Indian Army looks towards Modi to address its demands
Islamabad: Indian Armed Forces have long list of demands from the new government of Naridra Modi including desire to procure light utility helicopters, artillery guns, assault rifles, construction of 57 critical roads along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) for infrastructural build up. “The list of Indian Air Force is bigger than of India Navy and Indian Army”, claims Indian media.
According to media reports coming from India, Prime Minister Modi had a detail meeting with Indian Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Bikram Singh. India Army has a long list of demands presented by the Adjutant General branch and the Military Operations Directorate.
Indian media claims that Indian Army is facing shortage of equipment in almost all departments and topping the list would be the much-delayed procurements of artillery guns, assault rifle, light utility helicopters to replace the Chetaks and Cheetahs as well as maintaining War Wastage Reserves (WWR), which is running low. Indian Army will highlight the lack of progress as far as the infrastructural build up along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is concerned. Of the 73 critical roads the army has highlighted, only 16 have been constructed. On the aspect of the strategic railway lines, no work has moved since the funding for the same has still not been decided upon.
Indian Navy wishes to enhance its submarine strength by inducting 16 naval multirole helicopters, followed by the same over eight Mine Countermeasure Vessels (MCMVs) which were to come to the force. The Indian Navy, which lost its diesel-powered submarine Sindhurakshak in August 2013 is rapidly heading towards a depleted underwater fleet.
Indian Air Force (IAF) has its own list of demands including urgent procurement of 126 fighters under the Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) as deal is awaiting conclusion. The IAF had declared in early 2012 its choice of the twin-engine French fighter aircraft, Rafale. Interestingly, even though the IAF has been going public with its hope of concluding cost negotiations and signing the dotted line for a while now, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has remained unmoved. With regards to the Air Defence (AD), IAF is unnerved not just by the rapidly ageing OSA-AK and Pechora systems of Russian-origin but also by the lack of adequate supply of the indigenously-developed AKASH Surface to Air Missile (SAM).
