*New weapons, vehicles, surveillance system inducted
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, July 8: Sending loud and clear message to China of its preparedness along Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh, the Indian Army has carried out drills for crossing Indus river and targeting the enemy in case of any misadventure by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
Besides carrying out drills, the Army has also inducted many new weapons in the recent past to match the PLA strength which include Dhanush Howitzer, M4 Quick Reaction Force Vehicles, All Terrain Vehicles and Tata Rajak Surveillance System among others. The K-9 Vajra Self-Propelled artillery guns are also likely to be inducted in the Army shortly.
Officials said the Army carried out special drills using tank formations with T-90 and T-72 tanks and BMP Infantry Combat Vehicles to cross Indus river whenever need arises in case of any mischief by the Chinese troops which have been deployed in large strength across LAC for over three years now after Sino-Indian standoff started in Eastern Ladakh.
Indus flows from Tibetan territory controlled by the PLA through Eastern Ladakh before entering Pakistan.
“Special drills were conducted by the Army to keep itself ready for any eventualities in Eastern Ladakh especially in case of the PLA trying more incursions using routes of valleys,” the officials said, adding the Indian troops don’t want to take any chance and will always be ready to meet the adversary though for past quite some time now, no major incident has taken place between the two Armies in the area.
Indian Army is one of the very few armies in the world that operates tanks at high altitudes up to 16,000 feet, and that too in large numbers.
Officials said induction of tanks into the Army increased manifold after Galwan clash between Sino-Indian troops in Eastern Ladakh in 2020. Earlier, exercises using tanks were confined to plains like Punjab and deserts like Rajasthan but it is might of the Indian Army that now they are being carried out in mountainous areas like Eastern Ladakh.
It may be mentioned here that tanks and BMPs from plains and deserts were flown to Eastern Ladakh by the IAF’s C-17 and Ilyushin-76 transport aircraft.
Meanwhile, the Indian Army during past some time has inducted many new and sophisticated weapons to further strengthen the troops deployed in Eastern Ladakh.
They include Indian-made Dhanush Howitzer which is more advanced and can strike targets at up to 48 kilometres. This modern two-system has ability to target above 4000 meters of sea level with accuracy of 48-kilometre target. It has six types of ammunition and can fire three rounds in the first fire, the officials said.
Over 100 guns developed and produced by the erstwhile Ordnance Factory Board would also be given to the Indian Army shortly, the officials said.
Another Made in India platform which is proving very useful for moving troops at very high speeds to the forward locations is the M4 Quick Reaction Force Vehicle which can take 10 combat-ready armed troops to the forward locations along the LAC. It can move at speed of around 60-80 Km per hour even in the harsh terrain of Ladakh sector.
This vehicle was designed for a total of 10 soldiers and has fight fire pots by which the jawan can fire effectively. It has facility for auto weapons that can fire at long range. In Eastern Ladakh, Army can use this vehicle at a speed of 60-70 kilometres.
The need to have such light armour-protected vehicles was felt when the adversary troops were using their fast-moving vehicles to reach the forward locations quickly during face-offs in the early phases of the military standoff.
The M4 Quick Reaction Force Vehicles started getting inducted into the force last year and the Army has plans of inducting such vehicles in more numbers soon, as per the officials. The Army has also inducted All-Terrain Vehicles in significant numbers.
These vehicles with the capability to carry four to six troops in one go are being used to carry loads and equipment to forward posts to sustain the troops there.
The surveillance equipment in the Army inventory has also been strengthened as the new Tata Rajak system has been inducted into the force which can observe or detect humans from more than 15 kilometres and vehicles from more than 25 kilometres, the officials said.
The new equipment is helping the troops to keep an eye on the movement of the adversaries across the LAC.
The Army proposed to induct K-9 Vajra Self-Propelled Artillery Guns in the Eastern Ladakh sector as they have been proven successfully in the last couple of years.
The Army may get more than 100 such guns.
For equipping troops to tackle enemy tanks and armoured fighting vehicles, the Indian Army has provided the Spike anti-tank guided missiles in the Eastern Ladakh sector.
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