India’s military designs: Imran, CJCSC, three chiefs discuss security

ISLAMABAD: Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Zubair Mehmood Hayat, Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Admiral Zafar Mehmood Abbasi and Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan had an important meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Wednesday.

It has been officially stated in the PMO’s brief statement that the “security situation of the country including professional matters pertaining to armed forces of Pakistan were discussed during the meeting.”

Well-placed sources told The News that the huddle, the first of its kind ever since the new government has assumed the rein of authority, had discussion covering wide range subjects of national security. The performance and role of the valiant armed forces during the last month’s India’s provocative actions on ground, air and sea were deliberated and they cherished the state of alertness and preparedness of the three services. Their response to enemy was also appreciated during the showdown.

The people across the country admirably stood on the occasion shoulder to shoulder with the armed forces. Officially, no word has been given in 40 words statement, but the sources confided that the huddle decided to maintain state of alertness as long the forces on the side are not returned to the post mid-February deployment.

In case the adversary opted to commit mistake yet another time, the reply would be harsher and befitting. The political and military leadership decided to celebrate Pakistan Day on Saturday with great fervour and enthusiasm.

The armed forces will continue to be vigilant during the days of the Pakistan Day’s celebrations since the armed forces undertake magnificent parade and display of the defence capabilities of the country in the federal capital on the day. The commanders of the armed forces were in full uniform and putting on combat fatigue.

Monitoring desk adds: The Indian Air Force (IAF) has asked its government to urgently purchase more missiles amid growing Pak-India tensions, while it is going to acquire the heavy lift Chinook helicopters that can transport artillery guns in high altitudes, reports foreign media.

A government source said: “These missiles have a certain life. While stored in a canister, this is counted in terms of the age of the system in years but when fighters are operationally deployed, the life of the missile depends on the number of sorties being undertaken. So we need fresh replenishments.”

The Indian army also moved up emergency purchases of stock-up ammunition. The India army has provided advanced sniper rifles to its troops posted along the Line of Control (LoC).

The heavy-lift Chinook helicopters were first proposed in 2006. Four of the 15 helicopters to be purchased will be commissioned on March 25 amid heightened tensions with Pakistan.

The heavy lift helicopters will add to the Indian army's battle capabilities as they can transport troops and the newly inducted M777 Howitzer guns to higher reaches in combat locations. The CH-47 Chinook is an American helicopter manufactured by Boeing and India inked a $3 billion (around Pak Rs420.42 billion) deal in 2015.

Though used in support of the army, the helicopters will be operated by the IAF. The IAF had been using the Mi-26 heavy lift helicopters since 1987. The addition of these helicopters is expected to give a boost in India's capabilities particularly keeping in mind the requirement of quick mobilisation of troops in higher reaches along the LoC and the China frontier along with artillery guns. The first batch of the four helicopters will be based in Chandigarh in Indian Punjab bordering Pakistan’s Punjab.

In its latest report on capital acquisitions by the IAF the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had discussed several reasons that led to the delay of these helicopters being procured. The CAG also raised questions on the choice of Chinook since its parameters were lower than the Mi-26.

"Audit noted that though the existing Mi-26 helicopters were to be replaced with new HLH, the parameters formulated for procurement were much lower. The max pay load capacity was reduced to 11,000kg as against the 20,000kg of Mi-26 helicopters. Seating capacity was also reduced to 45 troops as against the 82 troops of Mi-26 helicopters. The max underslung load was reduced to 10,000kg as against the underslung load capacity of 20,000kg of Mi-26 helicopter," the CAG stated in its report.

The other Chinook helicopters are likely to be delivered by March 2020 allowing India to deploy them both for Pakistan and China operations. Later this year, the IAF is also expected to induct the Apache attack helicopters keeping in mind the two front threats of China and Pakistan.

Meanwhile, after ordering 72,400 assault rifles from the US under the fast track procedure (FTP), the Indian army is now looking to take the same route to equip its soldiers with 16,000 new light machine guns (LMGs).

The FTP can be invoked in cases where “undue/unforeseen delay” in buying weapons is seen to be adversely impacting the military’s capacity and preparedness, said one of the officials cited above.

“Indian army teams will visit weapon manufactures in several countries including the US, Bulgaria and South Korea in the coming weeks to initiate the LMG purchase. Tenders for buying LMGs have been scrapped in recent years as only a lone vendor met the army’s requirements, delaying the projects,” said the second official. A single-vendor situation is a strict no-no under India’s arms purchase policy.

“Previous attempts to buy LMGs have not come to fruition. It’s important to compress the acquisition process as is being done under the FTP route. It’s a critical shortfall in capability that is now being addressed on priority,” said former army vice chief Lieutenant General (R)AS Lamba.