Mountain Strike Corps Program is on Schedule, Army Chief

Mountain Strike Corps Program is on Schedule, Army Chief

     Army Cheif General Dalbir Singh confirms the Mountain strike corps program is on schedule and could be completed by 2021, General also rectified the contraindicating reports about reducing the number of Soldiers in the strike corps, saying there is no cut in the strike corps size, the Strike corps comes with powerful weapons and air lift supports along with 90,000 Personnel's.

     Army plans to spend more than $10 billions for the new strike corps in the next seven years, The fund mostly used to constructing new infrastructures, buying new equipment's, armaments and air borne platforms,  As per earlier reports the 17th corps will be garrisoned at Panagarh, Bengal. The New corps is a special action group specially to face off against the Chinese troops.

     The new force with modern equipment's could be deployed close to the borders of China, specially in disputed Arunachal and Leh area's. China and India shares some 3448 kilometer long border starting from Arunachal to Ladakh, Most of the Chinese borders are guarded by the ITBP police, and some crucial sneaking points are closely guarded by the Indian Army's strike teams like 1st Corps, 2nd Corps and 21st corps,

     The New corps comes with powerful light weight howitzers and multi role transport aircraft's like C 130 J for quick deployment in any target area within a minutes. The newest acquisition plans like CH 47 which is used and funded by Indian Army, Additional number of C 130 J tactical transports  and the attack helicopters like Advanced AH 64 and Indian developed Light Combat Helicopter's too.

    China already setups enough number of Military cantonments close to border which was interconnected by proper road transports, which can be  used for quick deployment close to Indian border significant step for infiltration. India yet to construct border out post and roads close to border, due to the mountain terrain and weather condition the plan frozen, with new funds and equipment Indian's Army's Border Road Organization soon start working to laying roads and bridges.

    The Strike Corps gets most sophisticated fire arms like ultra light Howitzers M-777, new generation mortars and other equipment's, However there is no information's provided about the small fire arms, like Assault Rifles and Sniper's. Sources confirmed the new strike corps is the first one who receives the modern third generation Spike Anti tank missile, which would be bought from Israel and assembled in India.

   The Army chief purposely said about the acquisition of  Spike missiles and M777 guns to the strike corps, It's already confirmed that the new squad of C 130 J and CH 47 F also for the 17th corps.

An year of defense under Modi

An year of defense under Modi

          Yesterday we had seen what was expected from Parrikar’s office. Today we’ll concentrate on what the DAC or the CCS has cleared. The DAC headed by the defense ministry is meeting repeatedly to fast track the acquisition process. In the DAC defense minister is assisted by chief of the armed forces and secretaries.

The crucial Rafale deal

          With an ambitious aim to provide IAF with the state of the art fighter jets, India in 2007 floated the MMRCA deal. IAF was to receive 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft from a foreign firm, even more ambitious was the plan to manufacture these jets in India under ToT. After an extensive and detailed technical evaluation in 2012, IAF cleared the Dassault Rafale taking into consideration the technical details, operational and maintenance costs over the EU pitched ‘Eurofighter Typoon’. 

   Even after a long negotiation drama Dassault and India never came into terms and the deal was in deadlocks for most of the time. Even diplomatic level meetings and negotiations had failed to yield any results.  Under the UPA term the MMRCA deal never materialized.

      The NDA government soon after coming into power put the MMRCA deal on fast track. Several diplomatic and high level management meets were held to help materialize the deal. A major announcement in this regard was made during Modi’s visit to France. 

  

         The government went into a G-G deal under which Dassault would supply 36 Rafale’s to India in fly away condition. The deal is estimated at around $8 billion. The decision has been criticized as being converted from ‘Make in India’ to ‘Make in France’ but such a move was very necessary taking into considerations the current scenario of IAF.  

         The government hasn’t official confirmed the fate of the MMRCA deal, being a globally awarded tender the procedure to cancel the tender is pretty long. The government will have to issue a notification canceling the tender informing the global contenders. A final agreement in this deal is still awaited.

 M777 Howitzer

 
     The DAC has given its principle accord to acquire 145 M777 howitzers for the Indian Army. The deal is valued at around Rs 4500 crore. The deal is cleared under the ‘Make in India’ campaign and has been awarded to BAE systems. BAE will now scout for an Indian partner to start with the production of these ultra light howitzers in India. These howitzers weigh around 3 tonne and can be easily transported by a heavy lift helicopter. 

 
     The deal will be taking place under the Foreign Military Deal (FMS). The M777 are highly capable battle guns which have seen action in Iraq and Afghanistan. M777 can fire a 155mm artillery shell up to 40km. The M777 will be the first artillery gun Indian Army will be seeing almost after 30 years. BAE has promised to relocate its final production line to India by collaborating with a local private firm.

 Apache AH64 and Chinook CH47

    The DAC has cleared the requirements of the Air force for Apache AH64 attack helicopters and Boeing manufactured Chinook CH47 heavy lift helicopters. IAF intends to acquire 22 AH-64D Apache longbow attack helicopters and 15 CH-47F heavy lift helicopters in a deal worth well over $3.1 billion.
     
      The IAF currently operates the aging Mi-35 which is the basic attack helicopters. To replace the aging fleet of these Mi’s IAF came with plans to acquire the Apache. The Apache is one some of the most feared machines on the present battle field, armed with Hellfire missiles an hover of the Apache can annihilate the enemy positions.

 
     The Apache’s have range of 476 km, powered by two GE T700-GE-701C engines the copter can climb almost 2500 feet/min. It can carry an array of weapons, with the M230 chain gun serving as the primary weapon system. Hellfire missiles, Hydra rockets and stinger missiles complete the whole weapons package. Apache seen excessive battle in Iraq and Afghanistan and has been the most after sought CAS platform for ground operations.

      The Chinook are the most versatile heavy weight lifters on the battle field. The Chinook are famous for the role they played in ‘Operation Geronimo’ and their hoist capability is unmatched by any other aircraft. The Chinook can hoist Howitzers, crucial supplies, battle field vehicles and even fighter jets. Powered by two Lycoming T-55-GA-714A turboshaft engines which collectively produce a thrust of 7056 kW. Chinook can be used to transport troops, supplies and artillery movement. 

     The Chinook can transport up to 55 troops or can hoist a maximum load of 12700 kg. They are surely the heaviest lift capable helicopters for the western bloc and have been receiving upgrades throughout its lifetime. Once inducted the Chinook will be the most capable lifter of the IAF and can replenish the front line forces with crucial supplies at shorter span of time.


Airbus C295 – The Avro replacement

  
     The decision to equip IAF with the Airbus C295 is a major breakthrough decision. One for it replaces the aging Hawker Sidley 748M twin turboprops and it is a huge boost for the ‘Make in India’ campaign. The deal also gains importance since it is the first deal to be signed under private partnership agreement. 

     The C295 acquisition for the first time will see the participation of an Indian based private company participating in an aircraft project. Airbus and Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL) have formed a consortium to supply IAF with 56 tactical transport aircraft under a deal worth around $2 billion.

      IAF will receive 16 C295 in fly away condition and another 40 aircraft will be manufactured in India under a TOT. The C295 is a new generation, highly versatile and combat proven tactical airlift aircraft. The aircraft is capable of carrying payloads up to nine tonnes. Powered by two powerful six bladed Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127G turboprop engines which collectively produce 5290 hp the aircraft can attain a maximum cruising speed of 480 km.

   The short take-off & landing (STOL) feature guarantees the aircraft can land in short and rough airstrips or make shift airstrips and serve the nerve centre of the battle field. Rapid transfer and on flight care is the need of the hour when performing casualty evacuation missions for which it is fitted with Casevac and Medevac systems developed by Airbus. The aircraft can carry up to eight stretchers for performing Casevac missions and can serve as front line hospital when configured under Medevac mission carrying mobile intensive care units (ICU) with life support equipment.


Article Karthik Kakoor

Why Mountain Strike Corps

Why Mountain Strike Corps

   

    The situation has escalated overtime across the Line of Actual Control (LAC), with Chinese repeatedly entering Indian Territory the tensions are high, and the hostile environments have hampered any measures Indian forces have taken overtime. LAC scales along one of the most hostile environments and is rigged with glaciers, rivers and mountains. These have served as natural barriers against any threat posed by China. The mountains at several places scale down to form valleys and at places can be scaled and an attack can be mounted. Even though the countries have held diplomatic meetings to solve the border issues, not much headway has been made. Both the countries have refused to recognize the McMahon line, which had substantially answered the disputed Arunachal border issues.

         Ranging from Kashmir's Aksai chin to the Eastern Arunachal, India shares a border which has been disputed for a long time. Claims of China over these areas led to the 1962 war, China not only fought for Aksai Chin but also waged war to claim its control over Arunachal Pradesh. After the war China controlled most of the Aksai Chin area and also claimed borders along Arunachal. Arguing over the agreements made when drawing the LAC, China waged another war but was repelled by the army.

         Arunachal attained its statehood in 1987, China repeatedly pressurized the Indian government to revert its decision failing which China warned of staging a war and annexing the disputed areas. Even though the situation slipped out of hands, it was controlled with the interference of various superpowers. To check the aggression of Chinese forces, Indian government setup the ITBP under the Home ministry which was responsible for controlling the borders along the LAC.

      ITBP has a tremendous track record and at several times has repelled any move by the Chinese. But in the recent times, Chinese have increased their presence and forces along the border. With increased Chinese presence and aggression, ITBP alone can’t handle the border situation, therefore it is crucial the government sets up another regiment that can act as an force multiplier thus checking the Chinese. A regiment raised among the existing regiments would not answer to this threat, rather the government has to raise a specialized regiment which can effectively handle the Chinese in these hostile environments.

       A specialized regiment with modern weaponry is the answer for this situation. This regiment would be specially trained for countering the aggressive moves by the Chinese. This regiment would be equipped to fight the Chinese in a hostile environment without much hindrance.

Why does India need an exclusive force to handle the Chinese?

      Chinese have bettered their conditions across the border over the years, the Chinese now enjoy one of the best infrastructural facilities and clubbed with the modern facilities at their disposal the Chinese reaction time will be extremely minimal. Hence it is crucial the government not only develops the infrastructure along the border but also sets up a corps that can retaliate within a moment’s notice.

        The government is now setting up Mountain Strike corps, which will have its headquarters at Panagarh in West Bengal, the corps will have a sanctioned strength of around 90000 soldiers. Panagarh and Pathankot under the Eastern command will host the new regiments. This regiment clubbed with the ITBP and the high altitude mountains which serve as a natural barrier, promise to keep the Chinese aggression along the LAC under control. 

Editor Karthik Kakoor

DAC sets the Course for a Safer Future

DAC SETS THE COURSE FOR A SAFER FUTURE

M777 Ultra Light Howitzer

       Delivering the promise of fast tracking the procurement process, the DAC headed by the MoD, Manohar Parrikar met yesterday night clearing crucial procurement's for the forces. The tri-services chiefs were in attendance to the crucial meet where clearance was accorded to crucial procurement's to overcome the short falling in the forces. The DAC has cleared procurement's of up to $3.4 billion.

Avro Replacement

       In a major decision the DAC has finally paved the way for the replacement of the aging Avro’s. DAC has finally given its consent to consortium formed by Airbus and Tata.  The Avro replacement deal is estimated around 11930 crore, under which India will procuring 56 aircraft. Airbus has fielded it’s C295 for the replacement and deal and has also signed a deal with Tata to co-produce it in India.

    Under the deal, 16 aircrafts will be procured in fly away conditions and the rest 40 will be manufactured in India. This is a significant step in the ‘Make in India’ campaign and this deal will effectively make Tata the first private company to setup an assembly line to manufacture aircraft in India. The numbers of these tactical aircraft is expected to increase with time, Indian navy and Coast guard have already expressed their interest to procure the aircraft.

C 295

 LUH Replacement

           The aging Cheetah and Chetak fleet have been one of the most agonizing machinery in service. The Navy, Air force and Army operate more than 100 crafts. These aging machines have met with several crash and had greatly reduced the efficiency of the forces in the front line. Even though plans to replace these crafts were drawn several years ago the program has finally taken wings in this DAC meet.    long delayed procurement finally seems it's order, the Army operates more than 100 of Vintage French origin HAL built Cheetah and Chetak helicopters which is already The Ka 226T designed by the Russians has finally won the tender process and will soon replace the aging fleet.

         The order is expected to be around 200+, the helicopter would again be produced in India by an Indian private company and the program is slated to be a major relief to rotary operation wing.

Ka 226T

 Light weight Howitzer M777

      To counter the moves of China, India has planned to setup a mountain strike corps. This regiment is in-charge of checking any aggressive moves by the Chinese and will also be one of the first parties to enhance the Chinese, should a full scale war break out between the countries. Artillery guns has been one of the most lacking fields in the army, thanks to the famous Bofor’s deal any future plans to procure these guns have always run into turbulent waters.

    The DAC has finally cleared the procurement of the M777 from the US, these artillery guns are extremely light weight and can be easily transported with the help of even a medium helicopter. The M777 deal is valued at around $700 million, the army will be procuring nearly 145 units. BAE has come forward to supply the howitzers by locally producing them in India with an private player.

 Air force and Navy

 DAC has also approved the procurement of 36 Pilatus PC 7 IJT, this will be a follow on to the orders placed by the air force.

 DAC has also given its nod to accument ALG (Advanced Landing Grounds). IAF will also receive modern communication systems.

 Stressing for an office in the skies for the PM and the President, DAC has given clearance to procure two Boeing 777-300 from the state carrier, Air India, this aircraft will then be fitted out with an advanced radar and warning system. The aircraft will also be fitted with defensive systems which can deploy chaffs and flares to counter any missile threats. The aircraft will be replacing the aging 747 that have for long served the PMO and the President’s office.

The frontline Talwar and Delhi destroyers will now be fitted with the potent BrahMos system. The navy will now receive 69 BrahMos missiles which will fitted on all the Talwar and Delhi destroyers. 

 DAC has also allocated about 30 crore, signalling the start of the IACII project. DAC has also set apart 3 crore, for the modernization of Kochi ship yard. Tele-medicine facilities for the Navy has been cleared at around 62 crore. 

 Editor Karthik kakoor