Indian Armed Forces. Indian Army Indian Armed Forces

Military budget 22 billion dollars. Regular armed forces 1 million 325 thousand people.

Acquisition: on a voluntary basis. Reserve 1,155 thousand people, including SV - 960 thousand, Air Force - 140 thousand, Navy - 55 thousand, territorial troops - 40 thousand. Paramilitary forces 1 million 721.5 thousand people, incl. National security forces - 7.4 thousand, security group for high-ranking officials - 3 thousand, special border forces - 9 thousand, Rashtriya riflemen - 40 thousand, security forces for military installations - 31 thousand, security of the Indo-Tibetan border - 32.4 thousand, Assam Rifles - 52.5 thousand, railway security forces - 70 thousand, industrial security forces - 95 thousand, central reserve police - 167.4 thousand, border security forces - 174 thousand .,

BCHR - 8 thousand, armed provincial police forces - 400 thousand. Mob. resources 293.7 million people, including 172.2 million fit for military service.

NE: 1.1 million people, 6 regional commands, training command, 4 field armies, 11 army corps (including 3 shock, one for desert operations), 37 divisions (3 armored, 4 quick reaction, 18 infantry, 10 mountain infantry, 2 artillery PA), 15 separate brigades (7 armored, 5 infantry, 2 mountain infantry, airborne), 4 anti-aircraft artillery (another 14 reduced strength), 3 engineering brigades, 2 missile regiments. Territorial Army (160 thousand reservists, only 40 thousand trained): 25 infantry battalions and 29 armed formations. Armament: 3-5 OTR "Prithvi" launchers, 4,168 tanks, including 3,978 MBT T-90, T-90S, T-72, T-72M, modernized "Vijayanta" (approximately 1,130 MBT in storage) , a modernization program is underway for more than 1 thousand tanks, about 190 light tanks, including 100PT-76, YuOBRDM-2, 1,600 infantry fighting vehicles, 317 armored personnel carriers, up to 5,625 towed guns, over 150 SG, 180 MLRS (including h. 30 214-mm Pinaka), 6,720 mortars (including 5 thousand 81-mm), 2,339 ZA guns, about 1,725 air defense systems, 162 AA helicopters (12 combat), several Secher-type UAVs and "Nishant", 12 boats.

Air Force: 170 thousand people, 852 b. s, 40 b. V.

Aircraft and helicopter fleet: 74 MiG-29, 50 Su-30 (K and MKI), 78 MiG 23 (BN, MF and UM), 120 MiG-27, 256 MiG-21 (BIS, MF, PFMA, FL and U ), 74 "Jaguar", 7 MiG-25 (R and U), 48 "Mirage-2000" (N and TN), 12 "Canberra" (B58, PR-57 and PR-67), 2 Boeing 707, 2 Boeing 737-200, 4 HS-748, 105AH-32, 43 Do-228, 25 Il-76, 6 Il-78,120 Kiran-1, 56 Kiran-2, 38 Hunter (F- 56, T-66), 35 VAe 748, 40 Mi-25 and Mi-35, 73 Mi-8, 50 Mi-17, 10 Mi-26, 40 “Chitak”, 2 Mi-24, more than 280 missiles.

Navy: 55 thousand people. (including 1.2 thousand in MP).

Operational commands: Western, Eastern, Southern, Far Eastern. FLEET: 16 submarines (4 Project 209/1500, 10 Project 877EM, 2 Project 641), 1 AVL "Hermes", 8 EM URO (3 "Delhi", 5 Project 61ME), 8FR URO (Zpr. 1135.6 /17, 3 “Godavari”, 2 “Brahmaputra”), 5 FR “Linder”, 25 KORV (4 project 25A, 4 “Khukri”, 4 project 1241.2, 13 project 1241RE), 6 PK “Sukaniya”, 11 PKA, 7DK (2 TDK "Magar", 5 project 773), 6DKA, 14 MTK (12 project 266M, 2 project 1258), 10IS, 10GISU, 2UK (including "Linder"), 2 training sailing vessels , 36 Armed Forces (including 1 PBPL, 3 TNZ, 6TN, 2TRS, SS PL), 12 BUK.

AVIATION: 7 thousand people. Squadrons: aircraft - 8 (2 ishae, 2 groove, 1 time, 1 basin, 2 utae); helicopters - 9 (6 az PLV, 1 ae PSP, 2 utae). Aircraft - 64 (17 Sea Harrier FRS.51, 16 Mig-29K, 8 Tu-142, 15 Do-228, 3 Il-38, 3 Defender, 2 F-27), helicopters - 83 ( 27 Sea King Mk42A/B/S, 12 Ka-28, 23 SA-319B, 9 Ka-31,12 HAL).

BOHR: about 8 thousand people, 12 PCs (3 Samar, 9 Vik-ram), 22 PKA, 20 boats. Aircraft - 20 Do-228, 2 F-27, helicopters - 15 Chitak.

Armed forces of the world

India, together with the DPRK and Israel, is one of the second three countries in the world in terms of military potential (the first three, of course, are the USA, China and the Russian Federation). The personnel of the Indian Armed Forces have a high level of combat and moral and psychological training, although they are recruited for hire. In India, as in Pakistan, due to the huge population and complex ethno-religious situation, recruiting the armed forces by conscription is not possible.

The country is the most important importer of weapons from Russia and maintains close military-technical cooperation with France and Great Britain, and more recently with the United States. At the same time, India has a huge domestic military-industrial complex, which, theoretically, is capable of producing weapons and equipment of all classes, including nuclear weapons and their delivery vehicles. However, weapons developed in India itself (the Arjun tank, the Tejas fighter, the Dhruv helicopter, etc.), as a rule, have very low performance characteristics, and their development has been going on for decades. The assembly quality of equipment manufactured under foreign licenses is often very low, which is why the Indian Air Force has the highest accident rate in the world. However, India has every reason to claim the title of one of the world's superpowers in the 21st century.

Ground troops India has a Training Command (headquarters in Shimla) and six territorial commands. At the same time, the 50th Airborne Brigade, 2 regiments (groups) of the Agni MRBM (334th with Agni-1, 335th with Agni-2), 333rd regiment are directly subordinate to the headquarters of the ground forces. (group) OTR "Prithvi-1", 4th regiment (861st, 862nd, 863rd, 864th) CRNB "Brahmos".

Central Command (headquarters in Lucknow) includes one army corps - 1st AK (headquarters in Matura). It includes the 4th Infantry Division (Allahabad), the 6th Mountain Division (Bareilly), and the 33rd Armored Division (Hissar). Currently, the 1st AK is temporarily transferred to the Southwestern Command, so the Central Command, in fact, has no combat forces.

Northern Command (Udhampur) includes three army corps - 14th, 15th, 16th.

14th AK (Lech) It includes the 3rd Infantry (Leh) and 8th Mountain (Dras) divisions.

15th AK (Srinagar) It includes the 19th Infantry (Baramulla) and 28th Mountain (Gurez) divisions.

16th AK (Nagrota) It includes the 10th (Akhnur), 25th (Rajauri), 39th (Yol) infantry divisions, and the 10th artillery brigade.

Western Command (Chandimandir) includes the 40th artillery division (Ambala) and three AKs - 2nd, 9th, 11th.

2nd AK (Ambala) It includes the 1st Armored Division (Patiala), 14th RRF Division (Dehradun), 22nd Infantry Division (Meerut), 474th Engineer, 612th Air Defense Brigade.

9th AK (Yol) includes the 26th (Jammu) and 29th (Pathankot) infantry divisions, 2nd, 3rd, 16th armored brigades.

11th AK (Jalandar) It consists of the 7th (Firozpur), 9th (Meerut), 15th (Amritsar) infantry divisions, 23rd armored and 55th mechanized brigades.

South Western Command (Jaipur) includes the 42nd Artillery Division (Jaipur), the 1st AK, temporarily transferred from the Central Command (described above), and the 10th AK (Bhatinda), which includes the 16th Infantry Division (Ganganagar), 18- Yu (Kota) and 24th (Bikaner) divisions of the RRF, 6th armored, 615th air defense, 471st engineering brigade.

Southern Command (Pune ) includes the 41st Artillery Division (Pune) and two AKs - the 12th and 21st.

12th AK (Jodhpur) includes the 11th (Ahmedabad) and 12th (Jodhpur) infantry divisions, 4th armored and 340th mechanized brigades.

21st AK (Bhopal) It includes the 31st Armored Division (Jhansi), the 36th RRF Division (Sagar), the 54th Infantry Division (Hyderabad), artillery, air defense, and the 475th Engineering Brigade.

Eastern Command (Calcutta) includes the 23rd Infantry Division (Ranchi) and four AKs (3rd, 4th, 17th, 33rd).

3rd AK (Dimapur)- 2nd (Dibrugar), 56th (Zakhama), 57th (Leimahong) mountain divisions.

4th AK (Tezpur)- 5th (Bomdila), 21st (Rangia), 71st (Missamari) mountain divisions.

17th AK (Panagar)- 59th (Panagar), 72nd (Pathankot) infantry divisions.

33rd AK (Siliguri)- 17th (Gangtok), 20th (Binnaguri), 27th (Kalimpong) mountain divisions.

Two regiments have 20 Agni-1 IRBM launchers and 8 Agni-2 launchers. In total, there are supposedly 80-100 Agni-1 missiles (flight range - 1500 km), and 20-25 Agni-2 missiles (2-4 thousand km). It is possible that the first 4 Agni-3 MRBM launchers (3200 km) have been deployed in the 335th regiment. The only OTR regiment "Prithvi-1" (range - 150 km) has 12-15 launchers and 75-100 missiles. All these ballistic missiles were developed in India itself and can carry both nuclear and conventional warheads. Each of the 4 regiments of Brahmos cruise missiles (jointly developed by Russia and India) has 4-6 batteries, each with 3-4 launchers. The total number of Brahmos cruise missile launchers is 72.

India's tank fleet includes 124 indigenously developed Arjun tanks (their production continues), 1,402 of the latest Russian T-90s (a total of 2,011 such tanks are expected to be available) and up to 2,414 Soviet T-72Ms, modernized in India (locally called "Ajeya" ). In addition, up to 815 old Soviet T-55s and up to 2000 no less old Vijayanta tanks of our own production (English Vickers Mk1) are in storage.

Unlike tanks, other armored vehicles of the Indian Army are generally very outdated. There are up to 598 Soviet BRDM-2, up to 48 English Ferret armored vehicles, up to 2000 BMP-2 (including 123 command BMP-2K), 300 Czechoslovak OT-64 armored personnel carriers, 462 South African Casspir armored vehicles, 12 English Armored personnel carrier FV432. Of all the listed equipment, only the BMP-2 can be considered new, and very conditionally. In addition, up to 700 old BMP-1s, up to 200 very old Soviet BTR-50s, up to 250 BTR-152s, up to 55 BTR-60s, up to 299 Czechoslovakian OT-62s are in storage.

Much of the Indian artillery was also obsolete. There are 20 self-propelled guns "Catapult" of our own design (130-mm howitzer M-46 on the chassis of the Vijayanta tank; another 80 such self-propelled guns are in storage), 68 English "Abbot" (105 mm), 10 K9 "Vajra" (155 mm) . Towed guns - 215 Yugoslav mountain M48 (76 mm), from 700 to 1300 own IFG Mk1/Mk2/Mk3 and from 700 to 800 LFG, 50 Italian M-56 (105 mm), 400 Soviet D-30 (122 mm), 210 British FH-77B, 180 M-46 with a new barrel, 3 American M777 (155 mm), 40 Soviet S-23 (180 mm); up to 721 M-46 and 200 FH-77B, as well as 900 mountain guns (75 mm), 800 British guns (88 mm), 350 Soviet BS-3 (100 mm) are in storage. Mortars - 5000 own E1 and 220 self-propelled SMT on the BMP-2 chassis (81 mm), 500 French AM-50 (120 mm), 207 Finnish M-58 Tampella and 500 Soviet M-160 (160 mm). MLRS - up to 200 Soviet BM-21 (122 mm), 80 own Pinaka (214 mm), 42 Russian Smerch (300 mm). Of all the listed artillery systems, only the South Korean K9 self-propelled guns (produced in India under license), the American M777 howitzers (also produced under license), and the Pinaka and Smerch MLRS can be considered modern.

Currently, India is confidently among the top ten world powers in terms of its military potential. India's armed forces are inferior to the armies of the United States, Russia and China, but are still very strong and numerous. It couldn’t be any other way in a country with a population of about 1.3 billion people. In terms of military spending in 2014, India ranked 7th in the world - $50 billion (data from the Stockholm Peace Research Institute).

More than 1.3 million people serve in the Indian armed forces (3rd place in the world). Speaking about the Indian armed forces, it is worth remembering that India is the world's largest importer of weapons (as of 2012), and also possesses nuclear weapons and their delivery systems.

In addition to the direct armed forces, India has a variety of paramilitary forces, which serve about 1.1 million people: national security forces, special border forces, special paramilitary forces. As of 2015, India's population is 1 billion 276 million people (the 2nd largest population in the world, after China). At the same time, the country’s mobilization resources are estimated at at least 270 million people, of which 160 million are fully fit for military service.

The Indian Armed Forces are intended to organize the defense of the Republic, protect the freedom and independence of the country, this is one of the most important weapons of political power. The personnel of the Indian armed forces have a high level of moral, psychological and combat training and serve on a contract basis; there is no compulsory conscription for military service in India. For India, due to its huge population and complex ethno-confessional situation, recruiting the armed forces by conscription is simply not possible.

Speaking about the Indian armed forces, it can be noted that they are relatively young. The armed forces of the independent Republic of India appeared only in 1947. Moreover, they were formed on the basis of military contingents that were transferred to the country during its division into two British dominions - the Indian Union and Pakistan. At the same time, the Indian armed forces included units with personnel professing Hinduism and other religions except Islam, and the Pakistani army included Muslim military personnel. The official date of formation of the national armed forces of India is August 15, 1949.

A special feature of the Indian armed forces is its very close cooperation with the Russian defense-industrial complex. The Indian Army is armed with a huge amount of military equipment and weapons produced in the Soviet Union and Russia. For example, it is not Russia that has the largest fleet of T-90 tanks in the world, but India. At the same time, both countries actively cooperate in the military-technical sphere, jointly developing various weapons. Currently, India is the most important importer of Russian weapons, and at the same time the country cooperates quite closely with the UK, France and, more recently, the US.

Currently, Russian-Indian cooperation is exclusive. And the point is not that India has been buying weapons from Russia for decades. Delhi and Moscow are working together to create modern weapons systems, and quite unique ones, such as the Brahmos missile, or the 5th generation fighter - FGFA. The leasing of a nuclear submarine has no analogues in world practice (Russia leased the Nerpa nuclear submarine to India for 10 years); the USSR had similar experience in this area in the 1980s with India.

At the same time, India has its own military-industrial complex, which is capable of producing weapons and equipment of all classes, including nuclear weapons and delivery vehicles. However, this is more in theory, since weapons created in India itself, as a rule, have lower tactical and technical characteristics in comparison with foreign analogues, and their development has been going on for decades. The most obvious example in this regard is the Indian Arjun tank, the development of which lasted about 37 years.

Equipment samples assembled in the country under foreign licenses are also not the most reliable. For example, as experts note, the high accident rate in the Indian Air Force may be associated precisely with this factor. However, despite all of the above, India has everything to become one of the world's major superpowers in the 21st century.

Indian Army

The Indian Army is the largest component of the country's armed forces, with at least 1.1 million personnel serving (there are 990,000 reservists). The ground forces have a Training Command (headquarters in Shimla), as well as 6 territorial commands - Central, Northern, Western, Southwestern, Southern and Eastern. At the same time, the 50th Airborne Brigade, two regiments of the Agni IRBM launcher, one regiment of the Prithvi-1 OTR launcher and four regiments armed with Brahmos cruise missiles are directly subordinate to the headquarters of the Indian Ground Forces.

The Indian ground forces consist of 12 army corps headquarters, 36 divisions (18 infantry, 3 armored, 4 rapid deployment divisions, 10 mountain infantry and one artillery). In addition, the Army has 15 separate brigades (5 armored, 7 infantry, two mountain infantry and one parachute), as well as 12 air defense brigades, 3 engineering brigades and 22 helicopter squadrons of army aviation.

Indian T-90

Currently, India has a fairly impressive tank fleet, which is mainly equipped with modern vehicles. The army has received 124 indigenously developed Arjun tanks, with plans to supply 124 more, while work is underway on a modernized version of the Arjun-2. The troops also have 1,250 modern Russian T-90 MBTs, and it is planned to produce another 750 of these tanks under license. There are also up to 2,400 Soviet T-72M MBTs that have undergone or are undergoing modernization. In addition, up to 1,100 old Vijayanta tanks of our own production (British Vickers Mk1) and up to 700 Soviet T-55 tanks are in storage.

Unlike tanks, the situation with other weapons is much worse. Basically, the fleet of other Indian armored vehicles is outdated. The country has about 100 BRDM-2s, approximately 1,200 BMP-2s and up to 300 different armored personnel carriers. The BMP-2 fleet is currently being modernized. In 2006, 123 vehicles were converted into the BMP-2K variant; armored vehicles are assembled under Russian license in India, while the Indian Ministry of Defense plans to purchase another 149 BMP-2K.

Most of the Indian artillery is also obsolete. The troops have up to 100 Catapult self-propelled guns of their own design - the 130-mm M-46 howitzer on the chassis of the Vijayanta tank, and about 80 more such vehicles are in storage. There are also 110 Soviet 122mm 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled guns and 80 British 105mm Abbot self-propelled guns.

It is curious that in September 2015, India held a competition for the purchase of 155-mm self-propelled guns, which was won by the South Korean K9 Thunder artillery system, beating the Russian one. This South Korean self-propelled gun is definitely a success on the international market, and it was also chosen as the main one in the Turkish armed forces. Production of the K9 Thunder self-propelled guns will be launched in India, and it is reported that the armed forces will purchase at least 500 of these self-propelled guns.

Indian Army BMP-2

In addition, there are about 4.3 thousand towed guns of various calibers in service, more than 3 thousand in storage and about 7 thousand mortars. There are practically no modern examples among them either. At the same time, since 2010, India has been trying to purchase 145 light 155-mm M-777 howitzers from the United States; the deal has been discussed for 5 years, but it seems that in May 2015 the matter moved forward and the howitzers will be delivered to the country.

The situation with MLRS is similar in terms of the availability of new models. India has about 150 Soviet (122 mm), 80 indigenously developed Pinaka MLRS (214 mm) and 62 Russian Smerch (300 mm) systems. At the same time, “Pinaka” and “Smerch” can be classified as modern multiple launch rocket systems.

Also in service with the ground forces are about 250 Russian-made Kornet ATGMs, 13 Namika self-propelled ATGMs (Indian Nag ATGM on the BMP-2 chassis), in addition there are several thousand Soviet and Russian Malyutka and Fagot ATGMs. , “Competition”, “Storm”, French ATGM “Milan”.

Modernized Indian MBT "Arjun"

The basis of the army's air defense is the Soviet/Russian air defense systems Strela-10 (250), Osa (80), Tunguska (184), Shilka (75), as well as Indian short-range air defense systems Akash (300). The Army Aviation has about 300 helicopters, almost all made in India.

Indian Air Force

In terms of the number of aircraft, the Indian Air Force is in fourth place in the world, behind the United States, Russia and China. Wherein The Air Force has about 1,800 aircraft of all types, including about 900 combat vehicles. About 150 thousand people serve in the Indian Air Force. Organizationally, they are an integral part of the combined branch of the armed forces - the Air Force and Air Defense (Air Defense). The country's air force has 38 air wing headquarters and 47 combat aviation squadrons, and the country has a developed network of airfields.

Indian Air Force Past and Present: MiG-21 and Su-30MKI

The Indian Air Force headquarters consists of the following departments: operational planning, intelligence, combat training, electronic warfare, meteorological, financial and communications. Also subordinate to the headquarters are 5 aviation commands and one training command (headquarters in Bangalore), which manage the local air force units: Central (Allahabad), Western (Delhi), Eastern (Shillong), Southern (Trivandrum) and Southwestern (Gandhinagar).

A serious problem for the Indian Air Force over the years has been the high accident rate. From the early 1970s to the early 2000s, the Indian Air Force lost an average of 23 aircraft and helicopters every year. At the same time, the largest number of flight accidents occurs in Soviet aircraft, which were produced in India and for a long time formed the basis of its aircraft fleet. In the Indian Air Force, these aircraft have earned a reputation as "flying coffins" and "widowmakers". From 1971 to April 2012, 482 such fighters crashed in India (more than half of the 872 MiG-21s that India received). At the same time, at least 150 of these vehicles remain in service, 120 of which are planned to be in operation until at least 2019.

In general, the Indian Air Force is based on Soviet/Russian-made aircraft and helicopters. Strike aircraft were represented by Soviet MiG-27s (113 aircraft), most of them planned to be decommissioned in 2015, and approximately 120 British Jaguar fighter-bombers. All these aircraft were built in India under license and are now obsolete.

Su-30MKI

The situation is much better with fighter aircraft. The Air Force has about 220 modern Russian ones, their total number will be increased to 272. In terms of the number of Su-30 fighters in service, the Indian Air Force is ahead of the Russian Air Force. There are also 62 MiG-29 fighters in service, all of which have been upgraded to the MiG-29UPG (53) and MiG-29UB-UPG versions.

In addition, there are 50 French Mirage-2000 fighters and another 11 such training machines. It is planned to modernize them to the Mirage 2000-5 level, which will extend their service life by another 20 years. In addition, the Indian Air Force is beginning to receive a fourth-generation light multirole fighter of its own design - the HAL Tejas; since 2014, 14 fighters have been built, including prototypes. In total, it is planned to build about 200 such aircraft for the Indian Air Force, which should completely replace the MiG-21 and MiG-27.

India also has AEW&CS aircraft, there are three Russian A-50EI and three DRDO AEW&CS aircraft of joint Indian-Brazilian development. There are also three American Gulfstream-4 electronic reconnaissance aircraft, six Russian Il-78 tanker aircraft, and six more European Airbus A330 MRTT will be delivered.

In transport aviation there are 17 Il-76MD, 105 An-32, some of the aircraft have been modernized in Ukraine since 2009, the rest will be modernized directly in India. At the same time, India plans to replace all Soviet Il-76MD, which have been in operation for more than 28 years, with the latest American C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft. In 2010, a contract was signed for the purchase of 10 such aircraft, with a possible option for the purchase of 6 more aircraft. The first aircraft was handed over to the Indian Air Force in January 2013.

Light multi-role fighter HAL Tejas

The Air Force is armed with about 30 combat helicopters, including 24 Russian ones Mi-35, 4 indigenously produced Rudra helicopters and 2 LCHs. In addition, about 360 multi-purpose and transport helicopters are operated, including a large number of Soviet Mi-8 and Russian Mi-17, Mi-17V5, as well as Mi-26.

Indian Navy

The Indian Navy includes the Navy, Naval Aviation and Special Forces. Currently, about 58 thousand people serve in the fleet, including about 1.2 thousand in the Marine Corps and about 5 thousand in naval aviation. The Navy operates more than 180 ships and 200 aircraft. The Indian Navy uses three main naval bases to base warships - Kadamba (in the Goa region), Mumbai and Visakhapatnam. At the same time, the Navy includes three commands - Western (Bombay), Southern (Cochin) and Eastern (Vishakhapatnam).

The Indian submarine fleet includes one of its own design with 12 K-15 SLBMs (range 700 km), and it is planned to build 3 more submarines of this type. At the same time, the missile launch range is quite modest. Also on lease is one Russian nuclear submarine “Nerpa” of project 971, which received the Indian name “Chakra”. In addition, there are 9 Russian diesel submarines of Project 877 Halibut and 4 German submarines of Project 209/1500 in service. Construction is also underway on 3 modern French Scorpene-class submarines; a total of 6 such submarines are planned to be built.

On the deck of the aircraft carrier Vikramaditya.

Currently, the Indian fleet has two aircraft carriers - Viraat (formerly English Hermes) and Vikramaditya (formerly Soviet Admiral Gorshkov). In addition, the construction of two of its own Vikrant-class aircraft carriers is underway. Indian naval aviation has 63 carrier-based fighters - 45 MiG-29K (including 8 combat training MiG-29KUB) and 18 Harriers. The MiG-29K fighters are intended to arm the Vikramaditya aircraft carrier (the air group consists of 14-16 MiG-29K and 4 MiG-29KUB, up to 10 helicopters) and the Vikrant-type aircraft carriers under construction, and the Harriers are used on the Viraat.

Anti-submarine aviation is represented by the old Soviet Il-38 - 5 aircraft, Tu-142M - 7 aircraft (one in storage) and three modern American P-8I (a total of 12 were ordered). In addition, Indian naval aviation has 12 Russian Ka-31 AWACS helicopters, 41 anti-submarine helicopters, including 18 Soviet Ka-28 and 5 Ka-25, as well as 18 British Sea King Mk42B.

Talwar-class frigate

The surface forces of the fleet are quite diverse. There are 9 destroyers: 5 Rajput type (Soviet project 61), 3 own Delhi type and one Calcutta type (2-3 more destroyers of this type will be built). Also in service are 6 modern Russian-built frigates of the “Talvar” type (project 11356) and 3 even more modern Russian-built frigates of the “Shivalik” type. The Navy has the latest Kamorta corvette (from 4 to 12 units will be built), 4 Kora-type corvettes, 4 Khukri-type corvettes, 4 Abhay-type corvettes (Soviet project 1241P).

It is worth noting that all destroyers, frigates and corvettes (except Abhay) of the Indian fleet are armed with modern Russian and Russian-Indian sea-based cruise missiles and anti-ship missiles "Caliber", "Brahmos", X-35.

Indian Nuclear Forces

In the structure of the Indian armed forces, a special structure was created to manage the existing nuclear forces - NCA (Nuclear Command Authority), the Nuclear Command Administration. Moreover, this governing body is not only military, but also military-political. This command deals with issues of nuclear planning in the interests of defense, and is also responsible for making and implementing decisions on the use of nuclear weapons to repel external aggression; the command is headed by the country's Prime Minister.

The military operational and technical control body reporting directly to the NCA and the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff of the Indian Armed Forces is the SFC - Strategic Forces Command, which was created in 2003. This command is responsible for coordinating the actions of the nuclear components of the country's ground forces and air force, represented by units of the ground forces equipped with ground-based ballistic missiles and aviation squadrons armed with aircraft carrying nuclear bombs. In the foreseeable future, the SFC will also take control over India's naval strategic nuclear forces being created.

Most of India's nuclear missile potential is concentrated in the ground forces, which have two regiments of 8 Agni medium-range ballistic missile launchers. In total, India supposedly has 80-100 Agni-1 missiles (700-900 km), up to 20-25 Agni-2 missiles (2000-3000 km) and a number of extended-range ballistic missiles of the Agni-2 type. 3" (3500-5000 km). Also, the only regiment of operational-tactical missiles “Prithvi-1” (150 km) has 12 launchers for these missiles.

All of the missiles listed can be carriers of both conventional and nuclear warheads. Nuclear weapons carriers in the Indian Air Force can be both Russian Su-30MKI fighters and French Mirage-2000.

According to experts, today India has a limited stock of nuclear warheads, about 30-35 warheads in combat readiness. At the same time, the country has a certain number of ready-made components for assembling new charges. It is believed that if necessary, India will be able to produce another 50-90 nuclear warheads quite quickly.

Stories about which have already been published on Warspot, representatives of a number of other ethnolinguistic groups living in the foothills of the Himalayas serve in the Indian army. Units manned by the Highlanders form a significant part of the Indian armed forces. How is this explained and which mountain peoples are the “suppliers” of recruits for the Indian army?

Foundation

The basis for the formation of the armed forces of British India was the theory of “warrior races”, formulated in its final form by Lieutenant General Frederick Roberts, who commanded the Indian Army in 1885-1893. In accordance with it, 27 ethnolinguistic groups were identified in India, which were supposedly genetically inherent in belligerence, which was unusual for other inhabitants of Hindustan.

It was from their number that the regiments of the Indian Army under the British were mainly recruited.

Lieutenant General Friedrich Roberts, military leader and ethnographer, father of the "scientific" approach to recruiting the Indian Army

This approach to army formation was always criticized by Indian independence fighters, who rightly saw in it a typical manifestation of the colonial principle of “divide and rule.” After the declaration of Indian independence in 1947, Prime Minister Jawaharlar Nehru and other politicians repeatedly spoke of their determination to end the “legacy of damned colonialism” and transfer the army to a “multiracial” formation principle. Some practical steps have also been taken in this direction.

Nevertheless, as Western researchers noted with surprise already in the 21st century,

“the ethnolinguistic principle of the formation of infantry units of the Indian army during the years of independence not only was not eroded, but was even more strengthened”.

Currently, the Indian Army has 31 infantry regiments, the vast majority of which are in one way or another associated with a particular Indian state or population group. In addition to the seven regiments of Gorkha Rifles, ten more are manned by other mountaineers.

Dogras

Surprisingly, India's most rebellious state, Jammu and Kashmir, provides the Indian Army with the most regiments.

The hills of Jammu in the southwest of the state are inhabited by militant clans of Rajput-Dogras who came from the south, from which the Maharajas of Kashmir come.

The British appreciated their courage back in the middle of the 19th century, including them among the four best “warrior races” of Hindustan. The first Dogra units in the Bengal Army arose in 1858. It was the Dogra units that held the defense in Malakand in 1897, with the description of which the literary career of Winston Churchill began.

Dogras of the British Indian Army, early 20th century

At the outbreak of the First World War, the British Indian Army had three Dogra regiments - the 37th, 38th and 41st. They fought on the Western Front, in Palestine and Iraq.

During the post-war reduction, all these units were consolidated in 1922 into the 17th Dogra Regiment. During World War II he participated in battles in Malaya and Burma. It was the two battalions of the Dogra Regiment, captured after the fall of Singapore, that became the basis of the Indian National Army (INA), which fought on the side of the Japanese.

During their British service, members of the Dogra Regiment received three Victoria Crosses.

Soldiers of the 17th Dogra Regiment on the Mesopotamian Front of the First World War, 1916

In independent India, the size of the Dogra Regiment was increased to 18 battalions. He took part in all wars with Pakistan.

The 2nd Battalion of the Dogra Regiment, under the command of Captain Pritha Chand, made the famous trek through the snow-covered Zoji La Pass of Kashmir in the winter of 1947-48, which ensured India's control over Ladakh.

The 13th Battalion of the Dogra Regiment took part in the Battle of Asal Uthar in the 1965 war, and in 1971 the 9th Battalion of the Dogra Regiment captured Suadih, a key point of Pakistani defense in the modern state of Bangladesh.

Dogra Regiment in parade formation

In the Kashmir Valley itself, a regiment of Jammu-and-Kashmir Light Rifles is being recruited. This regiment traces its history back to local formations created at the call of Kashmiri leader Sheikh Abdullah to defend the valley from the Pakistani invasion in 1947.

Until 1972, it existed in the form of a police force subordinate to the Indian Ministry of Internal Affairs. The regiment in its modern form was formed in 1976.

Oath of recruits of the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry. Everyone swears on their own scripture

Today, the Jammu and Kashmir Light Rifles are the only regiment of the Indian Army with a predominantly Muslim personnel. Has 15 battalions.

The soldiers of the regiment participated in the Siachen conflict and the Kargil war and earned one Paramvir Chakra.

Ladakhi

In the east of the state of Jammu and Kashmir is the Ladakh region, India's “little Tibet”.

Ladakh Scouts

After the annexation of Ladakh to India in 1948, a militia was formed from local residents, subordinate to the Indian Ministry of Internal Affairs. In 1963, the militia was transformed into a unit of the Ladakh Scouts. It was originally created for guerrilla warfare in the highlands in the event of a temporary occupation of Ladakh by Chinese troops.

In 2000, the Ladakh Scouts were converted into a standard infantry regiment, now comprising 5 battalions.

Ladakh Scouts on parade

Ladakh Scouts, nicknamed "snow leopards", participated in all the mountain conflicts of India. From among them came one of the famous Indian military men, Colonel Chawang Rinchen, who was twice awarded India's second most important military award - the Mahavir Chakra - for the wars of 1948 and 1971.

The Ladakh Scouts are also notable for the fact that their regimental sport is ice hockey.

Uttarakhand

The mountainous state of Uttarakhand, bordering Nepal and Tibet, is home to two other “warrior races” of Hindustan, considered by the British to be among the best (along with the Dogras and Gurkhas) - the Garhwals and the Kumaons. Actually, this Indian state is divided into two regions - Garhwal in the west and Kumaon in the east.

In the 2nd half of the 18th century, these lands became part of the power of the Gorkha kings, which laid the foundations of modern Nepal. It was on the lands of the Kumaons and Garhwals that the main battles of the Anglo-Nepalese war of the early 19th century unfolded. After the war, their lands became part of British India.

Kumaon soldiers, middle19th century

For almost the entire 19th century, the British did not separate the Garhwals and Kumaons from the Nepalese Gurkhas, en masse recording them all as “Gurkhas”. As ethnography developed, the situation became clearer. When in 1887, by order of Lieutenant General Frederick Roberts, an audit of the composition of six Gurkha regiments was carried out, it turned out that half of their soldiers were Kumaons and Garhwals, and in one of the regiments they made up 90%.

The 39th Garhwal Regiment was separated from the Gurkha units in 1887. From 1922 it was known as the 18th Royal Garhwal Fusiliers, being the only part of the British Indian Army other than the Gurkha regiments to have the honorary title "Royal".

Garhwal Rifles, 1900

The Garhwal Fusiliers received three Victoria Crosses. Naik (Corporal) of the Garhwal Fusiliers Darwan Singh Negi became the first Indian recipient of the Victoria Cross in December 1914. He was awarded personally by the King-Emperor.

Separate Kumaon units in the British Indian Army existed since 1813, when the British Resident under the Nizam of Hyderabad, Henry Russell, formed two battalions of the Nizam army from the Kumaons. In 1853 they became part of the Bengal Army as the 19th Hyderabad Regiment.

During the First World War, a separate 50th Kumaon Regiment was formed, which was attached to the Hyderabad Regiment in 1923.

Kumaonians on the Burma front, 1945

In the fall of 1945, after a decade of bureaucratic delays, the regiment was renamed the 19th Kumaon Regiment.

Currently, the Kumaon Regiment and the Garhwal Rifles each have 19 regular battalions.

Kumaon Regiment on parade

The Kumaon Regiment is the most decorated in the Indian Army, having given two Paramvir Chakra recipients.

The Kumaonians distinguished themselves in the war with China, in 1984 they captured the passes on Siachen and participated in the “Blue Star” (the assault on the Golden Temple of the Sikhs in Amritsar), and in 1987 they were the first to land in Sri Lanka.

Oath taking ceremony of the Garhwal Rifles

The Garhwals also actively participated in all the wars of independent India.

Naval forces Command Supreme Commander Ram Nath Kovind Minister of Defense Nirmala Sitharaman Military forces Military age from 18 to 27 years old Employed in the army 1,395,100 (2018) (2nd place) Stock 1 155 000 (2018) Finance Budget $52.5 billion (2017) Percentage of GNP 2.5% (2016) Industry Domestic suppliers

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History of the Indian Army

	Army of the Mauryan Empire

	Indian warfare in the classical period

	Army of the Delhi Sultanate

	Army of the Vijayanagara Empire
	Sikh Army
	Maratha Army
	Army of the Mughal Empire

	Armies of Presidencies

	British Indian Army

	Indian Armed Forces

Indian Armed Forces(Hindi भारतीय सशस्‍त्र सेनाएँ , English Indian Armed Forces) is a military organization in India intended for the defense of the Republic, the protection of the freedom and independence of the state, one of the most important weapons of political power. There is no compulsory conscription.

India ranks first in the world in terms of arms imports (2012). India has nuclear weapons.

As of 2018, it ranks fourth in the ranking of the strongest armies in the world after the Armed Forces of the United States, Russia and China.

General information

More than 1.3 million people serve in the Indian armed forces (3rd place in the world). In terms of military spending in 2014, India ranked 7th in the world - $50 billion.

The official date of formation of the national armed forces of India is considered to be August 15, 1949, when the army was first led by Indian General Kodandera Cariappa (English)Russian. They were formed on the basis of military units of the army of British India, the Royal Indian Air Force and the ships of the British Indian fleet, which the Indian Union received during the partition of British India in 1947. At the same time, the Indian armed forces included units with personnel professing Hinduism and other religions except Islam.

The general management and financing of the armed forces is carried out by the Ministry of Defense. Traditionally it is headed by a civilian. Most Defense Department employees, including both deputy secretaries, are also civilians. The highest body of military command is the Committee of Chiefs of Staff, its members include the chiefs of staff (commanders) of the ground forces, air force and navy, who occupy the position of chairman in turn.

In military-administrative terms, the country's territory is divided into five military districts: Northern, Western, Central, Southern, Eastern.

The armed forces are recruited by recruiting volunteers from among Indian citizens, regardless of their religious or caste affiliation. However, many military units are recruited according to ethno-regional principles. The officer corps is divided into cadre and non-cadre service officers. The cadre of officers is recruited from graduates of military educational institutions. Non-cadre officers are recruited mainly from among civilians who have a higher education and wish to temporarily serve in the armed forces.

Initial three-year training for officers is conducted at the National Military Academy in Khadakwasla. (English)Russian and at the Army College in Mhow (English)Russian. Upon completion of their studies, the cadets are sent for further training to the Indian Military Academy in Dehra Dun (English)Russian and the Air Force Academy (English)Russian with a training period of 1-1.5 years, after which they are awarded officer ranks. Graduates of the naval branch of the National Military Academy are awarded officer ranks after one and a half years of service on training and combat ships.

At the Staff College (English)Russian Officers with at least six years of service are trained, from the positions of company commander, equal to them and higher (up to division commander). The reserve of the armed forces (535 thousand people) consists of the reserve of the first stage of the ground forces - 300 thousand people who have served at least 5 years in regular units (in wartime another 500 thousand people under the age of 50 years can be recruited), territorial army (volunteer army) - 40 thousand, air force reserve - 140 thousand and naval reserve - 55 thousand people.

Composition of the armed forces

The regular Indian Armed Forces include

In addition, India has various paramilitary forces (about 1,090 thousand people): national security forces, special paramilitary forces, special border forces and a number of others. The country's mobilization resources are 770 million people, of which 560 million are fit for military service.

Coast security

Coast Guard - about 8 thousand people, 12 patrol ships, 22 patrol boats, 20 airplanes, 15 helicopters.

Nuclear weapon

India conducted its first test of a 20-kiloton nuclear device on May 18, 1974, at the Pokharan test site in Rajasthan. India officially became a nuclear power in 1998, having carried out a series of 5 underground nuclear tests, Shakti-98.

In the structure of the Indian armed forces, a special structure has been created to manage nuclear forces - NCA (Nuclear Command Authority), Nuclear Command Administration. This is not only a military, but also a military-political governing body. The nuclear command deals with nuclear planning in the interests of defense, is responsible for making and implementing decisions on the use of nuclear weapons to repel external aggression, and is headed by the prime minister.

The operational and technical military command body, subordinate directly to the NCA and the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee of the Indian Armed Forces, is the Strategic Forces Command (SFC), formed in 2003. It coordinates the actions of the nuclear components of the ground forces and air force, represented by ground forces units equipped with ground-based ballistic missiles and aviation squadrons of aircraft carrying nuclear bombs. In the foreseeable future, the responsibility of the SFC will also include the naval strategic nuclear forces currently being created.

The command of the strategic forces has at its disposal, as part of the ground forces, two groups of tactical ballistic missiles "Prithvi-2", one group each of operational-tactical ballistic missiles "Agni-1" and medium-range "Agni-2", "Agni-2". 3", "Agni-4". In the Indian Air Force, nuclear weapons carriers can be French tactical fighters Mirage-2000N and Russian Su-30MKI. India began to create the naval component of its nuclear forces with the help of the USSR. In 1988, the Project 670 nuclear submarine K-43 was leased to the Indian Navy. In India it was called “Chakra”; during the three years of its lease, Indian sailors gained unique experience in its use. The Russian Federation has continued this good tradition; the multi-purpose nuclear submarine K-152 (“Nerpa”) of Project 971I, built in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, is intended for the Indian Navy. The lease period will be up to 10 years, the Indians also called it “Chakra”. In addition, the Indians themselves are building nuclear submarines, and strategic ones, armed with nuclear ballistic missiles. Three nuclear submarines are being built under the ATV (Advanced Technology Vessel) program; the project was created back in the late 80s. The lead nuclear submarine, Arihant (Sanskrit for “Enemy Destroyer”), will be commissioned this year or in 2012. Its striking power consists of 12 K-15 Sagarika medium-range ballistic missiles. The missile was developed by the Defense Research and Development Organization's (DRDO) Hyderabad Missile Development Centre, the same one that developed the Agni and Prithvi missiles. The first underwater launch of the Sagarika from a submerged test pontoon took place in 2008. The next Indian nuclear submarines may be armed with longer-range K-X ballistic missiles, which are a naval version of the Agni-3 land-based missile. India plans to lay down two more nuclear submarines.