According to the Stockholm Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), India's defense spending in 2015 amounted to $ 55.5 billion. According to this indicator, India is in sixth place, slightly behind the UK. Despite the fact that the military budget of India is less than $ 15 billion than that of Russia, this country manages to implement its own, very ambitious programs for the development of equipment and weapons and buy the most advanced weapons abroad, including aircraft carriers and modern jet fighters. India ranks first in the world in terms of arms imports. In total, about 1 million 100 thousand people serve in the armed forces of India. Such large expenditures on defense and numerous armed forces are explained by unresolved territorial disputes with neighbors - Pakistan and China, as well as problems with all sorts of extremists and separatists. In recent decades, the Indian armed forces have been strengthening at a very high rate. The troops are supplied with new models of weapons, new airfields, training grounds and test centers are being built. All this can be seen on satellite images.
The ground forces of India are very numerous and are the backbone of the armed forces, they serve about 900 thousand people. The Ground Forces have: 5 military districts, 4 field armies, 12 army corps, 36 divisions (18 infantry, 3 armored, 4 rapid response, 10 mountain infantry, 1 artillery), 15 separate brigades (5 armored, 7 infantry, 2 mountain infantry, 1 airborne), 4 anti-aircraft artillery and 3 engineering brigades, a separate missile regiment. In the army aviation there are 22 squadrons, where there are 150 HAL Dhruv transport and combat helicopters, 40 multipurpose HAL SA315B helicopters and more than 20 anti-tank HAL Rudra helicopters.
The Indian army has an impressive armored fleet. The troops have 124 tanks of their own design "Arjun", 1250 modern Russian MBT T-90 and more than 2000 Soviet T-72M. In addition, more than 1,000 T-55 and Vijayanta tanks are still in storage. The infantry moves under the protection of the armor of 1800 BMP-2 and 300 wheeled armored personnel carriers. Approximately 900 Soviet T-55 tanks were converted into heavy tracked armored personnel carriers.
The artillery park of the Indian army is very diverse: 100 self-propelled guns "Catapult" (130-mm M-46 on the chassis of the "Vijayanta" tank), there are about 200 Soviet 122-mm self-propelled guns 2S1 "Carnation" and British 105-mm self-propelled guns "Abbot". After winning the competition for the 155-mm self-propelled gun of the South Korean K9 Thunder self-propelled guns, more than 100 of these self-propelled guns were delivered to the troops. In addition to the self-propelled guns, the troops and in storage have about 7,000 towed guns of various calibers and 7,000 81-120-mm mortars. Since 2010, India has been negotiating with the United States to purchase 155 mm M-777 howitzers. It seems that the parties managed to agree, and howitzers will go into service with units intended for operations in mountainous areas. MLRS are represented by Russian 300-mm "Smerch" (64 installations), Soviet 122-mm "Grad" and Indian 214-mm "Pinaka", respectively, 150 and 80 machines. The anti-tank units have more than 2,000 ATGMs: Kornet, Konkurs, Milan and about 40 self-propelled ATGMs Namika (Indian ATGM Nag on the BMP-2 chassis) and Shturm.
Air defense of the Ground Forces is provided by ZSU-23-4 "Shilka" (70), ZRPK "Tunguska" (180), SAM "Osa-AKM" (80) and "Strela-10" (250). All air defense systems "Kvadrat" (export version of the Soviet air defense missile system "Kub") are currently decommissioned due to resource depletion. To replace them, the Akash air defense system is intended, this complex was created in India on the basis of the Kvadrat air defense system and has just begun to enter service. For air defense of small units, there are about 3,000 Igla MANPADS.
As far as possible, the Indian leadership is trying to establish its own production and modernization of military equipment. So, in the city of Avadi, Tamil Nadu at the HVF plant, the T-90 and Arjun tanks are being assembled.
Google earth snapshot: tanks at the HVF plant in Avadi
In the mid-90s, an operational-tactical missile system (OTRK) with a Prithvi-1 liquid-propellant missile with a maximum launch range of 150 km entered service with Indian missile units. When creating this missile, Indian designers used technical solutions implemented in the anti-aircraft missile of the Soviet anti-aircraft complex S-75. After 10 years, the Indian missile arsenal was replenished with the Prithvi-2 OTRK with a maximum firing range of more than 250 kilometers. If deployed on the Indian-Pakistani border, the Prithvi-2 OTRK is capable of shooting through about a quarter of Pakistan's territory, including Islamabad.
The creation of Indian ballistic missiles with solid fuel engines began in the early 80s, the first was the OTR "Agni-1" with a launch range of up to 700 km. It is designed to bridge the gap between the Prithvi-2 OTR and medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBMs). Soon after "Agni-1" was followed by a two-stage MRBM "Agni-2". It partially uses elements of the Agni-1 rocket. The launch range of "Agni-2" exceeds 2500 km. The rocket is transported on a railway or road platform.
According to foreign expert estimates, India currently has more than 25 Agni-2 medium-range missiles. The next in the family was the Agni-3, a missile capable of sending a warhead to a range of over 3,500 km. In the zone of its defeat are such large Chinese cities as Beijing and Shanghai.
In 2015, information appeared about the successful tests of the first Indian three-stage solid-propellant rocket "Agni-5". According to Indian representatives, it is capable of delivering a warhead weighing 1100 kg over a distance of more than 5500 km. Presumably, "Agni-5" with a mass of more than 50 tons is intended for placement in protected silo launchers (silos). It is expected that the first missiles of this type can be put on alert in the next 3-4 years.
Flight design tests of ballistic missiles in India are carried out at the Thumba, Sriharikota and Chandipur test ranges. The largest is the Sriharikot test site, where heavy rockets are tested and from where Indian spacecraft are launched.
Google earth snapshot: missile test site on Sriharikota island
At the moment, the missile test site on the island of Sriharikota in the Bay of Bengal in the south of Andhra Pradesh has the status of a cosmodrome. It received its modern name "Satish Dhavan Space Center" in 2002 in honor of the head of the Indian Space Research Organization after his death.
Google Earth Snapshot: Launch Complex on Sriharikota Island
Now on the island of Sriharikota, there are two operating launch sites for medium and light launch vehicles, commissioned in 1993 and 2005. The construction of the third launch site is planned for 2016.
Ballistic missiles are viewed in India primarily as a means of delivering nuclear weapons. Practical work on the creation of nuclear weapons in India began in the late 60s. The first nuclear test with the symbolic name "Smiling Buddha" took place on May 18, 1974. According to the Indian representatives (officially it was a "peaceful" nuclear explosion), the power of the nuclear explosive device was 12 kt.
Google earth snapshot: site of the first nuclear explosion at the Pokaran test site
Unlike the first Chinese nuclear explosions, the Indian test at the Pokaran test site in the Thar Desert was underground. At the site of the explosion, a crater with a diameter of about 90 meters and a depth of 10 meters was initially formed. Apparently, the level of radioactivity in this place now does not differ much from the natural background. The satellite image shows that the crater, formed as a result of the nuclear test, is overgrown with bushes.
The main Indian center for the implementation of the nuclear weapons program is the Trombay Atomic Center (Homi Baba Nuclear Research Center). Plutonium is produced here, nuclear weapons are developed and assembled, and nuclear weapons safety research is conducted.
Google Earth Snapshot: Trombay Nuclear Center
The first Indian examples of nuclear weapons were plutonium atomic bombs with a yield of 12 to 20 kt. In the mid-90s, there was a need to modernize India's nuclear potential. In this regard, the country's leadership decided to refuse to accede to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, formally referring to the absence in it of a provision on the mandatory elimination of accumulated nuclear weapons by all nuclear powers within a specific time frame. Nuclear testing in India resumed on May 11, 1998. On this day, three nuclear devices with a capacity of 12-45 kt were tested at the Pokaran test site. According to a number of experts, the power of the last thermonuclear charge was deliberately reduced from the design value (100 kt) in order to avoid the release of radioactive substances into the atmosphere. On May 13, two charges with a capacity of 0.3-0.5 kt were detonated. This indicates that work is underway in India to create miniature "battlefield" nuclear weapons for "nuclear artillery" and tactical missiles.
Google earth snapshot: fortified ammunition storage near Pune airfield
According to foreign expert estimates published in India at the moment, about 1200 kg of weapons-grade plutonium have been produced. Although this volume is comparable to the total amount of plutonium obtained in China, India is significantly inferior to China in terms of the number of nuclear warheads. Most experts agree that India has 90-110 ready-to-use nuclear weapons. Most of the nuclear warheads are stored separately from the carriers in fortified underground cellars in the regions of Jodhpur (Rajasthan state) and Pune (Maharashtra state).
The creation and adoption of nuclear weapons in India is explained by contradictions with neighboring Pakistan and China. With these countries in the past, there have been several armed conflicts, and India needed a trump card to protect its national interests and territorial integrity. In addition, the first nuclear test in the PRC was carried out 10 years earlier than in India.
The first delivery vehicle for Indian nuclear bombs was the British-made Canberra bombers. Due to this specific role, the hopelessly outdated straight wing subsonic bombers remained in service until the mid-90s. Currently, the Indian Air Force has about 1,500 aircraft, helicopters and UAVs, of which more than 700 are fighters and fighter-bombers. The Air Force has 38 headquarters of aviation wings and 47 squadrons of combat aviation. This puts India in fourth place among the largest air forces in the world (after the United States, Russia and the PRC). However, India significantly surpasses Russia in the existing network of hard-surfaced airfields. The Indian Air Force has a rich combat history; in the past, aircraft and helicopters of Soviet, Western and domestic production were in service in this country.
The Indian Air Force is characterized by the basing of combat aviation units at airfields with numerous capital concrete shelters for aviation equipment. Farkhor is the only Indian air base outside the country's territory, it is located in Tajikistan, 130 kilometers southeast of Dushanbe. Farkhor Airbase provided the Indian military with broad strategic capabilities in Central Asia, and increased India's influence in Afghanistan. In the event of another conflict with Pakistan, this base will allow the Indian Air Force to completely surround the neighbor from the air.
Google earth snapshot: aviation museum near Delhi airport
Su-30MKI heavy fighters are of the greatest combat value in the IAF. This multifunctional two-seat fighter with a forward horizontal tail and an engine with a deflected thrust vector is built in India from assembly kits supplied from Russia, it uses Israeli and French avionics.
Google earth snapshot: C-30MKI at Pune airfield
Currently, the Indian Air Force has 240 Su-30MKIs. In addition to heavy Russian-made fighters, the Indian Air Force has approximately 60 MiG-29s of various modifications, including the MiG-29UPG and the MiG-29UB.
Google earth snapshot: MiG-29 at Govandhapur airfield
From 1985 to 1996, MiG-27M fighter-bombers were built under license in India at an aircraft plant in the city of Nasik. In India, these machines were renamed "Bahadur" (Ind. "Brave").
Google earth snapshot: MiG-27M fighter-bombers at Jodhpur airfield
In total, taking into account Soviet supplies, the Indian Air Force received 210 MiG-27M. The Bahadurs demonstrated high combat effectiveness in a number of armed conflicts on the border with Pakistan, but more than two dozen aircraft were lost in accidents and disasters. Most of the flight accidents were associated with engine defects, in addition, Russian specialists have repeatedly pointed to the poor quality of aircraft assembly and inadequate maintenance. However, this is typical not only for the MiG-27M, but also for the entire Indian Air Force fleet. As of January 2016, there were 94 MiG-27Ms in service, but the life cycle of these machines ends, and they are all planned to be written off by 2020.
Google earth snapshot: decommissioned MiG-21 and MiG-27M fighters at Kalaikunda airfield
The IAF still has about 200 upgraded MiG-21bis (MiG-21 Bison) fighters. It is assumed that aircraft of this type will remain in service until 2020. In recent years, the largest number of accidents occurred with Indian-made MiG-21 fighters. A significant part of these aircraft have already reached their end of life and must be decommissioned. Satellite images show how the light MiG-21 and the heavy Su-30 MKI differ in size.
Google earth snapshot: MiG-21 and Su-30 MKI fighters at Jodhpur airfield
In the future, the MiG-21 and MiG-27 are planned to be replaced by the light Indian fighter HAL Tejas. This single-engine aircraft is tailless and has a delta wing.
Google earth snapshot: Tejas fighters at Kolkata airfield
It is planned to build more than 200 fighters for the Indian Air Force, currently Tejas is being built in small series at the HAL aircraft plant in Bangalore, and is being tested. Deliveries of light Tejas fighters for military trials to combat units began in 2015.
In addition to MiGs and Sus, the Indian Air Force operates Western-made aircraft. From 1981 to 1987, Sepecat Jaguar S fighter-bombers were assembled in Bangalore from kits supplied by the UK. At the moment, about 140 Jaguars are in flight condition (including those in training and test centers).
Google earth snapshot: Indian Jaguar fighter-bombers at Govandhapur airfield
In addition to the Jaguars, India has just over 50 French Mirage 2000TH and Mirage 2000TS fighters. The small number of Mirages in the Indian Air Force is due to their specific role. According to information leaked to the media, these vehicles were primarily seen as a means of delivering nuclear weapons, and were purchased from France to replace the outdated Canberra bombers.
Google earth snapshot: Mirage-2000 fighters at Gwalior airfield
The Indian Air Force acquired 42 single and 8 two-seat Mirage-2000H fighters in the mid-1980s. Another 10 vehicles were purchased in 2005. In accidents and plane crashes, at least seven cars were lost. Part of the Indian "Mirages" in order to increase their strike potential during the modernization was brought to the level of Mirage 2000-5 Mk2. However, rumors about equipping these attack aircraft with Russian R-27 air combat missiles are groundless.
