10 Most Dangerous Weapons of Indian Army

Indian military, the fourth largest military in the world, is also the keeper of the some of the most advanced and hi-tech weapons on the planet. It's commendable that with a defense budget of a mere $46 billion per annum, India has developed weapon technologies that are at par and even superior to that of the US and Russia. India is not only the largest importer of weapons on the planet but it'll also become the fourth highest military spender by 2020. Here are 10 weapons possessed by the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force that are among the best in the world.

 1) BRAHMOS MISSILE

This is undoubtedly the most famous weapon that India has. It was the result of a joint venture between India and Russia to modify the Yakhont missile for Indian needs and make it into a universal missile which could be launched from any platform. This 9m long missile which weighs 3 tons has now become the backbone of the Indian Defense forces as a long-range standoff weapon. It is currently employed by the India Navy on most of their major warships. Indian Army has inducted 3 regiments and the Air Force is conducting trials for the air launched variant. The air launched variant has a reduced weight of 2.5 tons and 1 missile can be carried under the fuselage of the Su-30Mki. The current production rate is said to be 100 missiles per year.

Naval variant Army variant 

The next generation of BrahMos is named as the BrahMos NG. It is basically a smaller version of the current BrahMos with similar performance and minor improvements. It will undergo a 50% weight reduction and a 30% length reduction and 0% performance reduction. So how is it possible to do such a thing? According to my sources, the current BrahMos uses large electronics circuits and heavy guidance systems and components. The casing of the missile is quite heavy as well since the missile has 25 year old technology which is excellent but heavy and big, which makes the current version so heavy. The NG will feature new gen micro-electronics and advanced composites which will drastically reduce its weight. The new smaller ramjet will also contribute to the smaller size and reduced weight. The speed will be increased from Mach 3 to Mach 3.5. All the branches of the Indian military have expressed interest in the NG variant.

2) Sukhoi  SU-30MKI 

If there is one aircraft that has defined the Indian Air Force in the 21st century, it’s the Su-30Mki. The SU-30MKI sits at the pinnacle of Indian military's air superiority which, without this fighter jet, depends on the aged 4th-gen fighters. Simply put, a single plane is equivalent to 2 MiG-29 and 2 Jaguar combined. Costing Rs 358 Crores a unit, the Sukhoi Su-30MKI is a super-maneuverable twin jet air superiority fighter developed by India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). Developed from the SU-30MK, the ‘I' here stands for India after it was modified to fit Indian war needs by French, Israeli and Indian avionics in collaboration with an aim to create the ultimate Su-30 variant for India. It can load up to 8 tons of weapons, and soon it will be getting fitted with BrahMos and Nirbhay cruise missiles. With 314 air crafts on order, India is the largest Su-30 operator in the world.

3) INS Visakhapatnam (Destroyer)

On 20th April, the Indian Navy launched its latest and by far the most powerful and advanced stealth destroyer ship called the INS Visakhapatnam. Once christened as an Indian Naval Ship in July 2018, INS Visakhapatnam will be the most advanced Indian destroyer warship to sail the battle waters. The 163-meter-long and 7,300-tonne-heavy devouter will have eight supersonic BrahMos anti-ship missiles, 32 Barak-8 Long Range Surface to Air Missiles, Multi Function Surveillance Threat Alert Radar System and twin tube torpedo and rocket launchers. Apart from this, it will also be the only Indian warship with ‘Total Atmosphere Control System' which will enable the crew on board to function without any life support system in regions of nuclear, chemical or biological fall out.

4) INS CHAKRA (Nuclear-Powered Submarine)

Christened as INS Chakra, the real name of this submarine is Nerpa (Russian-made). After acquiring the Akula II class SSN Nerpa from Russia on a ‘lease’ for 10 years, the Indian Navy gained the ability to provide a long-range underwater escort for their carriers and destroyers. The INS Chakra is modified for Indian needs and carries a mix of 36 Torpedoes and Klub Anti-ship missiles which can be fired from the 8×533 mm torpedo tubes. There are reports that India will acquire another Akula SSN, the Iribis which is currently under construction. It may be modified to carry vertical launch tubes for BrahMos missiles.Chakra is the only Indian ‘nuclear war head'-carrying submarine which can remain underwater for as long as humans want it to. Other conventional submarines have to surface as frequently as almost every day. India invested over $900 million in the development of Chakra in return of which Russia leased it to Indian Navy for 10 years. US, Russia, UK, France and China are the only other nations with nuclear-powered submarine.

5) PAD/ AAD BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE (BMD) SYSTEM 

Sensing ballistic missile threat from Pakistan and China, India launched the BMD Defense system. A ballistic missile is a shot-range missile guided during very brief periods of flight, and can fall almost anywhere since its flight is governed by gravity. BMD system can take down any ballistic missile launched from 5,000 kilo metres away. BMD consists of 2 interceptor missiles, namely the Prithvi Air Defense (PAD) missile for high altitude interception, and the Advanced Air Defense (AAD) Missile for lower altitude interception. PAD can take down 300 to 2,000 km (190 to1,240 mi) class of ballistic missiles at a speed of Mach 5. India is the fourth country in the world to successfully deploy ballistic missile defense system. If put to use at the same time,PAD and ADD can achieve up to 99.8 percent take-down accuracy.

6) PHALCON AWACS

AWACS stands for Airborne Early Warning and Control System used to detect aircraft, ships and vehicles at long ranges. The Indian Air Force has one of the most advanced AWACS in the world. Three in active service, the A-50 Phalcon AWACS consists of Israeli Elta EL/W-2090 radar mounted on a Russian Il-76 aircraft. The 360-degree-active electronically-scanning array radar is stationary while its beams are electronically controlled. The AWACS act as control centers guiding fighter-interceptors and tactical air force in battle areas, and can detect targets up to 400 kilometers away. They are fitted with aerial refueling systems and electronic warfare equipment as well.  The AWACS are believed to be 10 times faster than well-known systems like the E-3 Sentry.

7) NAG MISSILE AND NAMICA (NAG MISSILE CARRIER)

Developed at a cost of 3 billion rupees,NAG is a "fire-and-forget" anti-tank missile developed in India by the DRDO. Often reckoned as world's only anti-tank missile which has a complete fiberglass structure, NAG weighs 42 kg, and can engage targets at ranges 4–5 km at a flight speed of 230 metres per second using infrared imaging system. NAMICA is the NAG missile carrier which is capable of carrying 12 missiles with 8 of them in ready-to-fire mode. NAMICA's amphibious capabilities allow it to conquer almost any water body.

 8) INS VIKRAMADITYA

By far the biggest and the most expensive aircraft carrier in the Indian Navy, this 45,000-kilo sea monster can carry up to 24 MiG-29K fighters and 6 ASW/AEW helicopters. INS Vikramaditya is fitted with sensor suites that keep it from being tracked by airborne radar systems. It was bought from Russia on 20 January 2004 at price of $2.35 billion, and on 14 June 2014, Prime Minister  Narendra Modi formally inducted INS Vikramaditya into the Indian Navy. Over 70 percent of the ship has been refurbished and its life expectancy is over 40 years.

9) T-90S BHISHMA

Bhishma is the Indian name for the Russian-made T-90s tanks. An amalgam of T-80U and T-72B, the T-90S have superior fire control system and mobility. These tanks can be used for over three decades with little or no mid-life improvement. The tanks are fitted with the most advanced jamming systems, laser warning receivers, day and night sighting system and 125mm 2A46M smooth bore gun with thermal capabilities. A Bhishma tank, manned by a crew of three, weighs 48,000 kilos and can cross water obstacles as deep as 5 meters and carry 1600 liters of fuel (diesel) under its virtually impenetrable armor. Apart from its 125mm 2A46M smooth bore gun, the 12.7 mm machine gun mounted on the turret can be operated both manually and remotely. Seven hundred of these were purchased from Russia, and once another 347 (to be built in India) join in, India will have the largest force of modernized tanks in South Asia.

10) PINAKA

The Pinaka MBRLS (multiple barrel rocket launch system) is produced in India by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) for the Indian Army. Combat proven in thecold and high altitude regions during the Kargil conflict in 1999, Pinaka can fire up to 12 missiles/rockets in 44 seconds with a reload time as short as4 minutes. A single launch system fitted on an 8×8 Tatra truck is loaded with 12 rockets which have a maximum range between 40 km-65 km. Pinaka makes use of the very advanced inertial navigation system (INS) which uses a computer, motion sensors and rotation sensors to calculate the position, orientation, and direction of a moving object.  Pinaka iscapable of working in different modes namely autonomous mode, stand-alone mode, remote mode and manual mode. DRDO is also working on fitting GPS guidance systems on the rockets, and developing missiles with a baffling range of as much as 120kms. What's surprising is the fact that Pinaka is approximately 10 times cheaper than its American peer, the M270.