To date, the Indian army is among the ten most trained among all the world powers. Of course, the military potential of this country is significantly inferior to Russia or the United States, but the situation in the arms race can change every day. It is likely that very soon India will become one of the four leaders, and even the most highly trained NATO countries will fear and respect this country. In our article you will find more detailed information on the composition of the armed forces of India.
Why do Indian forces have such power?
A similar question was asked at least once by any military expert, but the answer to it is quite simple and understandable. Power has a population of about 1.3 billion people. Many foreign citizens also know India as one of the poorest countries, but its military budget is about $ 50 billion a year (almost the same as in Russia). About 1.4 million people serve in the Indian armed forces, giving the country the right to take third place in the world in terms of army size. Also, do not forget that India is one of the largest suppliers of weapons abroad. Well and the most important thing - the weapons of this country are nuclear weapons and their delivery vehicles to strategic points, which makes us take this power seriously.
Also in the Indian army there are a huge number of armed formations created for a wide variety of purposes. About 1.1 million people serve in such organizations. As an example, there are three most significant structures:
- special paramilitary forces;
- national security forces;
- special border forces.
According to the Indian Ministry of Defense, the country's mobilization resources are estimated at about 300 million citizens. Of these, almost 200 million are fully fit for military service under various conditions and are ready to defend their homeland as soon as the time comes.
Destination and age of the armed forces
Indian President Ram Nath Kovind has repeatedly stated that the main task of the country's armed forces is to defend the Republic, independence of the state, as well as the protection of the rights and freedoms of citizens. There is no doubt in such statements. For these purposes, the Indian army personnel undergo special psychological and physical training, which allows them to cope with all the difficulties in the service and to be ready to take on the enemy at any moment. In addition, most of the military training has a contractual basis, since due to the high population it will be practically impossible to organize an urgent appeal.
If we talk about the age of the Indian army, it is worth noting that it is quite young. The armed forces of the republic began to form only in 1947. At the same time, the main forces were formed as a result of the division of two British dominions: Pakistan and the Indian Union. At first, the personnel included different peoples and nationalities professing different religions, although most of the military still adhered to Hinduism. The official date for the formation of the armed forces of India is August 15, 1949. That is why the Indian army is considered relatively young, compared with the Russian or Chinese.
Cooperation with Russia
The peculiarity of the armed forces of India is that they have established fairly close cooperation with the Russian military-technical industrial complex. In the arsenal of this country are many examples of Russian technology: tanks, helicopters, airplanes, and even the legendary Soviet MiG-21 fighter. Also, do not forget that the Indian Armed Forces have the largest tank fleet in the world, consisting mainly of T-90 models that have proven themselves in combat conditions. In addition, both countries not only work closely with each other, but also participate in the development of new weapons systems. Today, India is one of the largest importers of weapons to European countries, with most of the samples being the modernization of Russian samples. Such weapons are not opposed to acquire France, Britain and even the United States of America.
Today, cooperation between Russia and India is exclusive. It’s not even that this country has been buying weapons from us for several decades. Moscow and Delhi are working together to create modern and fundamentally new weapons systems that are no longer found in any country. A striking example is the BrahMos rocket or FGFA fighter. By the way, most of India’s missile weapons consist of the latest models that Russia transferred to it under the terms of the agreement. Such cooperation has developed since the time of the Soviet Union.
Ground troops
So we gradually got close to the composition of the armed forces of India. It is best to start studying this issue precisely from the ground forces, since they are the most numerous and the most trained. About 1.1 million people serve in this category of troops. Also, you should not forget about about 1 million reservists who are in stock.
The headquarters of the ground forces is located in Shimla and provides command of 6 different territories, such as:
- East.
- South.
- North.
- Central.
- Western.
- Southwest.
Also directly subordinate to the Indian army is the 50th brigade of the airborne troops, a regiment of PU OTR and two regiments of PU BRDS. All these forces possess modern weapons, which were repeatedly tested in combat conditions by Russian troops in Syria. In addition, Ram Nath Kovind likes to mention in his speeches about the prospects of cooperation with Russia, which gives reason to confidently say that our help is needed by Indian troops much more than it seems at first glance.
The only drawback of the ground forces of this country is the rather outdated artillery fleet, numbering about a hundred Catapult self-propelled guns, which the Indian army was developing independently. Also in service are a lot of Soviet models, which have long been considered obsolete in Russia and have not been used. Perhaps the Indian army believes that artillery in a potential war will not bring any benefits?
Indian Air Force
India is in fourth place in the world in terms of aircraft, giving way only to China, the United States and Russia. However, a rather interesting fact is that out of 1800 vehicles, only 900 are combat vehicles. As for the size of the army, about 150 thousand people serve in the air force. The Air Force is also part of the air defense and has 38 headquarters across the country. The number of aviation squadrons is only 47 pieces, and each of them occupies a specific airfield.
Indian Air Force combat aircraft do not pose a particular threat to a highly developed army, since most of the equipment has been in disrepair since 1970. In addition, since about 2000, Indian forces annually lose about 20 combat units that fail. Soviet MiG-21 fighters have long been in the arsenal of the army and form the basis of the fleet. However, today only 150 units can not only fly into the air, but also conduct combat operations.
Although you should not forget that the Indian Air Force also includes helicopters, Soviet or Russian-made. For example, about 110 Alligator combat helicopters are planned to be operated until 2020. Also in service are the British Jaguars, which have all the necessary licenses and certificates. However, 120 units are a relatively small force for a country with such a population and army size.
Indian Navy
This type of troops includes naval aviation, as well as the navy with quick reaction units. Currently, the Indian Navy serves about 58 thousand sailors, as well as 5 thousand people in naval aviation and 1,5 thousand in the marine corps. As for weapons, it consists of 200 aircraft and 180 ships of various classes.
To base the Navy, three main points are used:
- Visakhapatnam.
- Kadamba (Goa).
- Mumbai
Command of naval bases is carried out from three directions: eastern, southern and western. The submarine fleet includes 12 K-15 SLBMs and one SSBN, whose destruction range is almost 800 kilometers. In the near future it is planned to build three more submarines of this type.
To date, the Indian Navy has two aircraft carriers: Hermes and Admiral Gorshkov (Soviet-made). Both of these vessels are used to protect the coastal borders of India, and aircraft on board are ready to carry out not only reconnaissance operations, but also combat operations. Most anti-submarine aircraft are represented by fairly old IL-38s.
Coast security
Since India is washed from the south by the ocean, it simply cannot have a special unit designed to protect maritime borders. The Indian coast guard is represented by several Scorpen-type submarines, as well as various motor boats, on board of which there can be from two to several dozen soldiers.
It is worth noting that all corvettes, frigates and destroyers were developed by Soviet or Russian experts, so close relations between the two countries were established in this segment. The coast guard includes 12 corvettes, 4 destroyers, as well as 8 frigates, most of which are in good condition and are ready to start military operations at any time.
Nuclear forces of the country
Nuclear weapons are of great importance to India, since it is this force that is a huge deterrent to a potential aggressor. NCA - a special structure of the army, which is engaged in the command of the country's nuclear forces. The administrative command accepts issues that relate exclusively to the country's defense, since all nuclear weapons, as mentioned above, are a deterrent.
Most nuclear missiles are concentrated in the ground forces. The ballistic forces are based on Agni medium-range missiles, the number of which, according to various sources, ranges from 80 to 100 units. Such missiles are capable of hitting a target located at a distance of 900 kilometers from the launch point, however, India also has several Agni-3 missiles designed to destroy a potential aggressor at a distance of over 5,000 kilometers.
Expert Ratings
According to estimates by many experts, India’s nuclear weapons pose no particular danger to the military-industrial state. Firstly, the potential of launchers is very limited, and the methods of delivering nuclear weapons to certain points could be better. Secondly, a modern air defense system can easily bring down any missile launched by India. According to the Ministry of Defense, the country has 35 warheads that can be launched at any time. This is a fairly small number compared to the United States and Russia. Although you should not forget the fact that India has all the necessary resources to create new nuclear missiles. If you combine this nuance with modern technology, you can develop a lot of weapons that will scare the whole world. However, this, fortunately, has not yet happened.
Experts believe that in the next few years, India will continue to maintain a leading position as a country with one of the most powerful armies. A similar trend is ensured thanks to the large population in the country, as well as cooperation with the Russian Federation. However, it will be erroneous to believe that in an open war, India will be able to confront a highly developed nuclear power for a long time. The main power of the Indian army is the ground forces, which lose their potential every year. Most of the fighting today is conducted from ships and air, and infantry is used extremely rarely. If in the next decade India does not begin to build more submarines and fighter jets, then it will almost certainly leave the military dozen. Although everything can change in a matter of months.
Video and conclusion
We hope our article helped you figure out what the Indian army is like. If you still have any questions or you just want to find out more about the armed forces of this country, we recommend that you watch a short video in which the Indian army is compared with the army of Pakistan. The information is quite interesting and informative, and the author knows how to present even boring information in such a way that it will interest the audience. This is evidenced by the large audience of the channel owner and the ratio of positive and negative ratings of the video.
As you can see, the Indian army is one of the largest in the world, especially when it comes to ground forces. Of course, a large number of weapons is obsolete, and the development of new systems is rather slow, but do not forget about the main military partner of India - Russia. Our designers and engineers help Indian technologists make weapons that are unlikely to be found in other countries. In addition, India is a nuclear power, albeit with a limited supply of such weapons. However, the fact of having missiles with nuclear warheads does not allow aggression towards this country.