The Indian Army has issued a tender to support its program for the restoration and life extension of in-service T-72 main battle tanks (MBTs). According to a request for information (RFI) issued by the Indian Army on November 21, the program – named ‘Overhaul II of Tank T-72‘ – is carried out to ensure restoration of the T-72 to “as good as new condition”.

The program seeks to “neutralise effects of age, usage, and restoration of T-72 to near-zero hour [and] zero km state of operational readiness”, the RFI said.

The T-72 restoration process comprises “stripping of the tank, removal of assemblies, stripping of the repairable assemblies, inspection of the components of repairable assemblies, and replacement of assemblies [that are not repairable] with new ones”, the RFI added.

The process also includes “100% replacement of parts that have limited shelf life such as gaskets, seals, rings, bearings, fasteners, washers, and so on; testing of assemblies; integration in tanks; and quality assurance”, the RFI said.

The program, according to the Indian Army, includes rectification of major/minor weld defects and worn-out portions of the T-72 hull; replacement or revalidation of rubber parts, metal pipes, and engine sub-assemblies; and replacement or revalidation of cooling, fuel, lubrication, air induction, exhaust, and transmission systems components.

Indigenisation of Ammunition

Rising conflicts globally have posed challenges and disrupted supply chains. The ongoing war in Ukraine and before that the Ladakh stand-off made it imperative that a clear road map for ammunition procurement and long –term requirement should be in place.

The efforts to secure supply chains and avoid any impact on operational preparedness has led to finalisation of the long-term requirement for a decade and a clear road map for ammunition procurement has been put in place. About 85% of the ammunition requirement has been indigenised, from both the public and private sectors.

The aim is to build up ammunition stocks to desired levels, minimise imports and achieve self-sufficiency in the country, have multiple sources of supply, and possess indigenous manufacturing capability. First step is to indigenise all import-dependent ammunition — major platforms with long-term requirement.

Indigenisation of more than 30 variants, amounting to about Rs 16,000 crores as part of import minimisation, is under way and five or six variants of ammunition have been identified for production through the Indian industry, which will expand the indigenous vendor base. Subsequently, next-generation high-tech ammunition based on research and development is being identified for in-house development.

Bulk of the ammunition is being met by the Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) and the rest by the Indian industry. Less than 10% is met purely through direct imports and there is also some amount of legacy platforms in small numbers that are in the process of being phased out.

Under the three rounds of emergency financial powers granted by the Defence Ministry, the armed forces had undertaken major procurement and stocking of spares and ammunition. The fourth round of emergency procurement was completed recently and it ensured enough stocks of critical ammunition and also helped offset delays to some extent in deliveries of spares, components and ammunition since the war in Ukraine broke out in February 2022.

Most of the Indian Army’s armoured fleet is of Russian-origin and the air defence has several legacy systems. Currently, about 10 to 12 ammunition categories in over 30 variants are being indigenised on priority and these are undergoing field trials.

With several Indian private companies now in the race to manufacture ammunition in the country, the ammunition stocking through indigenisation efforts will help Army’s operational preparedness to meet future threats.

Pinaka Rockets for Rs 2800 Crore Approved

In a bid to augment the Indian Army’s arsenal, the Defence Ministry has approved a Rs 2,800 crore proposal for buying around 6,400 of two types of rockets for Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launcher systems, designated as Area Denial Munition Type-2 and Type-3.

The Indian Army will procure the rockets exclusively from indigenous sources and two main contenders include the Economic Explosives Limited of Solar Industries and the Munitions India Limited– a key ammunition-producer created by the corporatisation of the erstwhile Ordnance Factories.

The indigenous Pinaka weapon system has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation. The weapon system is one of the first few Indian military systems exported to foreign nations, including Armenia. Private sector companies Larsen & Toubro, Tata Defence and Economic Explosives Limited involved in the project have set up production lines for the Pinaka system that are being supplied in bulk to the armed forces.

The army has a requirement of 22 regiments of the Pinaka MBRL as part of larger artillery modernisation plans. Pinaka regiments of the Indian Army include launchers with automated gun aiming and positioning systems and command posts.

70,000 More Sig Sauer Assault Rifles

The defence ministry has approved the purchase of more than 70,000 Sig Sauer assault rifles, giving its personnel a significant increase in firepower for use in terrorist operations and other missions.

The purchase of over 70,000 of Sig Sauer assault rifles is estimated to cost over Rs 800 crore. The military originally decided to purchase these rifles because it desired a weapon with a greater range. Among a number of contenders, the SiG 716 assault rifle was selected due to its superior calibre and longer range. Additionally, it is said to be more deadly than the AK-47 and its variations in the service, as well as the INSAS rifle.

In February 2019, 72,400 SiG 716 rifles (7.62 x 51mm calibre) were purchased from SIG Sauer of the US; 66,400 of them were for the Army, 4,000 for the Air Force, and 2,000 for the Navy. The American-made assault guns, which are being deployed by personnel in the Kashmir valley and the Ladakh section of the China border, have already resulted in over 70,000 indictments by India.

To improve its conventional and anti-terrorist capabilities, the Indian troops have also received a sizable quantity of Russian AK-103s. The AK-203, which is now being made at an ordnance facility in Amethi, will also soon be available to the Indian troops.

Handheld Thermal Image Devices

The Indian Army is in the process to induct around 10,000 Hand Held Thermal Imager-Uncooled (HHTI-UC) devices, for which the Request for Information (RFI) has been issued.

As per the RFI sought from the vendors, it requires the “HHTI-UC with latest technology parameters to enable soldiers to carry out surveillance up to 3,000 metres.” The surveillance device should enable day and night surveillance with a combination of high-resolution optical viewer, digital (low light) and thermal (uncooled) sensors.

The surveillance device should facilitate judging distance of area under surveillance using laser range finders, acquisition of magnetic bearing using DMC and provide own location to users employing inbuilt satellite navigation systems, including NAVIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation).

The surveillance device should weigh less than 3 kgs and facilitate recording and storage of minimum three hours of SD videos with removable storage devices. It should also enable seamless wired or wireless connectivity of minimum up to 50 metres with standard interfaces.

Once the vendors respond to the RFI, “Tentative date of issue of Request for Proposal (RFP) is June 2024. The total quantity required is approximately 10,000,” the RFI says. The procurement will be “in a phased manner, the desired quantity should be delivered within six months to twenty four months from the day of advance payment”.

The vendors should confirm in their response their capability of delivering requisite quantity of HHTI-UC within the stipulated time frame. Vendors are expected to forward the required documents and details by December 26 this year, the RFI said.

As per the RFI sought from the vendors, it requires the “HHTI-UC with latest technology parameters to enable soldiers to carry out surveillance up to 3,000 metres”. The surveillance device should facilitate judging distance of area under surveillance using laser range finders, it said.

AI-Enabled Gun-Mounted Scope

An indigenously-developed scope that can be fitted on any small weapon and turn it into a smart weapon is being tested by the Indian Army. The smart scope is powered by Artificial Intelligence that can detect humans up to 300 metres and also extensively boost border and close combat operations. Using AI algorithm and sensory data, it can tell the shooter when to fire. It had an 80-90% accuracy when tested for 100-300 metres

The smart scope is currently at its prototype stage, but a miniature version can be made too. The scope can help achieve one shot one hit capability and easily turn a soldier into a marksman. The scope first detects the target and makes a red bounding box, after which the camera checks for alignment using the laser and finder. Once the target box turns green, the shooter is alerted that he can fire.

The scope currently has only day firing capability, but it can be turned into night firing device too. The day camera has 50mm lens and 30X zoom.

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The Pinaka rocket system has been developed by ARDE, Pune supported by HEMRL, another Pune-based laboratory of DRDO.

The EPRS is the upgraded version of Pinaka variant which has been in service with the Indian Army for the last decade. The system has been upgraded with advanced technologies enhancing the range to meet the emerging requirements. After establishing the performance efficacy of the enhanced range version of Pinaka, the technology was transferred to the industries viz. Munitions India Limited (MIL) and Economic Explosives Limited Nagpur. Rockets manufactured by MIL under Transfer of Technology from DRDO were flight tested during this campaign. Different variants of munitions and fuzes which can be used in the Pinaka rocket system were also successfully test evaluated in the Pokhran Field Firing Range.

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As many as 24 rockets were fired for different ranges and different warhead capabilities to meet the objectives of accuracy and consistency.

After the series of trials, the Pinaka-ER missile and its ancillary systems (Area Denial Munitions and indigenously developed fuzes) is now ready for series production by the industry partner, the Ministry of Defence has said.

The system has been designed by DRDO Laboratory Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE) along with High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL), Pune, the technology has been transferred to the Indian industry.

The industry partner has manufactured Pinaka-ER with DRDO’s help during the production and quality assurance processes. In continuation of the Transfer of Technology, rockets developed by the industry have undergone performance evaluation and quality certification process.

Pinaka Mk-1, which has a range of 37.5 km, is currently in service of the Indian Army and multiple regiments of the system have been deployed in the past. Pinaka-ER, which is an upgraded version of the Pinaka Mk-1, has a range of 45 km and some additional features.

Pinaka – ER is the upgraded version of the earlier version of Pinaka which has been in service with the Indian Army for the last decade. The system has been designed in the light of emerging requirements with advanced technologies enhancing the range.

The trials of Area Denial Munition (ADM) designed by the ARDE for Pinaka and manufactured by the industry partners under technology transfer were part of performance evaluation under technology absorption. ADMs are a category of ammunition used to prohibit the adversary from occupying or passing through a particular area. At the same time, indigenously-developed proximity fuzes for Pinaka rockets have also been tested. The ARDE has developed different fuzes for Pinaka rockets for different types of applications. After design validation trials, performance of these fuzes has been evaluated with flight testing.

The DRDO said these indigenously developed fuzes will replace the imported fuzes. The ARDE has also designed miniaturised fuzes for ADMs. During the same set of trials, the performance of dual-purpose Direct-Action Self Destruction (DASD) and Anti-Tank Munition (ATM) fuzes were evaluated and the results were satisfactory.

In the battlefield, long-range artillery systems like Pinaka are used for attacking the adversary targets prior to close quarter battles which involve smaller range artillery, armoured elements and the infantry.

The development of the Pinaka was started by the DRDO in the late 1980s, as an alternative to the multi barrel rocket launching systems of Russian make called like the ‘Grad’, which are still in use. After successful tests of Pinaka, it was first used in the battlefield during the Kargil war of 1999 quite successfully. Subsequently, multiple regiments of the system came up over the 2000s.

Pinaka MBRL can fire a salvo of 12 rockets over a period of 44 seconds. One battery of Pinaka system consists of six launch vehicles, accompanied by the loader systems, radar and links with network based systems and a command post. One battery can neutralise an area one km by one km. While Pinaka Mk-1 has a range of 37.5 km and Pinaka-ER of 45 km, the Pinaka Mk-II has a range of 60 km. The guided version of the Pinaka has also been developed and tested multiple times and has a range of 75 km. An extended range version of the Pinaka Mk-II and Pinaka Mk-III are also said to be under development.

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