Top 10 Most Powerful Weapons of Indian Armed Forces

India is one of the most rapidly growing militaries in the world. They have evolved from a regional force with tactical capabilities to a growing strategic force with global reach. They are heavily dependent on foreign suppliers for equipment as their local industry hasn’t quite delivered as promised. But the ones in service are top quality indigenous systems. This article will cover the 10 most powerful weapon systems used by the Indian Armed Forces. It is interesting to note that even though most of the weapons in the list are foreign supplied, the Indians have modified many of them to suit their requirements. They are known for purchasing well-known platforms and integrating them with subsystems from around the world to create a lethal system which would turn out better than the original. This makes them a force to reckon with. The order of weapons in the article is entirely based on my analysis and opinion. I haven’t included strategic nuclear weapons and their delivery platforms. After over a hundred fan requests in the past month, Toperse brings you this article. So sit back and enjoy reading it.

10. Pinaka MLRS

Pinaka entered service in 1998 as a 40 km range system and consisted  of 12 rockets mounted on 8×8 trucks with NBC protection. An important varient with 65 km range is currently in service. These are highly networked rocket lounchers with weapon locating radars, battlefield surveillance radar, Unmaned Arial Vehicles and long range IR and Optical.sighting items. This increases its accuray and effectiveness in combat. It has been planed to install a GPS guidane system on the rockets to use them for precision attacks. They have also been combat proven in cold and hogh altiute regions.

  An equally intrestin thin is that Pinaka is nearly 10 times cheaper rhan its American equivalent M270 while offering similar or better performance! A Pinaka battery has 288 rockets on launchers and replenishment vehicles. The Indian Army has reportedly ordered over 15 batteries and 5000 rockets are being produced per year. A future varient of pinaka is in development which would have a range of 120 km.

9.PAD / AAD Balistic Missile Defence (BMD) System

The Indian BMD program raise eyebrows when it was first announced and has come a long way since. It has been succesfully tested and is reportedly diployable at short notices on major cities. Two interceptor missiles and PAD (Prithvi Air Defence) and AAD (Advanced Air Defence) along with Green Pine radar form.the core of this system. PAD is an exoatmospheric interceptor with a ceiling of over 80 km and a range of ove 2000 km. It is used to intercept the ballistic missiles travelling outside the earth's atmosphere. The AAD is an endoatmospherc intercepter with a range of 250+ km and a ceiling of 30 km. It is used to intercept short range ballistic missiles. Both these missiles initiall guided by an Inertial Navigation System(INS) and have an active raar seeker for homing in to the target.

8. Nag Missile Carrier(NaMiCa)

This is a relatively unknown weapon that is developed by India. The core of this system is the 3rd generation Nag Anti-Tank missile mounted on a modified BMP-2 chassis. It contains 8 Nag missiles in armored box launchers plus a further 8 for reload with a complete optical and IR sensor suite to detect enemy tanks. These missiles are fire and forget and have a top-attack capability which allows them to target the vulnerable top part of the tanks. The Nag has a tandem High Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) warhead which enables it to penetrate any armour in the region. It has successfully detected targets at 5 km and engaged them in day and night conditions and has demonstrated its ability to destroy enemy tanks. The most unique ability of this system is its amphibious capability, which allows it to be cross any water body in the battlefield.

This weapon system is very unique as very few armies possess similar systems. The Indian Army has placed an initial order for 13 Namicas and 443 Nag missiles. They have projected a requirement for 200 Namicas and 7000 Nag missiles. The Namica will form an integral part of Indian Army armoured formations. It will spearhead tank divisions and eliminate high-priority enemy armoured targets at long ranges. Future variants may incorporate longer ranged Nag missiles.

7. P-8i Neptune

India has 7500 km long coastline and hundreds of islands which need protection. The watre bodies surrounding India are expansive and perfect for hostile submarines lurk in. That's where P-8i comes in. It was chosen for ots excellant enduramce and sensor suite whch is unequivalent by any other ASW aircraft. It has a mission endurance of 4 hour at a distance of 2000 om aeay from the base, hunt submarines for 4 hours and then fly back to base 2000 km away on just internal fuel. The fact that it is essentially a modified commercial airliner makes its maintainence easy. The P-8I has a long-range search radar in its nose and the Indian variant is unique in having a Magnetic Anomaly Detection (MAD) boom at the aft to hunt submarines. Also, the Indian variant replaces several electronics systems with Indian versions.

It can carry 120 sonobouys internally and 6-8 Mk-54 torpedoes in its bomb bays along with 4 Harpoon missiles under its wings. This allows it to engage a whole range of surface and underwater threats. The P-8I thus gives the Indian Navy the ability to project power in the Indian Ocean and hunt submarines thousands of km away from their coast. India currently operates 8 aircraft with 4 more on order. They have an option to purchase 12 additional aircraft at a later date, which I’m sure they will after retiring their Tu-142s in the next decade.

6. T90S Bheeshma

Being an operator of over 5000 T 55/72 tanks, it was natural that th Indian army choose T 90S as their replacement. They were first procured from Russia in response to the neighbour's attempt to purchase T-80 and Abraham's tanks. It weights just 48 tons and has a crew of only 3 people which has been made possible by he us of autoloader for its 125 mm smoothbore gun. The unique feature of this tank is its ability to fire the Invar anti-tank missile from its barrel. The other special feature is that, even though the 12.7 mm machine gun mounted on the turret is manually operated, it can also be remotely controlled from inside the turret by the commander. The Indian variants have indigenous Kanchan ceramic armour which is topped by a layer of Explosive Reactive Armour (ERA). It is powered by a diesel engine which makes maintenance easier and reduces fuel consumption compared to the gas turbines of the T-80.

It is said that the Indian T-90S are downgraded variants of the Russian T-90A, but the Indians have fitted it with Israeli, French and Swedish sub systems and have made it possibly better than the Russian variant itself. It is slated to be fitted with the Saab LEDS-150 Active Protection System (APS) which will give it a 3-layered defense against enemy anti-tank munitions. The first layer is the APS, the second layer is the ERA and the third layer is the Ceramic armour. The T-90S can be easily deployed anywhere as it can be airlifted by Il-76 and C-17 transports of the IAF. India operates around 600 T-90S and the eventual number by 2020 is expected to be around 1500 tanks.

5. INS Vikramaditya and Kolkata class distroyers

The fifth place ha  been a tie between the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya and Kolkata class distroyers.

India's latest aircraft carrier the INS Vikramaditya is the largest ship ever operated by India wheithing about 48000 tons. It is currently the most powerful.asset in the Indian ocean. It has the capacity to diplay 24 Mig-29K along with 6 ASW/AEW helicopters. Tgis combination gives the Indian Navy a very useful power projection tool. It has a Russian electronic and Sensor suite which is said to be powerful enough to prevent it from being tracked by powerful.airbourne radar systems.Though crrently unarme  the carrier would receive the Barak-8 SAM for self defence during its first refit. The carrier uses a ski jump to launch fighter and arrestor wires to recover them.

          The Kolkata class is the first modern Indian destroyer. Indigenously designed and built, this class of 3 ships will add considerably to the capability of the Indian Navy. It is also the first Indian warship to use an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, the MF-STARwhich has 4 static panels instead of a single rotating panel. This Multi-Function radar also allows for the replacement of a dozen other smaller search, track and fire control radars with a single system. Its main armament is a battery of 16 vertically launched BrahMos supersonic long-range Anti-Ship missiles. This is by far one of the deadliest missile armament of contemporary warships. It can hit ships at ranges of around 300 km with extreme accuracy. The primary SAM is the Barak-8 Long range surface-to-air missile (LRSAM). This modern missile is lightweight, accurate and can hit targets up to 90 km away. The ship also has anti-submarine rocket launchers, torpedo tubes, 76 mm main gun, 30 mm Gatling guns and a dual helicopter hangar. Overall it is a very balanced and highly capable multi-role destroyer.

Phalcon AWACS

India was late in entering the Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AWACS) scene, but the entry of India was bang with the most advanced AWACS in the world.Phalcon AWACS(Airborne Warning AND Control Systems) is the India First AWACS which is capable of detecting any aerial threats more effectively than ground-based radars.It is also capable to defend the IAF against cruise missiles and hostile aircraft more efficiently.

 In January 2004, India and Israel signed a $1.1 billion contract for 3 Phalcon airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft, as part of a $1.5 billion tripartite agreement with Russia. With the arrival of its first IL-76 Phalcon, India joined the global ranks of AWACS operators. The aircraft has to monitor huge swathes of Indian airspace, intercept communications and log radar frequencies, add some ground surveillance, and help command IAF responses. By 2012 India announced that it wanted to follow up on that procurement with native capabilities.

    The three phalcons are an invaluable asset for Indian Air Force and act as major force multipliers. They can detct targets that are 500 km away and such a featur  can be vitalin mountaius and desert regions where ground based radars are not widely diployed. They can track up to 100 targets simultaneously and guide jets and SAMs to interept them. The probability of detecting cruse missile and surprise enemy attacks if such a system is deployed in combat. They are frequently deployed with fighter escorts and they can be vectored to intercept long-range threats. India is planning to procure a further 2-3 such systems.

3. INS Chakra

After aquiring the Akula II class SSN Nerpa from Russia on a lease for 10 years, the Indian Navy got a ability to provid  long-range underwater escort for its carriers and distroyers. The INS Chakra is modified for Indian needs and carries a mix of 35 torpeidos and Klub anti-ship missile which can be fired from 8×533 mm torpeido tubes. There are reports that India will aquire another Akula SSN, the Iribis which is currently under construction. It may be modified to carry vertical launch tubes for BrahMos missiles.

2. BrahMos

It is undoubtly 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.

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.

1. S-30Mki

If there is one aircraft that has defined the Indian Air Force in the 21st century, it’s the Su-30Mki. This is a long-range, multi-role, supermaneuverable 4.5+ gen fighter which is built according to Indian specifications. The baseline Su-30Mk from Russia was modified with French, Israeli and Indian avionics to create the ultimate Su-30 variant for India. It became the Su-30Mki where ‘i’ stands for India (Indiski). After realizing the combat potential and versatility of this amazing fighter, the IAF placed an order for 272 aircraft which makes India the largest Su-30 operator in the world.

The Su-30Mki is the bread and butter of the IAF as the rest of their fleet consists of legacy 4th gen fighters which have just a fraction of the capabilities of this fighter. With its 4000+ km range, 12 Hardpoints for 8000 kg of weapons, PESA Bars radar, it outclasses any other fighter in the region. It is safe to assume that 1 Su-30Mki can do the job of 2 MiG-29 and 2 Jaguar combined. It is currently used for air defense, reconnaissance and ground attack. The Su-30Mki is evolving into a cruise missile platform for the IAF. By 2016, it will be integrated with BrahMos and Nirbhay cruise missiles which would give it strike capabilities never before imagined by the IAF or its rivals. It also is integrated with several indigenous and imported electronic jamming pods and anti-radiation missiles which make it a deadly platform for Suppression/Destruction of Enemy Air Defense (SEAD/DEAD) which is the most important part of modern warfare to sanitize enemy threats.