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Second in a three part Briefing Series comparing Pakistan versus India from the military viewpoint, with research conducted in open sources online which include archives of printed sources such as periodicals, newsletters, official (public) reports, and newspapers.  This second part in the series documents the basics of the military in India.  The first part detailed the Pakistani military.  The third part of the series will go into an in-depth analysis of the two militaries, commenting on the strengths and weaknesses of each.

The full report begins at Part I on MILNET.

MILNET Briefing:  Pakistan and India

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Part II

India 

Kashmir has been the main area of contention between India and Pakistan since India seized the area in a brief battle only a year after Pakistan became a nation (Britain divided and freed India in 1947).  Ever since the two countries have maintained hundreds of thousands of troops at the "line of control".

Two wars have occurred over the disputed region during 1965 and 1971.  The last major conflict between India and Pakistan began in  May of 1999, near Kargil at the northern "line of control" of the Kashmir province and concluded with a Pakistani withdrawal due to Indian pressure assisted by the U.S in July of 1999.

More recently, Pakistani Islamic extremists attacked, during session, the Indian parliament, killing a number of Indian leaders, causing an immediate ratcheting up of tensions, with both sides moving large formations of troops and weapons to the border between the two countries.  This followed intense negotiations by the U.S. during the U.S. attack on the Taliban government in Afghanistan, hoping to keep the Pakistani and Indian situation in hand while U.S. troops remain on the ground and have been staged from Pakistan.


Indian Army (1.1 million men and women)

The Indian Army was initially divided into two major commands, East and West Command.  The Eastern Command headquarters has moved from its original Lucknow location on several occasions as conflicts with Pakistan and changes in communications technology have provided lessons in geographical control for these two complete headquarters groups.

Today the Eastern Command headquarters is located in Fort William, Calcutta, with Lucknow acting as a Central Command headquarters

Western Command has also undergone physical relocation over the years, with duplicate headquarters in both Shimla and Bhatinda. After 1971, Headquarters Northern Command was established at Udhampur, taking over responsibility for Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. Sihmla was later considered unsuitable for Headquarters Western Command and so was moved to Chandigarh with Punjab and Northern Rajasthan under its jurisdiction.

Command Headquarters can be likened to a Field Army or even an Army Group Headquarters with a General Officer Commanding-in-Chief presiding over matters in the rank of a (three-star) Lieutenant General. Next the line are the Corps Headquarters, which are Field Army Headquarters elsewhere.  The Indian Army's combat formations are now grouped and tailored under many such Corps Headquarters (with some forces being retained under static Area Commands).

The static Areas, Sub Areas, or Independent Sub Areas span the length and breadth of the country. These look after infrastructure (and lines of communications) assets, relieving field formations from the tedium of administering a multiplicity.of support installations located in an area. Area' boundaries conform to state (or a group of states) administrative boundaries.

In terms of administeration, the Army Chief of Staff commands various coordinating officers embodied in two Deputy Chiefs of Staff reporting to the Vice Chief of Staff.  However, the Army Chief of Staff has direct command over his Army Commanders (Arms and Services) in operations with administrative officers having absolutely zero operational power.

The Principal Service Officers (PSOs) maintain classic military designations:

Corps Headquarters are designed to. handle an all-arms field army- of three to five divisions or their equivalents.  Army Headquarters reserves could be mammoth-size or small, but powerful in either case.

Divisions and independent  brigade groups are designated by function, terrain of operation, or by their equipment mix.
The Army has in its Order of Battle, mountain divisions, infantry divisions, armoured divisions  (in which  tank units predominate) and mechanized divisions (in which mechanized infantry units predominate).

Independent brigade groups, as the name suggests, are vested with limited capability to carry out an independent mission. Independent brigade groups or independent brigade-sized formations may be armoured, mechanized, air defense (missile or gun), parachute, engineer,  field artillery, electronic warfare or even standard infantry and mountain. These form 'Corps/Army troops', that is, they are held at Corps and Army levels for balancing out missions and task forces. At these levels, one would find heavy logistic support units  in terms of supply, transport, field ordnance depots, and medical
facilities.

The major Corps of the Indian Army are:

Source:  Indian Army website
 

Field Formations

An Infantry Division has about 15,500 combat troops, with 8000 support elements (artillery, engineers, etc). It consists of 3 to 5 Infantry Brigades, an Armoured Regiment and an Artillery Brigade. In the HQ companies of battalions there are pioneer platoons - for engineering work (demolitions, mine clearing, etc.) and signal units. These personnel also serve as infantry men. Engineers are practically combat troops since with their bridging equipment and reconnaissance may well spearhead an advance. Signals troops are also responsible for Electronic Warfare (EW).

An Armoured Division consists of 3 to 5 armoured brigades, a mechanised brigade and an artillery brigade. It has a strength of 300 to 400 tanks and an equal number of other armoured vehicles. In terms of manpower, an armoured division is much smaller than an infantry division.

An Infantry Brigade is commanded by a Brigadier, who is assisted by a Brigade Major and Staff Officers. It consists of three Infantry Battalions and depending on the circumstances, detachments of artillery, signals and sappers are provided. If needed, supply, transport, medical, and other units are also attached.

An artillery brigade has 3 to 5 artillery regiments, with 60 to 100 artillery guns. Artillery is being standardized on the 130mm M46 Field Gun, adding 120mm mortars to mortar platoons and incorporating two 30mm AGS-17 automatic grenade launchers. Under the 2000 Field Artillery Rationalization Plan, the Army expects to procure 4000 self-propelled & towed howitzers of 155mm calibre to equip its 200 artillery regiments. This procurement program is expected to be spread over the next two decades, and filled through a combination of outright purchase and licensed manufacture.

Artillery units have very important AOP (Air Observation Posts) units, using helicopters, and vital meteorological and survey teams. These are important, since the accuracy of artillery fire depends on wind speed/direction, the humidity and an accurate survey of the firing position. Thus all Artillery Officers are science graduates - specializing in mathematics and physics. Artillery Units have SATA (Surveillance And Target Acquisition) batteries which have indigenously-manufactured battlefield surveillance radar as well as artillery locating radar. This dramatically enhances the effectiveness of Indian artillery. A number of Israeli-made Remote Piloted Vehicles (RPVs) are being obtained for the targeting of the Prithvi SRBM.

A Brigade, when not part of a division and located & designed to function independently, is called an Independent Brigade. It is provided with additional supporting arms (Artillery, Engineer, Signals, etc.) and services (Army Service Corps, Army Ordnance Corps, Electrical & Mechanical Engineers, etc.) units to operate independently for the required task.

Battalion: Commanded by a Colonel, the battalion is self-contained, hence it is the Infantry's main
fighting unit. It has a 2nd-in-Command (2-in-C) and six Company Commanders, commanding the HQ,
with four infantry companies (each with three infantry platoons) plus a Support Company with mortars,
machine guns and SAMs/ATGMs. Artillery and armoured formations have battalion equivalents called
regiments. These are organized in a similar manner - armoured regiments have four tank squadrons
while artillery regiments have between three and four artillery batteries. All of these formations are of
similar size, about one thousand men.

The following lists the Field Formations of the Indian Army

• 3 Armoured Divisions
• 4 RAPID Divisions + 18 Infantry Divisions + 10 Mountain Divisions
• 5 Independent Armoured Brigades
• 7 Independent Infantry Brigades
1 Artillery Division
• 1 Parachute Brigade
• 15 Independent Artillery Brigades
• 6 Air Defence Brigades + 2 Surface-to-Air Missile Groups
• 4 Engineer Brigades
• 14 Army Aviation Helicopter Units
Sub-Units
• 63 Tank Regiments
• 7 Airborne Battalions
• 360 Infantry Battalions
• 4 Para Cdo. Battalions
• 40 Mech. Inf. Battalions
• 200 Artillery Regiments
• 35+ Air Defence Regiments
• 20 Combat Helicopter Units
Sources:  BHARAT RAKSHAK  Web Site,   Indian Army website, Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies - Indian Army.

Equipment: (note equipment totals are not specified for reasons of security)

Tanks:  T-55 modified to 120mm gun (ex-Soviet), T-72 with 125 mm gun (ex-Soviet), Vijayanta with 105mm gun (India-UK)

APC (Armored Personnel Carrier:  BRDM 2, BMP 1 & 2, OTR 62/64

Artillery:  75/24 Mtn, Yugo 76mm M-48, 105 mm IFG I/II, 105 mm M-56, 122 mm D-30, 130 mm M-46, 155 mm FH-77B

Self Propelled Artillery:  105 mm Abbot, 130 mm M-46 mod on Vijayanta

Mortars:  81 mm L16A1, 120 mm M-43, 120 mm Brandt AM-50, 160 mm M-160

Anti Tank Guided Missiles (ATGW):   Milan, At-3 Sagger, AT-4 Spigot, AT-5 Spandrel

Recoiless Rifles/Missile Launchers, etc.:  20 mm Oerlikon, 23 mm ZU 23-2, 23 mm ZU 23-4-SP, 30 mm 2S6SP, 40 mm L40/60, 40 mm L40/70

Surface-to-air Missiles (SAMs):  SA-6, SA-7, SA-8A/B, SA-9, SA-13, SA-16, AKASH, TRISHUL

 Source:  Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies - Indian Army.
 

Special Forces
Army

• Para-Commandos
Navy
• Marine Commando Force
Counter-Terrorist Units
• National Security Guards
Independent Units
• Special Frontier Force
• Special Security Bureau
• Special Protection Group
As is typical for most special forces, the Indian SpecOps warrior has access to any weapon made in the world and chooses the best weapon for the mission.  Examples range from Uzi sub-machine guns,  AK-47, to sniper weapons such as semi-automatic H&K 7.62mm PSG-1 and MSG-90, the SIG 7.62mm SSG-2000 and the bolt-action Mauser SP66/86SR


Indian Air Force (120,000 men and women)

Operates some 1700 aircraft
Five operational commands consisting of:

The Indian Air Force is commanded by the Chief of Air Staff, the Vice Chief of Air Staff and four Deputy Chiefs of Air Staff: There are also the Directorates of Air Intelligence and Public Relations.  The Defense of India is controlled by the three geographical commands: The Air Force is organized into 20 squadrons containing some 504 aircraft.

Fighter Squadrons:


Transport Squadrons:

Source:  the Indian Air Force web page online.

Indian Air Force Aircraft Summary (note that the counts can be upto 5 year old estimates):
 
Cnt Designation 
Description
Nuclear
Capable
Speed Range (km)
116 Jaguar Fighter Bomber (UK) 5-500kT M1.5 2600
200 MiG-27 Fighter Bomber (Russia) 5kT-1MT M1.7 1100
74 MiG-29 Fighter  Bomber (Russia) 5-200kT M2.35 1500
18 SU-30 Flanker K Fighter Bomber (Russia) 5kT-1MT  M2.0 1500
42 Mirage 2000 Fighter Bomber (France) 5kT-1MT M2.0 850km
10 TU-142 Bear Long Range Bomber (Russia) 5kT-100MT M1.2 13000km
4 TU-22 Backfire Long Range Bomber (Russia) 5kT-100MT M2.3  
320 MiG-21M Fishbed Multi-role, air or ground attk (Russia)   M2.1  
65 MiG-23 Flogger Dual Role (Air-to-Air/Bomber) (Russia)   M2.3  
8 MiG-25 Strategic Recon (Russia)   M3.2  
52 Mirage 2000H  Air to air interceptor (France)   M2.3  
20 Jaguar Sepacat 1M Marine Attack (UK)   M1.3  
Dev LCA (300 sought) Light Combat Aircraft (India)    
38 Canaberra Patrol Aircraft (UK)   933kmph  
10 Mi-26 Heavy Lift Troop Helicopter (Russia)   295kmph  
20 Mi-25 Transport Gun Ship Helo   310kmph  
80 Mi-17 Light transport gunship Helo   240kmph  
20 Chetak Light transport gunship Helo   220kmph  
20 Cheetah Medevac helo   121kmph  
20 HF-24 Marut Single Engine, phased out 1983 (India)   938knts  
80 Ajeet Single engine sub-sonic fighter (India)   580knts  
242 HJT-16 Kiran Jet Trainer Aircraft (India)    
20 Hunter Single engine sub-sonic attack (UK)   715mph 1840 miles
12? IL-76D Large Jet Transport   750knts  
From the Federation of American Scientists online and the Indian Air Force web page onlinem and BHARAT RAKSHAK  Web Site
 

Summaries by Aircraft Type
 

Attack Aircraft (20 squadrons, 415 aircraft)
Type No. of Sqns. Unit Est. per Squadron Maintenance Reserves per Squadron Attrition Reserves per Squadron Total
MiG-21M/MF 3 16 2 3 63
MiG-23BN 3 16 2 3 63
MiG-27ML 9 16 2 3 189
Jaguar IS 4 16 2 3 84
Jaguar IM 1 12 2 2 16

 
Fighter Aircraft (20 squadrons, 420 aircraft)
Type No. of Sqns. Unit Est. per Squadron Maintenance Reserves per Squadron Attrition Reserves per Squadron Total
MiG-21FL 3 16 2 3 63
MiG-21bis 10 16 2 2 200
MiG-23MF 1 20 5 5 30
MiG-29B/S 3 18 2 3 69
Mirage 2000H 2 16 2 2 40
Su-30K 1 16 1 1 18

 
AEW / ELINT (20)
Type Total
Boeing 707C (Command Post) 2
Boeing 737 (Command Post) 2
HAL Hs.748 (Elint*) 5
Boeing 707 (Elint) 2
IL-76MD (Elint) 2
Gulfstream III SRA 2
HAL Hs.748 (AEW**) 2
IAI Astra 3

 
Recon / Electronic Warfare (62)
Type Total
MiG-25R/U (Recon*) 8
Canberra PR.57/67 (Recon) 8
MiG-21R (Recon) 12
Mod MiG-23BN (EW**) 16
Mod MiG-21M (EW) 10
Canberra B(I) 58 8

 
Transports (9.5 sqdns, 181 aircraft)
Type No. of Squadrons Total
An-32 Sutlej 4 80
IL-76MD Gajraj 2 28
HAL Do-228 2 41
HAL Hs.748 1.5 32

 
Helicopters (26 units, 290 aircraft)
Type No. of Units Total
Mil Mi-35 (Attack) 2 40
Mil Mi-25 (Attack) 1 20
Mil Mi-8 10 100
Mil Mi-17 8 80
Mil Mi-26 1 10
Chetak 2 20
Cheetah 2 20

Source:  BHARAT RAKSHAK  Web Site, The Federation of American Scientists online, Indian Air Force web page .

Note:  Counts of aircraft fromthe three source sites don't always match.  In this case, the larger number is used, indicating a worst case situation typical of wartime estimation.


Missiles

The following table indicates the Indian Missile Inventory including missiles under test or are suspected:
 

Cnt Designation Range (km) Warhead
Capable
Notes
production Prithvi-I SRBM:-1 (Army) 150 5-100KT liquid propellant, 1000kg payload
few Pritvi II (Air Force) 250 5-20KT liquid propellant, 500 kg payload
failed test Dhanush (Navy) 250 5-20KT liquid propellant
Tested Agni-I 2000 5-100KT solid rocket, 1000kg payload
Tested Agni II 2000 5-40KT solid rocket, rail mounted
Dev Sagarika - SLBM 2500? 5-100KT SLBM sub under development ("ATV")
Dev IRBM 2500 5-100KT  
Sources:  The Federation of American Scientists online, verifed by various public non-proliferation studies including
"The Rumsfeld Report" - The Commission to Assess the Ballistic Missile Threat to the United States
and U.S.'s annual report for 2001, Non-Proliferation:  Threat and ResponseAlso some material taken or verified
from the U.S. Country Study on India, BHARAT RAKSHAK  Web Site
Three other important indigenous missiles are worth noting:



The Indian Navy

The Indian Navy has a history that goes back as part of the British colonies, providing a docking place for the British in the Orient.  The Bombay Dock, still in use today was the landing place for British masted sailing ships.

The modern Indian Navy has its roots during World War II as the British integrated the Royal Indian Navy into the British warfighting efforts.

At the Independence of India, the "Royal Navy" became the Indian Navy as command was passed to R Adm ITS Hall, CIE, as the first Command in Chief.
 

The following is form  the U.S. Country Study on India:

"The origins of the modern Indian navy are traced to a maritime force established by the East India Company in the seventeenth century. This force had a variety of names--the Bombay Marine, the Indian Navy, and the Indian Marine. In 1934 the Royal Indian Navy was established, with Indians serving primarily in lower-level positions. After independence the navy was the most neglected of the three services because the national leadership perceived that the bulk of the threats to India were land-based.

The first efforts at naval rearmament emerged in the 1964-69 Defense Plan, which called for the replacement of India's aging fleet and the development of a submarine service. Between 1947 and 1964, fiscal constraints had prevented the implementation of ambitious plans for naval expansion. Consequently, many of the vessels were obsolete and of little operational value. As part of this expansion program, the British helped develop the Mazagon Dock shipyard for the local production of British Leander-class frigates. The Soviets, however, were willing to support all phases of the planned naval expansion. Accordingly, they supplied naval vessels, support systems, and training on extremely favorable terms. By the mid-1960s, they had replaced Britain as India's principal naval supplier (see table 36, Appendix).

During the 1980s, Indian naval power grew significantly. During this period, the naval facilities at Port Blair in the Andaman Islands, in the Nicobar Islands, and in Lakshadweep were significantly upgraded and modernized. A new line of Leander-class frigates was manufactured at Mazagon Dock in collaboration with Vickers and Yarrow of Britain. These frigates, redesignated as the Godavari class, have antisubmarine warfare capabilities and can carry two helicopters. During the 1980s, plans were also finalized for the licensed manufacture of a line of West German Type 1500 submarines (known as the Shishumar class in India). In addition to these developments at Mazagon Dock, the naval air arm also was upgraded. India purchased nearly two squadrons of the vertical and short takeoff and landing (VSTOL) Sea Harriers to replace an
earlier generation of Sea Hawks.

In the mid-1990s, India was preparing for a major modernization program that was to include completion of three 5,000-ton Delhi-class destroyers, the building of three 3,700-ton frigates based on Italian Indian Naval Ship (INS)-10 design, and the acquisition of four hydrographic survey ships. Also to be built were an Indian-designed warship called Frigate 2001; six British Upholder-class submarines; an Indian-designed and Indian-built missile-firing nuclear submarine--the Advanced Technology Vessel--based on the Soviet Charlie II class; and an Indian-designed and Indian-built 17,000-ton air defense ship capable of carrying between twelve and fifteen aircraft. The air-defense ship will be, in effect, a replacement for India's two aging British aircraft carriers, the INS Vikrant , the keel of which was laid in 1943 but construction of which was not completed until 1961 and which was slated for decommissioning by 2000, and the INS Viraat , which entered service in 1987 and is likely to be decommissioned by 2005. The problems encountered with modernizing these and other foreign-source ships led India to decide against acquiring an ex-Soviet Kiev-class aircraft carrier in 1994.

In the spirit of international military cooperation, India has made moves in the early and mid-1990s to enhance joint-nation interoperability. Indian naval exercises have taken place with ships from the Russian navy and those of Indian Ocean littoral states and other nations, including the United States."


Today's Indian Navy serves under the Chief of Naval Staff.  The following is and excerpt from the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies report on the Indian Navy:

"Within NHQ (Navy Headquarters) the CNS is assisted by Principal Staff Officers (PSOs) of the rank of Vice Admiral and each one heads a particular branch. PSOs are assisted by Assistant PSOs, of rank Rear Admiral, or Directors, of rank Commodores and their staff to look after a particular Directorate.

In between the CNS and the PSOs ranks the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (VCNS) who is normally a very senior or sometimes the senior most Vice Admiral of the Navy. The organization of Eastern and Western Fleets has a predominantly operational basis. Logistics and technical elements are marginal.

The Fleet Commander is a Rear Admiral of the Executive Branch. He is assisted by the Fleet Operational Officer of the rank of a senior Captain. He coordinates the work of all other staff officers of different specialisations considering all aspects of tectical nature plans are drawn for various operations.

Western and Eastern Naval Commands are the two bigger commands of the Indian Navy. They have under the Western and Eastern Fleets the main fighting force, as well as the two dockyards, i.e. Bombay Dockyard and Vishakhapatnam Dockyards.

The Southern Naval Command has main Air Stations of Naval Aviation and the Training Ship Squadron of the Indian navy. Like the dockyards at Bombay and Vishakhapatnam, Cochin has the main facilities for aircraft maintenance and repairs. The main fleets and the air base is normally under charge of an officer of the rank of Rear Admiral of the Executive Branch and their organizations are purely operational in nature.

The Southern Naval Command is also designated as the Training Command and is entrusted with the training matters of training schools and establishments wherever these might be in India. Other administrative matters of these establishments are looked after by the Command Headquarters of the area were these are located in.

The flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C),  a Senior Vice Admiral in rank, is the overall in-charge of the Command. The organization of a Command Headquarters is more or less on the same lines as that of Naval Headquarters but smaller in manpower.The FOC-in-C is assisted by the Chief of staff (COS) who is a Rear Admiral of the executive branch and deal with operational and plans matters. "

Indian Naval Vessels
 
Cnt Class Mission Dimensions Displacement Armament Spd
1 Viraat (Hermes UK) Aircraft Carrier 226.9 X 27.4M 28700 tons Helos and Harrier Jumpjets 28
3 Delhi Cruiser 163 X 17.4 6200 tons guns, rocket launchers 28
3 Godavari Destroyer 126.5 X 14.5M 3850 tons 5 in gun, helo deck & hanger, rocket and torp launchers 27
1 Mod Godavari Destroyer 126.5 X 14.5M 3850 tons 5 in gun, helo deck, rocket and torp launchers 27
5 Rajput (Soviet Kashin II) Destroyer 146.5 X 15.8M 3950 tons 2-5 in guns;rocket and trop launchers 32
2 Anjadip ASM Frigate 82.3 X 91 M 950 tons 5 in. gun, ASW/ASM rocket 32
1 Kimota (Petya II Russia) Missle Frigate 82.3 x 9.1M 1100 tons    
3 Kora Missile Frigate 91.1 X 10.5M 1350 tons 5 in gun, 3 box launchers, torp tubes 25
4 Khukri Corvette 91.1 X 10.5M 1350 tons 2 5 in gun, 2 box launchers,  torp tubes 25
4 Nilgiri (Leander UK) Frigate 113.4 X 13.1M 2682 tons 5 in gun, torp tubes 27
6 Sukayna Patrol Ship 101.1 X 11.5M 1890 tons 2 rocket launchers, helo deck & hanger 21
4 Abhay Corvette 57.6 X 10.2M 485 tons 2-5 in gun, 2 torp tubes 32
2 Durg ASW Picket 59.3 X 11.8 M 660 tons 5 in gun, 4 torp box launcher 33
11 Veer Picket  56.1 X 11.5M 385 tons 2 5 in gun, 2 torpedo launchers 36
6 Foxtrot Attack Sub 91.3 x 7.5 x 6M 2475 tons
submerged
10 tubes, 22 Soviet Type 53 torps, homing / passive, up to 20 km or 44 mines 15
4 Sishumar Attack Sub 64.4 x 6.5 x 6M 1850 tons
submerged
8 tubes (533 mm) 14 AEG SUT wire guided torpedoes with active/passive  homing upto 28 km  20
8 Kilo Attack Sub 74.3 x 10 x 6.6M 3076 tons
submerged
Soviet SA-N-8/14 SAM;6 tubes (533 mm) 18 Indian torpedoes with active/ passive homing upto 20 km or 36 mines
1 Aditya Transport 172 X 23M 24600 tons none 20
1 Jyoti Transport 179 X 22M 35800 tons none 15
8 Kumbhir LST Transport 83.9 X 9.3M 1150 tons LSTs for amphibious operations, troops 18
2 Magar LST 120 X 17.5M 5655 tons 4 x 40 mm Bofors 2 multi barrel rocket launchers  15
12 Pondicherry Mine Sweeper/
Mine Layer
61 X 10.2M 804 tons mine sweep plus 2 x RBU 1200 5-tubed torpedo launchers, upto 10 mines 16
1 Shakti Transport 168.4 X 23M 6785 tons none 18.5
1 Ugra Replenishment 141 X 17.6M 9650 tons none 17

Source:  Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies - Indian Navy

Naval Air

The Indian Naval Air arm maintains some 14 squadrons of Naval Aircraft:

The Indian Navy will be brining online the ALH -- Advanced Light Helicopter, which will carry two torpedoes or depth charages or four anti-ship missiles on two cabin-side pylons.

The Indian Navy also operates onboard various ships, the Soviet KA-25 twin rotor anti-submarine helicopter armed with dipping sonar and anti-submarine weapons such as mines and torpedoes.
 



 

NBC Weapons Status

Nuclear

India is a known nuclear nation with at least underground blasts concluded in 1998.  According to the U.S.'s annual report for 2001, Non-Proliferation:  Threat and Response,

"Conducted nuclear experiment tests on 11th and 13th of May, 1998, claming a total of five tests.  Conducted a "peaceful nuclear explosion (PNE) in 1974.  Capable of manufacturing complete sets of components for plutonium-based nuclear weapons.  Has small stockpiles of nuclear weapons components and can probably deploy a few weapons in a few days to a week.  It can deliver these weapons with fighter aircraft.  Announced draft nuclear doctrine in August of 1999 of no-first-use;  stated intent to create a triade of air-, land-, and sea-based missile delivery systems.  Has signed neither the NTP nor the CTBT."
Non-proliferation experts contend that India has agreed to enter negotiations to cutoff fissile material production, it has not agreed to refrain while negotiating which means that they will undoubtedly produce enough material for their weapons program needs or already has done so despite inspections under hte IAEA safeguards.  India has 13 operational nuclear reactors, facilities to extract plutonium, uranium mines, and uranium processing plants.  India can produce waste, reactor grade fuel and weapons grade materials.

Chemical

India has acknowledged (June of 1997) to having a sizeable, dedicated chemical weapons program (unclassified viewpoint).  According to the U.S.'s annual report for 2001,  Non-Proliferation:  Threat and Response,

"Acknolowedged chemical warfare program in 1997 an stated that related facilities would be open for inspection.  Has sizeable chemical industry, which could be source of dual-use chemicals for countries of proliferation concern.  Ratified the CWC."
India has commited to destroying their inventory, however, the industry capability means they can re-institute a program almost overnight.  India is a proliferation concern because it continues to ship dual use and precursor agents and equipment to other countries of concern in the Middle East.

Biological

India is believed to having a substantial biological warfare program.  According to the U.S.'s annual report for 2001, Non-Proliferation:  Threat and Response,

"Has substantial biotechnical infrastructure and expertise some of which is being used in biological warfare defense research.  Ratified the BWTC."
Delivery

India can deliver weapons via fighter aircraft and ground systems, inlcluding artillery and rockets.  Missile programs are capable, however it is not clear warheads have been fitted and there is no verifiable public evidence that India has tested a dummy warhead proving delivery systems for nuclear, chemical or biological weapons.  India is developing what it calls the "Advanced Technology Vessel", primarily a "boomer", a nuclear submarine intended to mount tubes for SLBM missiles.
 

Proliferation

India is believed to be an exporter to both Iran and Iraq and importer from France and China.  Having refused to sign the NPT, the Indin proliferation of anything they have has been demonstrated in a number of countries -- with interception of shipments implying a prolific traffic in nuclear weapons research and components.  India may be an exporter of nuclear material both waste, reactor grade, and weapons grade materials however is subject to IAEA inspections making this difficult except under exceptional clandestine conditions (i..e undocumented production in a non-documented/inspected facility).

Other India Material on MILNET:


Sources:

The Indian Army web page
The Indian Air Force web page
The Indian Navy web page
Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies - Indian Navy/Indian Army
BHARAT RAKSHAK  Web Site
Federation of American Scientists
"The Rumsfeld Report" - The Commission to Assess the Ballistic Missile Threat to the United States
U.S.'s annual report for 2001,  Non-Proliferation:  Threat and Response


 © Copyright, 2001, Michael Crawford, MILNET

Part I of this series, focusing on Pakistan and Part III, comparing the two military forces can be found on MILNET
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