Republic Day Special: Meet the Ground Power of the Indian Military

26^th January is here. It was the day when India’s Constitution came into being in year 1950. We have covered a long roller-coaster ride since then, enjoying 67 years of autonomy. India has emerged to become one of the major powers in the world. The real show of the power and pride for India has been its military and the ground control of the Indian military is amongst the top arsenal power of the world.

Here’s a list of weapons that run on land and intimidates enemy in the war:

1. Arjun MBT

Arjun is the third-generation main battle tank developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), India.

The Arjun features one main rifled gun of 120 mm and two machine guns, one coaxial of 7.62 mm and another a regular machine gun of 12.7 mm. The heavy vehicle is powered by a single MTU multi-fuel diesel engine that gives it its energy of 1,400 hp. The massive structure can achieve a maximum speed of 67 km/h, which means it can run like a bike at even rough surfaces. It is laced with protective measures like Automatic fire detection and suppression and NBC protection. The tank is run by four men – commander, gunner, loader and driver. It is named after the protagonist and world’s finest archer of India, Arjun.

2. T-90S Bhishma

T-90S is a third-generation Russian tank and the most modern one. India has a total of 4500 tanks, out of which around 2011 are T-90S Bhishma. The massive tank has a 125 mm 2A46 smoothbore tank gun along with 1G46 gunner sights. The engine infused in the vehicle is extremely dynamic and has an ability to detect the enemies even in low light conditions. The protection features include composite armour, smoke mortars, Nakidka camouflage, Kontakt-5 explosive reactive armor, the Shtora infrared ATGM jamming system and laser warning receivers.

Earlier the tanks were imported from Russia, but after 2006, India started manufacturing the T-90S tanks in their Heavy Vehicles Factory, located at Avadi, Tamil Nadu.

3. T-72 Ajeya

It is also one of the main battle tanks designed in Soviet. Today, India produces the T-72 Ajeya, which is powered by a Model V-84MS four-stroke 12-cylinder multi-fuel engine. The motor generates energy as much as 840 hp. The machine is armed with 125 mm 2A46M smoothbore gun, which can destroy armor equipment, small-size land targets and low-flying air threats. The combat vehicle falls under the category of main battle tanks (MBT).

4. BMP-2 “Sarath”

This infantry fighting vehicle is developed by the Soviet Union. It is a license produced variant by India, and the country has developed its several versions. It offers better fire control and more modern ATGM armament. The upgraded BMP-2 M has two thermobaric missiles and two tandem warhead Konkurs missiles. Also, it has an integrated TI sight, an LRF, and has an AGL mounted on the turret. Presently, India is using more than 900 BMP-2 vehicles. It is a live evidence of Indian engineering and their dedication to the security.

5. BMP-1

This is an infantry vehicle and is manufactured in India. More than seven fifty BMP-1 are in use as of now. BMP-1 moves inside water at a speed of 8 km/h. It is made to overcome water barriers like river and lake, but is not intended for sea landings. The fighter means serve as additional frontal armour in the war.