Developed on the basis of the P-800 Onyx anti-ship missile system (Index 3M55), numerous modifications of the PJ-10 BrahMos supersonic tactical missiles make the Indian army the most powerful tactical strike force in the entire Eurasian continent on a par with the Russian Armed Forces. New opportunities will open up for the Indian Army after the adoption of the recently tested version of the "BrahMos" class "air-ground". Even the PLA does not possess such a class of long-range tactical missiles today.
The role of the Russian Federation in maintaining the strategic balance of the Indo-Asia-Pacific region deserves special attention, as well as detailed consideration from various geopolitical angles. For decades, the developed Asian arms market has been focused on the most advanced export modifications of military equipment of the Russian defense industry. At the same time, all samples of equipment fall under a clear "inter-contract distribution", when some products are assigned for export, for example, to China, and others to India. This makes it possible to achieve a relative military-strategic parity of the IATM, which, one way or another, contributes to a partial detente in relations between the regional superpowers of Asia, including the small states supporting them (today this applies to Vietnam). An example of such activity by the Russian Federation can be observed by considering contracts for the purchase of new Russian weapons for the PLA, as well as the joint Russian-Indian programs of the Sukhoi / HAL and NPO Mashinostroyenia / DRDO companies.
Soon, the Chinese Air Force will receive the Su-35S super-maneuverable multi-role fighters of the 4 ++ generation, as well as the S-400 Triumph long-range anti-aircraft missile systems. The main purpose of these units is the conquest of air supremacy, territorial missile defense against the advanced weapons of the WTO, as well as strikes against ground and sea targets. This will allow the PRC at a qualitatively new level to cover its strategic objects from possible strikes from the US Navy, as well as the Indian Navy and Air Force in the event that the latter makes attempts at MRAU at the time of a possible aggravation of the territorial dispute over the ownership of Indian Arunachal Pradesh and the mountainous area in the north. Kashmir. The Indian side, on the other hand, received the Su-30MKI two-seat super-maneuverable multipurpose fighters, built by the HAL aviation corporation under the Sukhoi license, equipped with radar with PFAR N011M. These machines, present in the Indian Air Force in the amount of more than 240 fighters, which will be able to withstand the Chinese J-10A J-11, J-15B / S, as well as the Su-27SK / UBK and Su-30MKK / MK2, equipped with more primitive N001VE airborne radars with a Kssegren antenna array. The avionics of these fighters will be updated by installing new radars with AFAR, but this will take about 10 years. The Chinese Air Force will enter service with the 5th generation J-31A fighters, but India is not going to lag behind either.
The PRC Air Force is armed with 73 Su-30MKK 4+ generation multipurpose fighters. These machines lack the front horizontal tail, as well as the deflected thrust vector, which does not allow the implementation of such advanced modes and super-maneuverability figures that the Su-30MKI is capable of. Also, instead of a new on-board radar with PFAR N011M "Bars", the Su-30MKK was equipped with an N001VE radar. Its feature in front of the basic version is the ability to detect and capture ground and surface targets with their subsequent destruction with a wide range of high-precision missile and bomb weapons (PRLR Kh-31P, Kh-58U, Kh-59MK / MK2). The ability to gain air superiority has been slightly increased due to a slight increase in the power and range of the radar against air targets (up to 130 km). The total number of fighters of modifications Su-27SK / UBK, Su-30MKK / MK2, and built under license J-11/15 / 15S has already exceeded 400 aircraft, but weaker radars, as well as the lack of OVT, equalize their chances with the Indian Su-30MKI. In the near future, the situation will begin to change in the process of updating the RLPK of Chinese "Sushki" with new radars with AFAR
The most ambitious Russian-Indian project of the 5th generation super-maneuverable fighter FGFA remains in force. Created on the basis of the T-50 PAK-FA, the Indian version of the promising aviation complex of front-line aviation will embody the most progressive developments of our KLA, as well as the Indian HAL, due to which the combat qualities of the new aircraft should reach a level approximately between the T-50 and F -22A "Raptor". The upcoming order of 200 single and 50 double FGFAs will be able to fully fend off the threat from promising Chinese fighters, which confirms the version of the Russian Federation's desire to maintain the military balance in the IATR. But these are not the only examples of Russian equipment and element base that make a huge contribution to the combat capability of the states of this region.
Many promising high-precision missile weapon systems, tactical aviation avionics and other network-centric systems of the 21st century will be unavailable for purchase even by the states that are most friendly to Moscow for many years to come, since their further foreign policy vector in the current conditions is practically unpredictable: one has only to analyze A. Lukashenko's statements regarding the conflict on Donbass and the Armed Forces of Novorossia, which have been defending the LDNR from Ukrainian aggression for more than 2 years, we draw conclusions. The unique operational-tactical missile systems "Iskander-M / K" are also among the data prohibited for export and weapons. So, the general director of the state corporation "Rostec" Sergei Chemezov said in an interview with "Kommersant-Vlast" that Saudi Arabia is not an exception to the rule, and the contract for "Iskander" will not be obtained. Everything is absolutely logical here: the "Arab coalition" is playing against the Syrian army and the Russian military contingent in Syria, and also poses a serious threat to Iran in the Persian Gulf, and even theoretically cannot get an OPTB capable of overcoming any known missile defense systems. India will not be able to receive the Iskander, while it also needs such complexes, because Pakistan, which is far from friendly, cooperating with China, is under the western side. But Delhi was more lucky. Since 1998, the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and NPO Mashinostroyenia have been producing and improving the PJ-10 BrahMos supersonic anti-ship missile system, which is the main strike unit of the Indian Navy and Air Force. This is the only tactical missile in the Indian army capable of guaranteeing more or less adequate protection against the PLA if a regional conflict breaks out in the future.
Back in April 2016, many online publications, with reference to the defencenews.in resource, spread the news about the creation by the Indian Air Force of two reinforced anti-ship squadrons (air wings) consisting of 40 Su-30MKI multipurpose fighters, carrying 120 anti-ship missiles "BrahMos-A". The official goal of creating an advanced anti-ship aircraft wing was not announced, but it is well known that it was formed to contain the Chinese strike groups (KUG), which include the best destroyers of the Chinese Navy's URO, Type 052C and Type 052D. The number of Su-30MKI makes it possible to increase the number of PKRVB (air-launched anti-ship missiles) to 450 - 750 units, which will make it possible to deal with even more advanced NKs of the Chinese fleet. Hindus work for a long-term perspective. But there is not only "BrahMos-A", but also many other versions of the advanced export "Onyx", among which there are modifications for use in the land theater.
In addition to the ship-based BrahMos to defeat enemy surface and ground targets, as well as coastal SCRCs based on the PJ-10, a supersonic operational-tactical surface-to-ground class BrahMos was also developed, which was successfully tested on May 27, 2016. The first thing that catches your eye is the accuracy of the BrahMos hitting the aiming cloth of a vertical brick target: the photo shows that the KVO does not exceed 3 m, i.e. small ground objects can be destroyed. The high flight speed (about 2600 km / h) and the weight of 2500 kg allow to achieve stunning kinetic energy, equivalent to the detonation of 156 kg of TNT, plus a penetrating warhead weighing 300 kg. The unique flight characteristics of this rocket, achieved using a ramjet engine with a thrust of 400 kgf, are able to partially compensate for the main disadvantage of the rocket at a low-altitude flight profile - a range of 120 km. At low altitudes ("BrahMos" fly at altitudes from 10 to 50 m, depending on the terrain), fuel consumption triples, but the chance of breaking through the enemy's missile defense sharply increases. For example, let's take the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, which is the main subject of the territorial dispute between China and India.
The state is represented by the complex mountainous terrain of Southern Tibet with many river valleys cutting through it, the main of which is the valley of the central Brahmaputra river (it is significant that the first syllable in the name PJ-10 "BrahMos" is taken from the name of this river). A supersonic flight at an altitude of only a few tens of meters at a speed of 2.5M over a terrain with numerous hills and lowlands makes them dozens of times more difficult to intercept by anti-aircraft missile systems and enemy systems. In addition, the possibility of detecting such objects by the existing Chinese AWACS aircraft of the KJ-2000 type is sharply reduced, since the BrahMos, every now and then, will "dive into the shadows" of mountain ranges and peaks, and fly closer to the Indian state to open a view at low-altitude areas (at the foot of the mountains), the Chinese RLDN aircraft will not have the opportunity, since this region will be covered by the S-400 "Triumph" division and tactical fighter aircraft.
China can oppose in this direction, in case of escalation, several anti-aircraft missile systems S-300PS / PMU-1, a couple of S-400 divisions and many modern Chinese complexes such as HQ-9 and HQ-16, which, although it is a very serious defensive stronghold, from hundreds of BrahMos suddenly flying out due to the unpredictable mountain radio horizon, it is unlikely to save. In addition, various composite radar absorbing materials were used in the PJ-10 hull design, which reduced the RCS of the rocket to 0.2-0.3 m2. No matter how surprised someone might be, even a dozen BrahMos that appeared from behind a nearby mountain slope do not leave the slightest chance for either the S-300PS or the S-300PMU-1, and only the Triumph will be able to get out thanks to the ARGSN 9M96E / E2 missiles and target designation of the AWACS aircraft, which, under successful circumstances, will be able to issue the coordinates of the PJ-10 to the PBU 55K6E of the Chinese Chetyrekhsotka. To a certain extent, BrahMosy can replace the Iskander-M / K OTRK, and in some moments even surpass it. So, for example, the flight speed of the 9M728 cruise missile of the Iskander-K complex is about 945 km / h, which raises concerns in the context of promising enemy air defense systems. The flight range of the ground-based BrahMos can be increased by introducing a mixed or high-altitude flight profile into the INS (when the rocket reaches a 15-kilometer "hill"): due to the reduced fuel consumption, the range can reach 180-200 km, but will increase proportionally the danger of interception by enemy air defense systems. Why not 290 - 300 km, as in the aviation modification? Yes, because when launched from a ground-based installation, the PJ-10 will consume a significant part of the fuel at the time of climb in the dense layers of the atmosphere, while the aircraft engine turns on the main engine already 10 km above the surface.
On the Chinese resource club.mil.news.sina.com.cn, entertaining computer images of a promising Chinese medium-range bomber have appeared, a digital model of which is based on the 5th generation J-20 tactical strike fighter. Perhaps this is just a fantasy of one of the many Chinese aircraft enthusiasts, or perhaps a very real future machine that will be embodied in hardware. After the signing of a contract between China and Russia, the purchase of the Su-35S, Chengdu and Shenyang will be able to gain access to the unique onboard radar with PFAR N035 Irbis-E, the technologies of which can also be used to develop airborne radar systems for strategic aviation
The export of modern Russian military technologies simultaneously to China and India contributes to the establishment of a geostrategic balance in the region, a similar situation is observed with Vietnam, but one should not forget that it is very undesirable to "replay" here with one or the other "player". since both Delhi and Hanoi continue close naval cooperation with the United States, Japan and Australia, which will always with great pleasure support any anti-Chinese mission, arguing its aggressive actions by the Celestial Empire towards the island archipelagos of Spratly and Diaoyu, as well as “warning the world about the Chinese threat "for the entire Asia-Pacific region. And the total superiority of the military potentials of the aforementioned US allies in Asia over China does not imply anything good for Russia. It cannot be denied that we need to "watch" the actions of the PRC regularly and very carefully. Yes, and our geostrategic ambitions in the Asia-Pacific region differ significantly from the Chinese ones, but the general defensive concepts in the eastern strategic direction of the Eurasian continent both in Russia and in China are practically the same. The main threat to our states is the US Navy, and the secondary one is the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Forces. Not being a single naval formation, the Russian Pacific Fleet and the Chinese Navy are in any case the only worthy Pacific "backbone" capable of well "dampening" American ambitions in the APR, the same can be said about the Far Eastern air regiments of the Air Force, which are part of the Eastern military district. If the Air Defense Forces and the PLA were separately geographically located, it would be ten times more difficult to resist the American threat. But it so happened that we have a common conditional front, the Pacific theater of operations is also common, and it would be very stupid not to use this advantage for our own safety.
