigade. thereaf ter, replacement of a British heavy Battery (Coast artillery) and one British anti-air craft Battery by an Indian heavy anti-air craft Battery were undertaken, followed by the replacement of a second British heavy anti-aircraft Battery by an Indian heavy anti-aircraft Battery. Branches other than the field artillery were also introduced.

during World War II, units of Indian artillery saw action in malaya, Burma, east and north africa, the middle east and Italy. By the end of World War II, Indian gunners had won one Victoria Cross, one george Cross, 15 military Crosses, two IOms, 22

Idsms, 18 military medals, five OBes, one mBe, three nems, 14 Burma gallantry medals and 467 JangiInams. In recogni tion of their outstanding contribution, the regiment of Indian artillery was accorded the title of ‘royal’ and it was renamed the royal regiment of Indian artillery in Octo ber 1945. Winston Churchill rose in the house of Commons to pay tribute to their decisive role in the Battle of Bir hachiem against rommel’s Panzer army. the title ‘royal’ was dropped when India became a republic on January 26, 1950.

at the time of Independence, Indian artillery consisted of Field, air defence, Counter Bombardment, Coastal, air Observation Post branches. India was allotted eighteen and half all types of artil lery regiments while remaining nine and half units going to Pakistan. In wake of the 1947 Pakistani invasion, personnel of 2 Field regiment (sP) and 13 Field regiment wore uniform of 1 sIKh and proceeded as a composite company of the 1 sIKh to

Israeli defence minister’s Visit to India

The Regiment of Artillery is presently engaged in modernising in terms of equipment and support systems under the ‘Make in India’ initiative

Lt GeneraL P.C. KatoCh (retd)

PhoTogRAPh: oFB

Army is likely to face a capability gap when it comes to artillery modernisation

SkyStriker

Lead

ernisation of Artillery, equipped with a mix of suitable artillery platforms, would be essential and gives a brief overview of the de velopments in the modernisation of Indian Artillery which is being driven by the ‘Make-in-India’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiatives.

challenges of technology enabled hybrid warfare.

Regiment of Artillery celebrate their 195th ‘Gunners Day’ on September 28 and thus the 2 lead articles in this issue by Lt General P.C. Katoch (Retd) are dedicated to the vital role played by this arm in the battlefield. In the lead article, the author stresses that the mod

In another article on the Trends in Artillery Weapon Systems, the author talks about the new age artillery in hybrid warfare that will revolve around long and precision strike capabilities through drones, missiles and long-range shoot and scoot guns and rocket sys tems. Drone warfare capabilities will provide game-changing po tential. Artillery is a key element and must squarely respond to the

J&K. they operated as infantry till first week november 1947 when 4 x 3.7 inch how itzer were inducted. thereafter, they sup ported infantry to drive out the infiltrators along srinagar-Baramula road. Later, artil lery assisted in defending srinagar airfield and subsequent route of Pakistanis from Jammu and Kashmir Valley. artillery played a dominant role in recapture of Poonch, rajauri, tangdhar, tithwal, dras and Kargil during 1947-48.

On October 23, 1962, when Chi nese invaders attacked Indian positions through Bum La Pass, they were immedi ately engaged by 7 (Bengal) mountain Bat tery which broke the attack. artillery kept supporting infantry till tawang was aban doned. subsequently guns of 116 mortar Battery, 34 heavy 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 counterat tacks. similarly, 17 Para Field regiment and 71 heavy mortar Battery provided support in Walong sector. In Ladakh sector also 13 Field regiment and 38 Field Battery played significant role in holding the enemy and defending Chushul heights.

major restructuring and equipping of Indian artillery happened after 1962. In 1964, the Coastal artillery was transferred to Indian navy. Prior to the 1965 IndoPak War, 11 Field regiment, 17 Para Field regiment and air Observation Post helped thwart Pakistani designs in the rann of Kutch. during the 1965 Indo-Pak War, 164 Field regiment, a battery from 7 Field regi ment, a medium and a mountain battery assisted capture of haji Pir Pass. In the east ern sector during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan War, artillery improvised extensively to get guns, ammunition, vehicles across rivers. 49 Para Field Battery was para-dropped with 2 Para to capture Poongli Bridge. In the Western sector, artillery played major role in capture of Pakistani posts in Ladakh, Kashmir, rajauri, Jammu, Punjab and raj asthan. It was also instrumental in defeat ing Pakistani designs to capture areas in Poonch and Chamb in J&K, hussainiwala and Fazilka in Punjab and Laungwala in rajasthan. In siachen, guns were initially dismantled and air dropped in 1983-84.

during the 1999 Kargil Conflict, the Bofors guns (many speedily cannibalized in absence of spares that had stopped coming in wake of the Bofors scandal) played a cru cial role in pulverising the enemy defences and to enable the infantry to capture enemy positions. the overwhelming superiority of fire power broke enemy will. By mid-July 1999, Pakistan’s intrusions on the Indian side of LoC had been undone. today, the artillery is providing close support to our troops deployed on the frontline including the Line of Control (LoC) against Pakistan,

Recently, India and Israel marked 30 years of excellent ties with a visit of the Israeli Defence Minister to India. Ranjit Kumar covers this visit during which the Israeli Defence Minister met the Prime Minister Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The visit gave an opportunity to see the full range of bilateral relations and re iterate the commitment to expand ing cooperation for the security & prosperity of both nations.

Relations between India and Israel have really grown over the last 3 decades and there is a broad consensus between both the countries on further strength

ening the bilateral strategic and defence cooperation. In another article, Lt General P.C. Katoch, explores the ‘vision statement’ that has been adopted by both the countries and which will pave the way fordefence cooperation in the future. The ‘India–Israel Vision on Defence Cooperation’ to enhance cooperation on futur istic defence technologies opens up tremendous opportunities to take the Indo-Israel partnership to infinite heights.

The requirement of inducting armour on the Northern Frontiers is indisputable as stated by Lt General J.K. Sharma (Retd) in his article about Light Tanks. Giv en the dynamics of threat across

the LAC off late, it seems that modernisation of infantry includ ing mechanised infantry may be accelerated.

All this and with a lot more, this issue ends with a brief news digest & major appointment.

Do visit us at Hall 8, Stall No. 8S.3 at the DefExpo 2022.

Happy Reading!

Current Status

the regiment of artillery consists of Light regiments, medium regiments, Field regi ments, missile regiments, rocket regiments and sata (surveillance & target acquisition) regiments. there are two airborne artillery regiments – 9 (Parachute Field regiment and 17 (Parachute) Field regiment. three or four regiments are grouped together to form a Brigade which are part of Infantry or armoured divisions while Independent artil lery Brigades are under Corps or Commands. In addition, are three artillery divisions allot ted one each to Commands that have strike Corps integral to them for offensive roles in plains or semi-desert terrain.

the regiment of artillery is presently engaged in modernising in terms of equip ment and support systems under the ‘make in India’ initiative. three new models of the 155mm have been inducted:

l m777 Ultra Light howitzer of Bae sys tems;

l tracked self-propelled K9 Vajra t of L&t, and;

Because of various reasons the speculation is that even in the best case scenario a sizeable number of much needed modern howitzers will only arrive by 2026

l OFB’s dhanush.

145 X Bae systems m777 Ultra Light howitzers (ULh) are being acquired through the Fms route from the Us. Bae systems is partnering mahindra defence systems for assembly, integration and test ing of the 145 howitzers in India. 25 x ULh are to be imported fully built and balance 120 assembled in India. Over half of them have already been inducted. the army has deployed the m777 Ultra Light howitzers (ULh) close to the Line of actual Control (LaC) which significantly augments fire power and a Light artillery regiment has been converted to a medium regiment with the induction of m777 ULh in early 2021. K9 Vajra-t gun system is produced in India by L&t in collaboration its Korean partner. the first gun was inducted in november 2018. L&t moved with incredible speed and completed the order of 100 guns by 18 February 2021. the gun originally meant for the deserts is now being tried in eastern Ladakh and may lead to additional orders. mod has indented 114 x dhanush howit zers and more orders could follow based on its performance. the principle project to buy 400 x 155mm / 52 caliber atags towed guns followed by the indigenous manufac ture of 1180 x guns is underway.

drdOs 155mm advanced towed artil lery gun system (atags) project in con junction Kalyani group, tata Power and OFB are replacing the older guns. For the first time on august 15, 2022, the 21 gun salute was given by the atags guns. Upgunning of the 130mm/39 caliber and 155mm/45 calibre guns is also being addressed. six more regiments of indig enous Pinaka mBrL system are to be added to existing four. Increasing range of Pinaka rockets from 40 to 75 km is being worked upon. sata remains equipped with

Jayant Baranwal Publisher & Editor-in-Chief

imported heron and searcher UaVs, how ever, indigenous ‘swathi’ weapon locating radar (WLr) is a good addition. 28 x swathi are planned to be inducted. all this will enable the artillery deliver a much greater punch against our enemies.

the current equipment profile is as fol lows: Light artillery (mortars) - 120mm e1 Light mortars; Field artillery - 105mm Indian Field gun (IFg) and 122mm d-30 howitzers; medium artillery – 130mm m-46

Field guns including the 155mm upgraded versions, 155mm haubits Fh77/B howit zer, 155mm dhanush (howitzer), 155mm m777 howitzer and 155mm atags; selfpropelled artillery – 105mm FV433 abbot self-Propelled gun and 155mm K9 Vajra; rocket artillery – 122mm Bm-21 grad multiple Barrel rocket Launcher, 214mm Pinaka multi Barrel rocket Launcher and 300mm Bm-30 smerch multiple Bar rel rocket Launcher; missile artillery – Brahmos missile system, agni missile system, Prithvi missile system, Prahar mis siles, Pralay missiles and shaurya missiles; surveillance & target acquisition (sata)

– UaV drones (heron) system, eLm mast mobile radar system, WLr (Weapon Locat ing radar) system, Long range reconnais sance and Observation (LOrrOs) system, medium range Battlefield surveillance sys tem (mBFsr) and short range Battlefield surveillance radar system.

The Future

With Bofors fire support being one of the major factors in winning the Kargil Con flict during 1999, the Indian army (Ia) proposed the Field artillery rationalisa tion Plan (FarP). FarP is a procurementcum-development plan which involves direct import, manufacture under license and indigenous development of weapon systems. Under FarP, the army was sup posed to have, by 2025-27, a mix of around 3,000-3,600 155mm but differ ent caliber types of towed, mounted, selfpropelled (tracked and wheeled) howitzers. this was to be achieved through a mix of direct imports, licensed manufacturing and indigenous systems. however, because of various reasons the speculation is that even in the best case scenario a sizeable number of much needed modern howit zers will only arrive by 2026. this needs to be addressed in view of the continuing standoff with China.

Finally, to the question as to what is the wish list of the Indian artillery; it obviously would be guns-howitzers, rockets and mis siles that can strike targets at longer ranges, longer range systems for surveillance and target acquisition, foolproof and interrup tion free communications, protection from enemy detection (camouflage included) and from the menace of enemy drones and loi tering munitions. SP

the Line of actual Control (LaC) against China and in siachen against both.

PhoTogRAPh: Indian Army

Indian Artillery thundering in the mountains. Role of Artillery is critical in providing long range fire support in the Tactical Battlefield Area.

GeneraL P.C. KatoCh (retd)

There Is nO denyIng that emerging and new technological advances are changing the nature and character of warfare. rapid advances in technology include advanced computing, big data analytics, unmanned systems, robotics, artificial intelli gence (aI), autonomy, robotics, networking, directed energy weapons (deWs), hyperson ic, and biotechnology. there is speculation that warfare in 2040 would include tanks controlling air-ground robots, aI-enabled targeting and reconnaissance, attacking in milliseconds, vehicle and aircraft-fired lasers, self-guiding ammunition, morphing swarms of autonomous drones and fast, real-time, multi-domain networking.

the contours of future wars would include increasing use of drones (some get ting smaller progressively) and robots on the battlefield, offensive cyber war capabili ties, extraordinary surveillance capabilities, lasers and greater reliance on special Opera tions Forces. however, to say that the days of conventional wars is over and that the future will only witness non-contact wars, as being professed by some in our government to advance their narrow motives, is out right wrong besides being anti-national. the ongoing conflict between the Us and rus sia, with Ukraine an america’s scapegoat, is an example of future warfare – part hi-tech which has the conventional warfare signa tures as well. this hybrid war would also be the format for future sino-Indian conflicts, especially with the type of terrain along our borders with China where holding ground will remain an essential element. It is for this very reason that militaries around the world are constantly seeking extension of range of weapons, volume and accuracy of fire, sys tem integration, and concentration of maxi mum fire power in smaller units plus increas ing transparency in the battlefield.

modern artillery is most obviously distinguished by its long range, firing an explosive shell or rocket and a mobile car riage for firing and transport. however, its most important characteristic is the use of indirect fire, whereby the firing equipment is aimed without seeing the target through its sights. the emergence of the global Positioning system (gPs) in the early 21st century enabled relatively cheap and accu rate guidance for shells and missiles. how ever, the need arose for very accurate three dimensional target coordinates, which led to the precision guided munitions (Pgms). the nomenclature “artillery” has tra ditionally not been used for projectiles with internal guidance systems. however, some modern artillery units employ surface-tosurface missiles. the advancement in termi nal guidance systems for small munitions has allowed large-caliber guided projectiles to be developed, which has blurred the dis tinction between the two. notably with the advent of powered flight at the start of the 20th century, artillery also included groundbased anti-aircraft batteries. But in the mod ern era in countries where air defence and artillery are separate arms, such blurring of distinction could lead to turf wars.

Modern Artillery Products

russia has recently offered its msta-s how itzer to foreign countries, particularly in the middle east. a demonstration was organised in 2020 by rosoboronexport, russia’s nodal agency for arms export, for representatives from various middle eastern countries. the

msta 2s19 is a 152.4mm self-propelled how itzer weighing 42 tonnes which is based on the t-80 tank hull but is powered by the diesel engine of the t-72. It has a maximum firing range of 24.7 km with standard ammunition and 29 km when using base-bleed rounds. russia has been using the msta 2s19 howit zers extensively in Ukraine to destroy Ukrai nian artillery batteries and other targets.

In april 2020, China’s vehicle mounted howitzer ‘PCL-181’, termed most advanced in Chinese media, entered service in the Peo ple’s Liberation army (PLa). the 155mm wheeled vehicle-mounted howitzer weighs only 25 tonnes, making it much lighter and faster with longer endurance than PLa’s ear lier howitzer which use crawler tracks and weighs more than 40 tonnes. the PCL-181

howitzer can also hit targets at longer ranges with increased firepower. this means that the PCL-181 not only has higher mobility but also can be transported by large trans port aircraft like the y-20 which has a cargo capacity of more than 60 tonnes. One y-20 can carry 2 x PCL-181 or combination of one PCL-181 and one 30-tonne class type 15 lightweight main battle tank (mBt).

Chinese media revealed in January 2015 revealed that China’s Chengdu aviation Cor poration had begun offering smaller drones that could be deployed from a 155mm shell (PLZ-04 howitzer) or 300mm rocket (a-100 rocket launcher). Once enemy tanks/vehi cles have been targeted, the parent artillery battery can fire laser guided shells and artil lery to accurately destroy the enemy. the

drone is lodged inside a specially designed warhead inside a rocket or artillery shell. at the appropriate attitude, the warhead deploys a parachute in order to slow down and release the drone. the drone then uses its four wings to stay aloft, while it scans for enemy vehicles. an operator back at the artillery battery designates the drone to use its laser (as well as any another sensors) to lock onto enemy vehicles by marking their rooftops. the drone has the advantage of speed, is cheaper and harder to detect.

Developments in India

In the case of India, China will remain our number one enemy for reasons that

of

and

Israeli defence minister’s Visit to India

Last OCtOBer, IndIa and Israel decided to set up a task force to put together a comprehensive 10-year roadmap to identify new areas of cooperation. seven months later both countries have added a new dimen sion to bolster their vibrant defence ties, by issuing a new landmark vision statement. the 10-year roadmap was prepared after the India – Israel Joint Working group on defence cooperation headed by the Indian defence secretary ajay Kumar who with his Israeli counterpart, director-general of Isra el’s ministry of defence, major general amir eshel (retd) reviewed the progress in ongoing programmes. giving a further boost to this cooperation, a letter of Intent on enhancing cooperation in the field of Futuristic defence technologies was also exchanged between the latest June 2 meeting of the two defence ministers, rajnath singh and Benny gantz.

Benjamin gantz who arrived in new delhi on June 1, marking three decades of diplomatic relations between the two nations was received by defence minis ter rajnath singh on June 2, 2022. gantz received a tri-service guard of honour in the presence of rajnath singh and also laid a wreath at the national War memorial.

the Israeli defence minister also had the opportunity to meet Prime minister naren dra modi. according to an Israeli embassy statement, “during his meeting with Prime minister modi, minister gantz emphasised the opportunity to invest further in defence cooperation between the two countries, while building on shared values in order to contribute to global stability. this was Benny gantz’s first visit to India with an aim to strengthen the defence ties between the two countries. a high-level delegation accom panied minister gantz, which included his Chief of staff maayan Israeli, military sec retary Brigadier general yaki dolf, director of the Policy and POL-mIL Bureau dror sha

Was pleased to meet Deputy PM & Defence Minister of Israel h.E. Benjamin gantz @gantzbe. As we mark 30 years of full diplomatic relations between India and Israel, our defence cooperation is expanding and diversifying to include joint research, development and production.

Warm and productive meeting with the Defence Minister of Israel, Mr. Benjamin gantz in New Delhi. Discussed key issues pertaining to defence cooperation and global & regional scenarios during the bilateral meeting. We place great value on our strategic Partnership with Israel.

lom and head of the International defence Cooperation directorate yair Kulas.

Both the countries have been monitor ing joint defence projects and programmes through Joint Working group, the apex body for promoting defence cooperation. along with JWg, both countries have also set up sub Working groups (sWg) on defence industry cooperation for which a terms of reference was agreed. the sWg would keep a close eye on the efficient utilisation of bilat eral resources, effective flow of technologies and sharing industrial capabilities.

defence cooperation has been one of the significant pillars of the bilateral coop

eration. Israel has emerged as one of the top three arms supplier to India for the last five years, especially cutting-edge weapons technology, which could not have been sourced elsewhere. according to a march, 2021 sIPrI (stockholm International Peace research Institute) report, Israel accounted for 13 per cent of India’s imports during 2016-20 after russia (49 per cent) and France (18 per cent).

In this backdrop, the decision to use India as production base for high tech Israeli defence systems is of utmost signifi cance for Indian defence industry. the com bination of Israeli defence technology with

Indians killed manpower and huge Indus trial infrastructure can work wonders and will help India emerge as a leading supplier of defence systems. the russia Ukraine war will usher in a new wave of militarisation which will lead to high demand of defence systems, all over the world, especially in europe. this will lead to increased demands of modern weapon systems and platforms.

the visit of Israeli defence minister to India happened on the occasion of completion of 30 years of establishment of diplomatic relations, which is likely to be followed soon by the earlier postponed visit of the new Israeli Prime minister naf tali Bennett. Both defence ministers reiter ated their commitment to deepening and expanding defence cooperation by pre senting a vision for future collaborations outlined in the joint statement. according to an Indian defence official, this will also help India achieve the goal of atmanirb har Bharat (self dependent India) in defence industry.

defence cooperation has been one of the significant pillars of the bilateral cooperation. Israel has emerged as one of the top three arms supplier to India for the last five years, especially cuttingedge weapons technology, which could not have been sourced elsewhere.

ranjit Kumar

As both nations marked 30 years of excellent ties, visit of the Israeli Defence Minister gave an opportunity to review the full range of India-Israel relations and reiterate their commitment to expanding cooperation for the security & prosperity of both nations

PhoTogRAPhs: PIB, rajnathsingh / Twitter

Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister of Israel, Benjamin Gantz calls on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (Left) and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh (Right), in New Delhi on June 2, 2022

Narendra Modi @narendramodi

Rajnath Singh @rajnathsingh

according to an Israeli embassy spokes person, the ministers conducted a discussion that covered topics including strategic global challenges, military cooperation, defence industrial cooperation and joint r&d they also discussed a cooperation agreement signed between the Indian drdO (defence research and development Organisation) and Israel’s directorate for defence r&d, which will enable the expansion of technolog ical collaboration and development between the countries. minister gantz acknowledged India as an industrial superpower and said Israel is a technological superpower – cooper ation between our countries will expand the capabilities of both countries to contend with developing challenges.

according to the statement by Indian defence ministry, the two ministers declared their intention to further develop defence cooperation in a manner that harnesses Isra el’s “technological advance and operational experience”, together with India’s “extraor dinary development and production capa bilities, which would be in line with Prime minister modi’s ‘make in India’ vision.”

this means that Indian and Israeli defence companies would be jointly produc ing weapon systems in India, which can not only be used for supply to Indian armed forces but for international market also. singh and Benny gantz also discussed part nerships within the government-toernment framework, military training, and technological cooperation with a focus on UaVs and defensive capabilities.

Benny gantz also had a significant meet ing with Indian national security ajit doval. Both leaders reflected on develop ing global challenges and shared operational priorities. they also explored joint ventures that will further deepen cooperation and enhance the capabilities of both defence establishments. Later, Benny gantz paid his respects at the burial place of Lieutenant eral J.F.r. Jacob, one of the most well known military leaders in India’s history, and a fellow Jew. he also connected with the local Jewish community by visiting the Judah h synagogue in new delhi and reaffirmed the state of Israel’s eternal bond with the Jewish diaspora and its commitment to the security of Jews around the world.

even before giving a formal shape to India-Israel defence cooperation, Israel has been helping Indian public sector defence companies in developing state-of-the-art weapon systems and technology. Israel has been assisting India develop anti-ballistic missile systems with its greenpine radar almost two decades ago. similarly, Israel has equipped Indian aWaCs system with its Phal

The decision to use India as production base for high tech Israeli defence systems is of utmost significance for Indian defence industry. The combination of Israeli defence technology with Indian skilled manpower and huge Industrial infrastructure can work wonders and will help India emerge as a leading supplier of defence systems.

It was an honor to be hosted by my friend and counterpart, Minister @rajnathsingh in New Delhi as we mark 30 years of fruitful diplomatic and defense relations between Israel and India. We held an important discussion on future industrial and military cooperation.

con radar, which has been denied to China. Besides, there are many joint development projects in the pipeline, one of which includes the Long-range surface-to-air missile also called Barak-8 for the Indian navy’s war ships. this has already been completed and is being inducted in the armed forces. another significant project that has been agreed is the moU between Indian haL and Israeli IaI to convert Boeing 767 civil aircraft to mid-air refuelling role for the Indian air Force.

India-Israel defence cooperation has thus proved to be a game changer for Indian armed forces. the advanced state-of-the-art defence technology has helped India fight the Pakistani intruders in Kargil in 1999. When Indian air force was unable to target the icy heights of Kargil, occupied by Paki stani army in the guise of militant intrud ers, Israel immediately responded to Indian request by supplying its laser pods to be fit ted on the mirage 2000 fighters.

similarly, Israeli government helped Indian army increase its surveillance and com bat capabilities with urgent supplies of four heron-tP medium altitude long endurance UaVs on lease, for deployment on India-China border areas to counter Chinese aggressive ness, which have now been formally inducted in the army. India-Israel defence relationship can be said to have developed into most close among all Indian defence partners, as Israel has always stood by in difficult times. SP

Trusted Partner to the Indian Armed Forces

Pinaka

Armoured

Giving a further boost to the existing cooperation, a letter of Intent on enhancing cooperation in the field of Futuristic defence Technologies was exchanged

Benny Gantz @gantzbe

Indo-Israel defence cooperation

Lt GeneraL P.C. KatoCh (retd)

reLatIOns BetWeen the POPU LatIOns of India and Israel go back to more than two millen nia. India is known in Israel as an ancient nation with strong cul tural traditions and as an attractive tourist destination. around 40,000 Israeli tourists visit India annually, many of whom have just finished military service. approximately 70,000 Israelis live in India and there are dozens of Chabad-operated community cen ters in India, where many Israelis celebrate holidays and observe religious traditions.

India and Israel signed a Cultural exchange Programme in august 2020 for the period of 2020-23 to facilitate bilateral cultural exchanges spanning all fields of art and culture, including youth exchanges. yoga and ayurveda are popular in Israel and the International day of yoga is attended with great enthusiasm in Israel. about 1,200 Indian students are studying in Israel, mostly at the doctoral and postdoctoral levels. Israel offers postdoctoral scholarships to students from India in all fields as well as short-term summer schol arships. India offers ICCr scholarships to Israeli students annually for various courses in Indian institutions.

Bilateral Relations

India and Israel are strategic partners. India announced its recognition of Israel on sep tember 17, 1950. regular embassies with full diplomatic relations were established between the two countries in 1992.

Prime minister narendra modi visited Israel from July 4-6, 2017. this was the firstever visit to Israel by an Indian Prime minister during which the bilateral relationship was upgraded to strategic partnership. during this visit by Prime minister modi, a memoran dum of understanding (moU) for establishing India-Israel Industrial r&d and Innovation Fund (i4F) by the department of science and technology, India and the national author ity for technological Innovation, Israel was signed. this moU, with a contribution of $20 million from each side over five years is play ing an important role in enabling Indian and Israeli enterprises to undertake joint r&d projects and is benefitting eleven projects that have been approved so far under the i4F. high level political and defence visits from both sides have become a regular feature in bilateral relations between India and Israel. India and Israel have established bilateral consultation mechanisms in all sectors of collaboration including water, agriculture, counter-terrorism and defence. the 16th Foreign Office Consultations were held on december 7, 2020. the first Policy Planning dialogue was held on October 21, 2020. India and Israel are celebrating 30 years of upgrading of diplomatic relations in 2022.

Indian software companies, notably tCs, Infosys, tech mahindra and Wipro are expanding their presence in Israel. during Pm modi’s visit in July 2017, the first meet ing of the newly established India-Israel CeO Forum took place, while its second meeting took place during Pm netanyahu’s visit to India. Israeli companies have invested in India in renewable energy, real estate, water technologies and are also setting up r&d centers and production units in India. Cumulative FdI from India, as of september 2019, was about $118 million. during april 2000 – march 2021, Israel’s direct FdI into India was reported at $224.76 million.

Prime minister narendra modi had also met Israeli Prime minister, at that time, naf tali Bennett on the sidelines of the COP26 Climate summit in glasgow on november 2, 2021. earlier, the annual India-Israel Joint Working group (JWg) on defence was held in Israel on October 26-27, 2021.

Defence and Security Relations regular exchanges between the armed Forces of India and Israel have been ongo ing. during the deployment of the Indian Peacekeeping Force (IPKF) in sri Lanka, Israel trained the Indian navy’s marine Commandos (marCOs) in destroying flat bottom boats of the Ltte operating in

lagoons of the island nation. Personnel from India’s national security guard (nsg) have also been training for counter-terror ism in Israel. during the Kargil Conflict in 1999, Israel was one of the few countries to provide direct military assistance to India.

three Indian ships from the navy’s Western Fleet made a port call in haifa in may 2017 on a goodwill visit. Ins ‘tarangini’, a naval training ship, made a port call in haifa in september 2018. In October 2021, the Indian air Forces (IaF) sent C-130J super hercules aircraft along with garud commandos to participate in the bi-annual multilateral exercise ‘Blue Flag’ designed to strengthen Israel’s coop

eration internationally. In november 2021, then Chief of the army staff general m m naravane made a five-day visit to Israel to meet the top brass of Israel military and civilian leadership and discuss avenues for further enhancing Indo-Israel defence relations. the mea issued a statement say ing, “the army Chief will take forward the excellent bilateral defence cooperation between Israel and India through multiple meetings with senior officials of the security establishment and exchange views on vari ous defence related issues.”

Visit by Israeli Defence Minister Israel’s defence minister, Benjamin gantz, visited India in June 2022, during which both countries decided to expand their defence cooperation focusing on the emerging tech nologies. marking 30 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries, gantz and defence minister rajnath singh signed the ‘India–Israel Vision on defence Cooperation’ to put together a comprehensive 10-year roadmap to identify new areas of collabora tion. this focus on technological cooperation precedes the robust ties in the defence and security sector, spanning arms sales, military exchanges, and counterterrorism engage ment. Both the ministers also exchanged a ‘Letter of Intent’ to enhance cooperation on futuristic defence technologies.

a statement issued by the ministry of defence (mod) said that the two ministers “discussed partnerships within the govern ment-to-government framework, military training, and technological cooperation with a focus on UaVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) and defensive capabilities.” rajnath tweeted, “Warm and productive meeting with the defence minister of Israel, Benjamin gantz in new delhi. discussed key issues pertaining to defence cooperation and global & regional scenarios during the bilateral meeting. We place great value on our strategic Partner ship with Israel. glad that both the countries adopted a ‘vision statement’ which will pave the way for defence cooperation in the future. there is a broad consensus between both the countries on further strengthening the bilat eral strategic and defence cooperation.”

Defence Trade and Technology Cooperation

On October 24, 2018, Israeli defence firm Israel aerospace Industries (IaI) announced that India had awarded it an additional $770 million contract to supply Barak-8 long-range surface-to-air missile systems (Lrsam), also referred to as Barak Lr, to seven surface combatants of the Indian navy. the contract was concluded with IaI’s local partner, Indian state-owned aerospace and defence company Bharat electronics Limited (BeL), which in turn was awarded a $1.2 billion contract from Indian shipyards mazagaon dock shipbuilder Lim ited (mdL) and garden reach shipbuilders and engineers (grse) to deliver the seven Barak-8 Lr sam air and missile systems to the Indian navy in september 2017. the October 24, 2018, contract was preceded by the conclusion of a $630 million deal, signed in may 2017 between IaI and BeL, for the supply of four Barak-8 Lr sam sys tems to the Indian navy.

In april 2017, IaI and BeL also signed a $2 billion deal for, the medium-range surface-to-air (mrsam) missile defence sys tems; the land-based variant of the Barak-8, to the Indian army. the Barak-8 Lr sam missile defence system has been jointly devel

Indo-Israel cooperation: a Glimpse

There is a broad consensus between both the countries on further strengthening the bilateral strategic relations and have adopted a ‘vision statement’ which will pave the way for defence cooperation in the future.

Rafael, IWI,

Navy

Defence Ministers of India and Israel signed the ‘India–Israel Vision on Defence Cooperation’ to put together a comprehensive 10-year roadmap to identify new areas of collaboration

(Clockwise from Top Left) Barak-8 land based MRSAM; Spyder SAM system; Negev LMG; Searcher UAV; Heron TP UAV; Harop loitering munition

PP-15 disengagement is no Loss to china

Lt GeneraL P.C. KatoCh (retd)

aLmOst tWO mOnths aFter the 16th round of Corps Com mander-level India-China talks on the border standoff held on July 17, 2022, the ministry of external affairs (mea) has issued a state ment on september 8, 2022, that reads, “On september 8, 2022, according to the consensus reached in the 16th round of India-China Corps Commander Level meet ing, the Indian and Chinese troops in the area of gogra-hotsprings (PP-15) have begun to disengage in a coordinated and planned way, which is conducive to the peace and tranquility in the border areas.”

next day on september 9, China’s state media global times tweeted: “Chinese and Indian troops in the area of Jianan daban have begun to disengage in a coordinated and planned manner on thursday (september 8), according to consensus reached in 16th round of China-India Corps Commander Level meeting: Chinese defence ministry.”

the 16th round of Corps Commanderlevel talks over the India-China standoff in eastern Ladakh were led by the Leh-based 14 Corps Commander Lieutenant general anin dya sengupta and China’s south Xinjiang military district Commander major general yang yin and had indicated no breakthrough.

during the 15th round of talks, held on march 11, 2022, the Indian side pushed China for the resolution of remaining intru sion areas (dubbed friction points) in Ladakh but there was no breakthrough. India had hoped that a resolution on Patrolling Point

oped by IaI and India’s state-owned defence research and development Organisation (drdO) in collaboration with defence con tractors in India and Israel, including rafael advanced defense systems.

the two countries began joint work on the Lr sam in 2006 with a first successful test firing of the missile system taking place in may 2010. the Barak-8 Lr sam were to be installed aboard Visakhapatnam-class guided missile destroyers, Kolkata-class destroyers, Kamorta-class anti-submarine warfare corvettes, and Project 17a class of stealth frigates, as well as on the Ins ‘Vikrant’, the first indigenously built aircraft carrier. according to IaI, with the contract signed on september 2018, the sales of the jointly developed Barak-8 over the past few years totaled over $6 billion.

Unmanned aerial Vehicles (UaVs), mis siles, and radar systems have dominated India’s purchases from Israel, totaling worth $4.2 billion during the period 2001–2021. In addition is the Project ‘Cheetah’, under which the Indian military’s heron drones are also set to be upgraded by Israel under a nearly `5,000 crore deal. Israel will upgrade the heron’s including arming them for offen sive operations, giving them the ability to undertake precision strikes against the enemy and enabling the herons with the capability of satellite navigation and specialised sensors. Under the project, the medium altitude Long endurance (maLe) Israeli herons, used by all three services, will be upgraded.

major Israeli defence equipment pur chased by India include - one, missiles –derby Beyond Visual range air to air mis siles (BVraam), heron loitering munition, Python-5 BVraam, sPICe-2000 guided bombs, Popeye-1 air to surface missile (asm), skystriker loitering munition; two,

Ind sengagement Ind sengagementsengagement

(PP) 15 in hot springs would be arrived at but the joint statement issued after the talks said that the “two sides carried forward their discussions from the previous round”, 14th round held on January 12, “for the resolu tion of relevant issues along the LaC in the Western sector”. It said both sides “agreed to maintain dialogue via military and diplo matic channels to reach a mutually accept able resolution at the earliest”.

not only was the 14th round of talks inconclusive, the 13th Corps Commander Level meeting that took place on October 21, 2021, also had ended in a stalemate, after which the Indian army said that the “con structive suggestions” it made were not agree able to the Chinese side, which also could not provide any “forward-looking” proposals.

the Chinese later released a press statement calling India’s demands “unreasonable”.

It is significant to note that the 16th round of talks were held 10-days after exter nal affairs minister (eam) s. Jaishankar had an hour long meeting with Chinese Foreign minister Wang yi in Bali, Indonesia, on July 7, 2022, on the sidelines of a meeting of the foreign ministers of the g20 countries. after the discussion, Jaishankar had tweeted that he had focused on specific outstanding issues in India-China bilateral relationship pertain ing to the border situation. But despite this, China gave no indication of any possibility of changing the status quo in eastern Ladakh. how then is this sudden disengagement at PP-15 on september 8, 2022? Prime min ister narendra modi is likely to meet Chinese

Building on the success of Barak-8, in september 2020, India and Israel estab lished a bilateral sub-working group on defence industrial cooperation. this group is expected to facilitate further technology transfers to India. In addition to the above mentioned technology cooperation, other India-Israel ventures include the following:

President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the shanghai Cooperation Organisation (sCO) meet at samarkand, Uzbekistan on septem ber 15-16. It is possible that the mea could have conveyed to the Chinese side that a one-to-one meeting between the two lead ers may not be possible unless Beijing shows some progress on further disengagement. as per news, the Chinese side has pulled back northeast of PP-17a while the Indian troops have pulled back to PP-17. In between is the no-patrol zone which means that India troops can no more patrol up to PP-15 which was our forward PP in this sec tor. On the other hand, China loses nothing. the extent of the buffer zone has not been specified. China has ensured the buffer zone since PP-15 in the Kungrang nullah area provides an access route to Kongka La - a key pass leading into the aksai Chin hinterland and beyond. In the event of any hostilities, China can reoccupy PP-15 at the earliest. as mentioned in these columns earlier, the deepest intrusion by China is at y Junction in the depsang area which denies our patrols to go up to PPs 10, 11, 11a, 12 and 13, even as these PPs were cited short of the Line of actual Control (LaC). moreover, we vacated the Kailash range without linking it with the Chinese withdrawal from depsang and dem chok areas. having consolidated its defences in the intrusion areas, China is sitting pretty in eastern Ladakh with buffer zones in Indian territory, continuing to block traditional patrolling areas in depsang plains and Chard ing nala regions and denying traditional graz ing areas to our locals. the PP-15 disengage ment is just a small lollipop by Beijing. SP

also expressed interest in participating in IsrO’s proposed mission of sending an unmanned craft to the moon. Both coun tries also signed an agreement outlining the deployment of taUVeX, an Israeli space telescope array, on India’s gsat-4 naviga tion and communication satellite.

Unmanned aerial Vehicles (UaVs) – heron, searchers mk-II, harop; three, sensors and radars - eL/m-2075 Phalcon airborne early warning radar system, eL/m-2248 mF-star multi-function radar, eL/m-2084 multi-mission radar system, eLm-2238 naval radar system, eL/m-2052 airborne aesa fire control radar, Litening electrooptical infrared (Ir) sensor system; four, air defence – spyder medium-range surface to air (sam) system, Barak sam system, and five, negev ng-7 light machine guns.

In addition to sensors and heron drones, Israeli hand-held thermal imaging devices and night vision imaging equipment have improved the Indian army’s capabilities in counter infiltration and counter-terrorism operations especially against Pakistan along the Line of Control (LoC) and in counterinsurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir. In march 2021, the Indian army leased four heron drones from the IaI to deploy them on extended surveillance mis sions on the Line of actual Control (LaC). the Barak-8 air and missile defence system is an excellent example of India-Israel tech nology cooperation. the Barak-8 system is available both in land and maritime ver sions. It can intercept targets like fighter aircraft, drones, ballistic, and cruise missiles up to 150 km.

l the IaI is collaborating with hindu stan aeronautics Limited (haL) to con vert used Boeing 767 commercial air craft into mid-air refueling aircraft for the IaF.

l Israel’s elbit systems and Bharat Forge, called BF elbit advanced systems, sup plies artillery guns, guided munitions, and mortar systems to the Indian military.

l the IaI, elbit systems, and rafael advanced defense systems have set up joint ventures with Bharat Forge, tech mahindra, adani group, and tata advanced systems to produce niche subsystems and homeland security systems.

l IaI’s subsidiary, eLta systems, has a joint venture with the tata advanced systems, called hela systems, to man ufacture communications, electronic warfare, and homeland security sys tems.

l India’s Bengaluru-based tonbo Imag ing, specialising in electro-optics tech nology, has been powering Israel’s pre cision-guided bombs for years.

Space Cooperation

In 2002, India and Israel signed a coopera tive agreement promoting space collabo ration. In 2003, the Israeli space agency (Isa) expressed interest to collaborate with the Indian space research Organisation (IsrO) for using satellites to improve man agement of land and other resources. Israel

In 2008, tecsar, Israel’s first syn thetic aperture radar imaging satellite was launched by India’s Polar satellite Launch Vehicle (PsLV). In 2009, India successfully launched rIsat-2, a synthetic aperture radar imaging satellite manufactured by the Israeli aerospace agency (IaI) in conjunc tion IsrO, giving India greater earth obser vation, improved disaster management, and increased surveillance and defence capabili ties. the acquisition and subsequent launch of the rIsat-2 satellite was accelerated after the 2008 mumbai terror attacks to boost India’s future surveillance capabilities.

Conclusion

the ‘India–Israel Vision on defence Coop eration’ to put together a comprehensive 10-year roadmap to identify new areas of collaboration and the Letter of Intent to enhance cooperation on futuristic defence technologies during the visit of Israel’s defence minister Benjamin gantz, visit to India in June 2022, opens up tremendous opportunities to take the Indo-Israel part nership to infinite heights. While Israel would be more than eager for collaboration, our policy makers need to focus on which futuristic defence technologies we need and in what timeframe considering the threats to our national security by China in con junction Pakistan as well as homeland secu rity necessitated by all those who are will ing to destabilise India to further their own national interests.

Chinese side has pulled back northeast of PP-17A while the Indian troops have pulled back to PP-17. In between is the no-patrol zone which means that India troops can no more patrol up to PP-15.

during the Kargil conflict in 1999, Israel was one of the few countries to provide direct military assistance to India

what Type of Light Tank does India need?

Lt. GeneraL j.K. Sharma (retd)

amedIa rePOrt “EyE on China threat, Army launches Project Zorawar to deploy light tanks for mountain warfare” published ear lier goes on to say that the “Indi an army wants the light tank to be amphib ious, allowing it to be deployed across the Pangong tso lake in eastern Ladakh”. Leave aside a strategician, even a person with common knowledge of military tactics would be rather intrigued with this kind of thought process. With the type of sur veillance and acquisition systems deployed across the frontage and precision weapon systems to back the same available, will PLa allow even a single tank to float across the

in print and online news media. On July 28, 2020, post the visit of rajnath singh, defence minister of India to russia, the media reports mentioned of Indian army’s decision to pick up 2s25m sPrUt sdm1 tank destroyer (light tank) under the emer gency purchases clause, as the same is already in service with the russians army for some time. the reports also mention that these tanks will be used to counter Chinese deployment of a large number of similar armoured columns along the Line of actual Control (LaC). It also stated that the army has finalised the general staff qual ity requirements (gsQr) and will approach the defence ministry in september for the acceptance of necessity (aOn) for a tank with a maximum weight of 25 tonnes with

hydro-mechanical full automatic transmis sion which ensures operation at high alti tudes with its powerful engine and oxygen generators.

While there is no denying the need of Light tank, is there prudence in going for a 25 tonne with similar firepower as t-90 and capable of floatation? In its endeavour to ensure one size fits all, essentially imply ing that light tank should also be capable of operating in riverine terrain of north Pun jab/south J&K and rann of Kutch the tank weight has been pegged at 25 tonnes so that it can float. Consequently it would compro mise on protection and other basic fighting features, no matter how much you may load it with artificial Intelligence (aI), surveil lance drones and/or loitering munition.

t here is no doubt that military minds amongst the serving fraternity would have applied themselves on this much needed weapon platform against China but the literature, implanted or otherwise,

Pangong tso across the imaginary LaC? no doubt Indian army needs a light tank, but is this the light tank that we need for the areas in eastern Ladakh and sikkim?

the quest for a light tank was hyped in the aftermath of galwan in June 2020. Implaned articles on “Why India Desper ately needs the Russian Aquatic Tank Killer –The SPRUT against China” started to appear

The Light Tank is needed with a reckoned fire power, adequate armour protection and good power to weight ratio to ensure agility and survivability, the two nonnegotiable characteristics of any armour Fighting Vehicle (aFV)

a margin of 10 per cent capable of floata tion with the same firepower as its regular tanks, but also armed with artificial Intel ligence (aI), integration of tactical surveil lance drones to provide a high degree of sit uational awareness and loitering munition, along with an active protection system. this is a travesty of even naivety. Because PLa opposite deploys Vt-4 main battle tank and type 15 Light tanks. Vt-4 also known as the mBt 3000 previously, is a third gen eration main Battle tank. It is also the latest tank model from t-90 II a series and com pares a shade better than t-99. rightly, so we have t-72 and inducted t-90 after gal wan against the same in Ladakh. type 15 weighs 30 tonnes against which Indian army is looking for a Light tank. this uses a new fully-stabilized 105mm rifled gun and not similar gun as on t-72/t-90, which have a 125mm gun. and that is because a 25/30 tonne tank can never be a stable platform with 125mm gun having a trunnion pull of 102 to 105 tonnes which would hugely affect the efficacy to fire accurately even when static. so the Indian Light tank can not have a 125mm main gun and will have to settle for calibre up to 105mm. secondly, type 15 is powered by a 1,000 hp (746 kW) electronically controlled diesel engine, with

While the armoured Corps makes Quali tative staff requirements for 25 tonne tank capable of floatation, the mechanised Infan try is seeking a Future Infantry Combat Vehi cle (FICV) of similar tonnage but with 30mm Cannon as its main armament and four ready to launch third generation anti-tank guided missiles (atgm), which gives it a tremendous potential as tank destroyer. One of the main and non-negotiable feature of FICV is that it should be capable of floating. and that is why the weight is pegged at 25-27 tonnes.

Indian army has deployed t-72/t-90 medium tanks along with BmP II both in eastern Ladakh and north sikkim opposite China. the requirement of a Light tank of 30 tonne class hence cannot be overempha sised. But to have a tank of 25 tonne Class with floatation capability (least required) while the mechanised Infantry, which forms an integral part of a Combat team/group/ Command along with tanks, proposing for development and acquisition of an FICV of 27 tonne class also with similar protection and floatation capabilities is certainly not a prudent approach as it is not only an issue of duplication of effort amidst scarce resources, which the country is grappling with, but also a matter of complexities of design and development of military hardware.

evince an approach of impracticality. Just as in 2020 we almost bought s P rU t sdm 1, a vintage technology B m P Chassis based system with unstable 125mm tur ret in the name of Light tank, we should not land up having an equipment which is no good either way just because we want to have something and raise additional armoured regiments.

the Light tank is needed with a reck oned fire power, adequate armour protec tion and good power to weight ratio to ensure agility and survivability, the two non-negotiable characteristics of any armour Fighting Vehicle (aFV) and loaded with features of aI, active armour protec tion system, Loitering ammunitions and integrated drones. hence, what Indian army should be looking at is not a 25 tonne floating tank which would be design ers nightmare with these requirements, as no other nation has come up with any thing like this so far. given the expertise of Indian defence Industry, making one even with the assistance of drdO would be a huge challenge. What it should strive for is to have a 30 tonne light tank with 105mm gun, 1000 hP engine and stanag IV/V level protection with other features as mentioned above.

There is no denying the need of Light Tank but is there prudence in going for a 25 tonne with similar firepower as T-90 and capable of floatation? It would compromise on protection and other basic fighting features, no matter how much you may load it with Artificial Intelligence (AI), surveillance drones and/or loitering munition.

PhoTogRAPhs: Rosoboronexport, mod.gov.cn

These tanks will be used to counter c hinese deployment of a large number of similar armoured columns along the Line of actual control

(Left) A Light Amphibious Tank in Action; (Right) PLA deployed Type 15 Light Tank

Self-sufficiency is a Strategic Imperative for India now: coaS

ayuShee Chaudhary

The seCOnd day OF ammo India 2022, witnessed the discussions maturing and expanding around a wide spectrum of topics. Chief of the army staff (COas), general manoj Pande visited the conference for a spe cial session. general Pande stressed that selfsufficiency in critical defence requirements is a strategic imperative now more than ever. “Our external dependence on arma ments and ammunitions have been a matter of concern and the reversing of this trend, which we are witnessing, is quite encourag ing,” he added. as recently released by the defence ministry, the expenditure on defence procurement from foreign sources which used to be 46 per cent of the overall expen diture has reduced to 36 per cent in the last four years i.e. 2018-19 to 2021-22.

addressing a special session, the Chief highlighted the potential for domestic and foreign players in Indian defence produc tion, and stated that atmanirbharta does not mean isolating from the world, but it is self-sustaining and self-generating to promote efficiency, quality, and resilience. “It has been unequivocally stated that col laboration with foreign Original equip ment manufacturers (Oem)s is intrinsic to atmanirbhar Bharat and we have moved from a relationship of buyer-seller to codevelopment and co-production with our foreign partners,” he said.

general Pande stated that the ongoing reforms in the defence sector offer an oppor tunity for the foreign Oems to partner with the Indian companies and work towards our shared objectives. there is a huge potential for exports which can also contribute to the Prime minister’s vision of a $5 trillion econ omy. “therefore, the vision of achieving atmanirbharta in ammunition requires a synergised approach from all stakeholders. together, with the need to turn the initiative into another success story and a win-win situation for all,” he emphasised.

defence Industry sector, which was hitherto reserved for the public sector, was opened up to 100 per cent for Indian private sector participation in may 2001. since the opening up of defence sector, a total of 584 Industrial Licenses have been issued to 358 companies for manufactur

ing of various defence items. the initial validity of the Industrial License granted under the Industries (development & regulation) act has also been increased from 3 years to 15 years. an increase in the validity of Industrial Licenses has pro vided sufficient time and space for compa nies to start operations and manufacture without hindrance, the defence ministry stated in a release.

Further, in order to give a push to the domestic defence industry, the government has taken several policy initiatives in the past few years and brought in reforms to encourage indigenous design, development, and manufacture of defence equipment in the country, thereby expanding the pro duction of indigenous defence equipment to strengthen our armed forces, ministry’s press release highlighted.

the contemporary security environment and changing character of war requires the armed forces to handle a wide spectrum of challenges both in conventional and subconventional domains. “Our interests are best served by being atmanirbhar, espe cially in defence production. self-reliance is among the key factors on which the mili tary capability of any nation rest. a holistic, all-encompassing, well calibrated, multipronged, and futuristic approach in defence production is fundamental to ensure safe guarding our national interest,” he added.

Chief of the army staff also emphasised that research & development (r&d) along with technological progression are equally fundamental to self-reliance. “atmanirb harta in defence production does not limit to production but it should also encompass evolving homegrown capabilities and tech

nologies. For a holistic and self-reliance strategy, it is imperative that ammunition life cycle management capabilities are concur rently established,” he asserted. a significant investment is also needed in establishing r&d infrastructure, testing, and evaluation capabilities to meet our ammunition needs.

he further stated that a pragmatic and actionable indigenous defence produc tion strategy is needed to ensure a secure and sustained supply of ammunitions and armaments as per our national security needs. there is also a need to share the expe riences and technical knowledge of drdO, OFBs, and other PsU units with the indus try to build new capabilities. We need to have a more collaborative and cooperative framework in which all stakeholders work together to reduce import dependence and provide the required impetus to the domes tic capabilities, added general Pande.

according to the ministry of defence (mOd)’s release, in order to enhance the strategic capabilities and develop advanced technology/products some of the initia tives/policies taken/made by the govern ment include:

l announcement of 18 major defence platforms for industry-led design & development in march 2022.

l Launch of innovations for defence excellence (ideX) scheme involving start-ups & micro, small, and medium enterprises (msmes).

l Launch of an indigenisation portal namely srIJan to facilitate indigenisa tion by Indian industry including msmes.

l Opening up of defence research & development (r&d) for industry, startups, and academia with 25 per cent of defence r&d budget earmarked to pro mote the development of defence tech nology in the country.

the government has also taken mea sures to de-stress and upgrade the capabili ties of the soldiers and officers serving in the army, navy, and air Force.

during the special session, n raveeswaran, Co-Chair, FICCI defence & aerospace Committee & head- aerospace & defence strategic Business, mahindra defence systems Ltd highlighted the need to create Indian Oems which can design and create platforms for ammunition systems. “With the government’s push for make in India in recent years, the defence industry understands that the development of both platforms and ammunitions through Indian industry is the way forward,” he added.

ammo India 2022 covered an exten sive range of ammunition requirements of the armed Forces. the conference touched upon ammunition for tanks and armoured fighting vehicles; artillery including fuses; air defence, and aerial munitions; munitions for precision attacks by drones & counterdrone systems; naval munitions and ammu nition for small arms; explosives and mines.

sudhakar gande, Co-Chair, FICCI defence & aerospace Committee & CeOJupiter Capital Pvt Ltd, Co-Chair, and nonexecutive director-aXIsCades engineer ing technologies Ltd reiterated the need for a good infrastructure for testing and r&d he also urged for allowing the Ordnance Factory Boards (OFB) infrastructure to be made available to the private sector through well-defined terms and conditions.

ammo india 2022: General Manoj Pande, Chief of The Army Staff addressing the gathering and later visiting the exhibition

Chief of the Army staff, general Manoj Pande visited Ammo India

2022 for a special session

“It has been unequivocally stated that collaboration with foreign oems is intrinsic to atmanirbhar Bharat and we have moved from a relationship of buyer-seller to a co-development and co-production with our foreign partners,” said the chief

army chief Visits nepal

army ChIeF generaL manOJ Pande arrived in nepal on sep tember 4, 2022, for a four-day visit on the invitation of the Chief of the army staff of nep alese army general Prabhu ram sharma. a tweet from the Indian army said, “gener al manoj Pande, COas proceeded on a fourday visit to nepal. the visit will provide an opportunity to enhance existing bilateral defence ties and strengthen cooperation in areas of mutual interest.”

a statement issued by the ministry of defence (mod) before general Pande’s visit said, “India-nepal relations are historic, mul tifaceted and marked by common cultural and civilisational ties, apart from mutual respect and trust. India attaches highest priority to its relationship with nepal in accordance with its ‘neighbourhood First’ and ‘act east’ policies. this visit will provide an opportunity to take stock of the existing bilateral defence ties and strengthen coop eration in areas of mutual interest.”

during his visit, general Pande called on the President Bidhya devi Bhandari and Prime minister sher Bahadur deuba, aside from holding discussion with general sharma and meeting nepal’s senior military and civilian leadership to discuss avenues for enhancing India-nepal defence relations.

general Pande was conferred with the honorary rank of general of nepal army on september 5, 2022, by President Bid hya devi Bhandari in a ceremony at sheetal niwas, the official residence of the President of nepal. this is a reciprocal long standing

tradition of friendship between India and nepal. When nepal’s Chief of army staff general sharma visited India in november 2021 at the invitation of his Indian coun terpart, he was conferred with the honor ary general of the Indian army during the visit. the tradition has been followed by nepal and India since 1950 after the then Indian army Chief general K.m. Cariappa visited nepal.

general Pande also visited nepal’s army headquarters where he paid homage to the fallen soldiers by laying a wreath and interacted with the senior leadership of the nepalese army. general Pande handed over non-lethal military aid to the nepal army on september 6. this included 10 made in India mine protected vehicles, artillery equipment, medical stores and horses.

In the course of his visit, general Pande addressed the student officers and faculty of nepal’s army Command and staff College at shivpuriin Kathmandu, interacted with them, and later visited the mid-Command headquarters. the mid-Command head quarter was raised on July 16, 2021 at Pokhara, Kaski.

general Pande’s visit to nepal was largely ceremonial though it did provide an opportunity to review bilateral defence relations and explore new avenues of coop eration. But it was in the backdrop of the agnipath scheme launched by India earlier this year. the Indian side had submitted a formal proposal to nepal seeking approval for recruitment of nepalese citizens under the agnipath scheme in July 2022 but there has been no official confirmation or refusal from Kathmandu so far.

In fact, the political message from nepal was that recruitment of nepali youth should be suspended until consensus is achieved among nepal’s political parties. according to nepali media, narayan Khadka, Foreign minister of nepal summoned naveen sriv astava, India’s ambassador to nepal and told him to postpone the plan to recruit nepali youth, who are drafted into the Indian army’s gorkha regiment, under the agnipath scheme.

the Indian army recruits hundreds of nepalese youth for its seven regiments of the gorkha rifles every year under the tri partite agreement signed amongst India, nepal and the United Kingdom in 1947. many quarters in nepal contend that the agnipath scheme violates this tripartite agreement, especially since there is no guarantee that nepalese youth discharged after the four-year service in the Indian army would get another job. there are over 30,000 nepalese residents serving in the Indian army’s gorkha rifles battalions, which additionally embody Indian-domicile gorkhas from darjeeling, dehradun and other locations.

China suffered heavily during the galwan Clash because PLa soldiers are recruited for short tenures. this was pointed out publicly by the Chief of defence staff, general Bipin rawat. even the army had proposed a limited experiment with 100 officers and 1,000 soldiers. rhetoric in the media kept citing short tenures in american and Israeli militaries but the con straints of these countries and their battle conditions compared to India were ignored. agnipath is a political decision – same way

as the directions to Indian army for cutting down its strength by 2,00,000 just because China downsized the PLa by retrenching 3,00,000 troops as part of the military reforms. It is ignored that China still wields the world’s largest military numbering 2.8 million (twice the size of the Us military) and eyes vast tracts of Indian territory.

there is no way that general Pande could have assured that nepalese youth would be absorbed in second jobs after 4-years in the Indian army. significantly, there have been reports of China recruiting tibetan and nepali youth into the PLa since the past two years. Why should nepali youth not look for regular service elsewhere (like in the UK) or short tenures in the PLa instead of in the Indian army? Why would Chinese intelli gence not recruit them for settling down in border areas and elsewhere, like in nepal’s terai region bordering India?

nepal shares a border of over 1850 km with five Indian states (sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttara khand) and is important for India in the context of its overall strategic interests in the region. at the same time being landlocked, nepal relies heavily on India for the transportation of goods and services. nepal’s access to the sea is through India, and it imports a predominant proportion of its requirements from and through India. But India’s refusal to provide regu lar service to nepalese youth in the Indian army will cast a shadow not only on Indonepalese relations but more importantly relations between the armies of both coun tries. Indian army recruiting centres in nepal could well be asked to close shop. SP

Lt GeneraL P.C. KatoCh (retd)

general Manoj Pande’s visit to Nepal was largely ceremonial though it did provide an opportunity to review bilateral defence relations and explore new avenues of cooperation

(Clockwise from Top Left) President of Nepal Bidhya Devi Bhandari conferred the honorary rank of General of Nepali Army on General Manoj Pande; General Manoj Pande called on the Prime Minister of Nepal Sher Bahadur Deuba; General Pande called on General Prabhu Ram Sharma, Chief of the Army Staff, Nepali Army; General Pande visited Mid Command Headquarters, Nepali Army and addressed the gathering

general manoj Pande visited hQ 3 Corps at rangapahar military station, dimapur on august 19, 2022. during the visit, he was accompanied by Lt general r.P. Kalita, gOCin–C eastern Command. the COas was briefed by gOC, 3 Corps, Igar (south) and Igar (north) on border management and hinterland operations to maintain peace and tranquillity in the region. expressing satisfaction over the robust deployment posture and operational synergy, the army Chief commended all ranks of the forma tion for their stellar contribution to improv ing the security situation of ne states and nation building.

QUICK REACTION SAM SYSTEM SUCCESSFULLY TESTED

altitude maneuvering target, low radar sig nature with receding & crossing target and salvo launch with two missiles fired in quick succession. the system performance was also evaluated under day and night opera tion scenarios. during these tests, all the mission objectives were met establishing pin-point accuracy of the weapon system with state-of-the-art guidance and con trol algorithms including warhead chain. defence minister rajnath singh compli mented drdO and Indian army on the suc cessful flight trials.

DRDO TEST FIRES INDIGENOUSLY DEVELOPED LASER-GUIDED ATGMS

Indigenously developed Laser-guided antitank guided missiles (atgm) were success fully test-fired from main Battle tank arjun by drdO and Indian army with support of armoured Corps Centre & school on august 4, 2022. the missiles hit with preci sion and successfully destroyed the targets at two different ranges. the all-indigenous Laser guided atgm employs a tandem high explosive anti-tank (heat) warhead to defeat explosive reactive armour (era) protected armoured vehicles. the atgm has been developed with multi-platform launch capability and is currently undergo ing technical evaluation trials from 120 mm rifled gun of mBt arjun. defence minister rajnath singh complimented drdO and Indian army for successful performance of the Laser guided atgms.

APPOINTMENTS

New Chief of DRDO distinguished scientist Dr Samir V. Kamat, direc tor general naval sys tems & materials (ns & m) has been appointed as secretary, department of defence r&d and Chairman, defence research and development Organisation.

New Commandant of Army AD College

Lt General U.V. Talur took over as Commandant of army air defence Col lege, gopalpur on august 1, 2022.

New Quartermaster General

Lt General Rajinder Dewan took over as Quartermaster general of Indian army on august 1, 2022. Prior to assuming the key appointment, he was command ing the prestigious Brahmastra Corps.

48 hours of validation of training received by both contingents in the first phase.

VIETNAM-INDIA BILATERAL EXERCISE

Publisher and editor-in-chief

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Principal correspondent Ayushee Chaudhary contributors India

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drdO and Indian army have successfully completed six flight-tests of Quick reaction surface to air missile (Qrsam) system from Integrated test range. the flight-tests were carried out against high-speed aerial targets mimicking various types of threats to eval uate the capability of the weapon systems under different scenarios, including long range, medium altitude, short range, high

INDO – US SPECIAL FORCES EXERCISE the 13th edition of the annual India - Usa Joint special Forces exercise VaJra Pra har 2022 culminated at Bakloh (hP) on august 28, 2022. the 21-day joint train ing provided an opportunity for the special Forces from both nations to train in air Borne Operations, special Operations and Counter terrorism operations in a joint environment under United nations Charter. the exercise was conducted in two phases; the first phase involved combat condition ing and tactical level special missions train ing exercises and the second phase included

Trends in artillery... Continued from page 3

require no elucidation. China wields by far the world’s largest military, with 2.8 mil lion soldiers, sailors and airmen; twice the number of the Us military. China is already much advanced in the spheres of cyber space, robotics, autonomous systems, arti ficial intelligence, hypersonic, anti-ballistic systems, quantum computing, nBC and offensive bio-weapon capabilities.

the regiment of artillery of the Indian army has embarked on modernisation to cater for no-war-no-peace and future con flicts, which has been covered elsewhere in this publication. a recent development in this context is the russian howitzer ‘msta 2s19’ that has successfully passed the test in India. alexey shchipanov, Chief designer of the sKB (transmash of special tech nique) JsC Uraltransmash, said that the howitzer was tested in hot climates (2s19 was modernised for use in hot climates), tests conducted in India also using Indian ammunition were successful and that the tests surpasses some of the best world ana logues in a number of characteristics.

On august 31, 2021, the Indian army ordered over 100 tactical ‘skystriker’ loi tering munitions from Bengaluru-based alpha design technologies Private Limited having joint venture with Israel’s elbit sys tems Limited. alpha design technologies, now part of the adani group, is already producing skystriker munitions and will meet Indian army’s requirements within one year. skystriker, launched through an automatic pneumatic launch platform, can reach a distance of 20 km in less than 10

minutes. the total range for the system is around 100 km. designed for long-range precision strike, skystriker can pursue a tar get for up to two hours with a 5-kg warhead or up to one hour with a 10-kg warhead at maximum speed of 100 knots.

Concurrently, the Indian army had also ordered 100 units of ‘swarm drones’ from the start-up newspace research and tech nologies Private Limited costing $15 mil lion. the Indian army intends to use these drones for developing swarming concept of operations and to help design future swarm ing systems. all this is a good beginning though we awakened to the requirement only after the Chinese aggression in eastern Ladakh during may-June 2020.

Future Trends

the artillery will continue to remain vital to armies in future wars because of the four core functions it can fulfill in the modern battle-space:

l one, suppression of enemy fires or coun ter-battery fires;

l two, striking high-value targets;

l three, breaking up enemy force concen trations, and;

l four, providing fire support for assault ing troops and in manoeuvre warfare. the future battle space would be nonlinear with the need for simultaneous engagement in the close, intermediate and depth areas.

Future trends for development of artil lery systems will take into account that the battlefield will be non-linear and the entire

Vietnam-India Bilateral army exercise VIn BaX 2022 concluded at Chandimandir with an impressive display of multi agency hadr demonstration. the exercise commenced on august 1 and was focused on deployment of army engineer and medical teams in Un Peacekeeping operations. For the first time ever that the Vietnam People’s army (VPa) was undertaking a Field training exercise with any foreign army. the contingents from the two countries underwent theory classes followed by practical exercises to validate the learning. the final validation exercise nick named ‘men in Blue’ was built around the setting up of a base in a remote african loca tion faced with myriad challenges. SP

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battle-space would need to be addressed simultaneously through multi-domain operations in the domains of land, sea (surface and sub surface), air, space, cyber, electromagnetic and the cognitive. speed of engagement or response will be a vital requirement, which may boil down to not seconds but milliseconds. this would require foolproof or quantum communi cations and a command structure right up to the military-civil hierarchy for emer gent decision taking unless a fair degree of decentralisation has already been insti tuted. this can make all the difference between wins and losses where the initia tive has struck first.

advances in surveillance technologies imply that the defender should not only locate and engage the enemy targets first (when required) but also deny the same to the enemy. artillery has an important role in this including in the overall decep tion plan through harassing and decep tive fire plans to deceive the enemy. also, the artillery has an equally important role in post strike damage assessment through unmanned aerial vehicles (UaVs) and other devices. the same devices also help locate terrorists and terrorist hideouts enabling counter terrorist operations, even use of artillery where required.

Finally, the artillery will remain a vital component in future warfare, especially in hybrid wars. technologies to optimise the use of artillery will continue to be devel oped, as well as counter technologies to deny such optimisation by the enemy.

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