NEW DELHI: The Indian Army has once again sounded the alarm about itscritical operational deficiency in the field of anti-tank guided missiles(ATGMs), asking the government for the emergency induction of at least someof these “tank killers” till the indigenous man-portable systems beingdeveloped by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)become a reality, Times of India has reported.
The Army, after all, has an alarming shortage of around 68,000 ATGMs and850 launchers of different types, which are crucial for the infantry tohalt advancing enemy tanks in the plains as well as guard the “active” lineof control with Pakistan.
[image: tank-killers]
Sources say the Army is now even ready for the fast-track procurement of2,500 shoulder-fired ATGMs and 96 launchers, with no transfer of technology(ToT), as an “interim measure” through a government-to-government contract.”It has been left to the government whether it should be the Israeli SpikeATGM or the FGM-148 Javelin ATGM from the US,” said a source.
This comes in the backdrop of the government, late last year, cancellingthe proposed Rs 3,200 crore deal with Israel for 8,356 medium-range SpikeATGMs, 321 launchers and 15 simulators, a procurement project firstaccorded “acceptance of necessity” by the defence ministry way back in June2009.
The main reason for the scrapping of the Spike project, which had alsoenvisaged ToT from Israeli firm Rafaellink>to defence PSU Bharat DynamicsLimited (BDL) for large-scale production, was the DRDO’s contention that itcould deliver a more technologically advanced man-portable ATGM within twoyears.
Consequently, though Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahulink> may have heldthat the “Spike deal was back on track” after talks with PM Modi thismonth, it will not be easy going. “There is stiff resistance from the DRDO.If the government places an order for ATGMs from abroad, it can be accusedof promoting foreign suppliers at the cost of the DRDO,” said anothersource.
The Army, however, is worried. With a shocking 60% shortage in its”authorised holding” of ATGMs, the force has “nil” war wastage reserves(stockpiles held in reserve for war) as of now. Moreover, the existingsecond-generation Milan-2T (two-km range) and Konkurs (four-km) ATGMs,produced by BDL under licence from French and Russian companies, do nothave night-fighting capabilities.
The Army wants to upgrade from these wire-guided ATGMs to third-generationones that are top-attack, fire-and-forget, and night-capable. “But the DRDOhas been seeking extensions since 2013 to successfully demonstrate theperformance of its man-portable ATGM,” said one of the sources. Army chiefGeneral Bipin Rawat link> hashimself declared that the “operational gap” between now and 2021-2022, whenthe deliveries of the indigenous ATGMs are likely to begin if the trialsslated for mid-2018 are indeed successful, needs to be bridged as a matterof top priority. In the long run, the Army wants to equip all its 382infantry battalions and 44 mechanised infantry units with third- andfourth-generation ATGMs.