Bharat Rakshak

Sukumar

Nakul didnt want to bite on this. Does anybody know a detailed answer ? The USAF is organized into "squadrons" grouped into "wings". The RAF has "groups" which then have many squadrons. I know that the IAF has air operations groups (like the AOG for J & K) which con...

Sukumar

During WW2 the German ranks from colonel upwards were Colonel - Major General - Lieutenant General - General - Colonel General - Field Marshal. They skipped Briagadier General. Field Marshal was an operational post in the Wehrmacht. Hitler promoted many officers to 5 star rank in all three services ...

Sukumar

To understand why the Indian police and paramilitary are ill equipped you have to understand the history and psyche of the Indian governmental thinking.From the British, successive Indian governments inherited a paranoia of internal armed revolt from these forces. This lack of trust always lead t...

Sukumar

This debate reminds me of the sparring seen in the early days of BR when SBM was a more frequent contributor. SBM, you should contribute more to the forum as you have time.It seems to me that a question on the existence of the 3rd armored division in the PA would be one of doctrine. It seems appa...

Sukumar

I think the second trigger is for an integral grenade launcher.

Sukumar

Wonderful article Austin. Well researched and detailed. The only nit I can pick is that ASROC is not mentioned as a possible long range ASW weapon.Admins please archive this thread - really valuable information.

Sukumar

What really worries me is that - in a fit of insanity there is a nuclear exchange leaving the major cities on either side in ruins, radioactivity infesting the whole country side, millions dead and dying and infrastructure wholly devastated in two countries that dont have much to start with.The r...

Sukumar

I have heard from older hands that after Hyderabad was taken, many Razakars and others in the Nizam's pay were systematically executed by Indian forces. I dont know how much of that is true.

Sukumar

OK, after a little bit of research, this is what I found out:The physics in a muzzle brakeThe recoil of the conventional gun is the sum of the impulses imparted to the projectile and the propellant gas. For velocities near 1000 m/s, recoil impulse associated with the propellant gas i...

Sukumar

Siddharth, I dont know (for sure) if howitzer barrels are rifled. I think they are smoothbore. I think the spin imparted to the round with rifling is important for stability only in a flat trajectory.A shell flying in a high parabolic arc is more like a missile. Nice pic Shiv.

Sukumar

Howitzers (like the pictured Bhim) fire their shells at a steep angle into a high parabolic trajectory. They are also long range guns which is why they tend to have longer barrels.The gizmo at the end is like a sleeve with a transverse thro hole. This allows the high pressure explosive gases prop...

Sukumar

If Pakistan tries to flood the plains of Punjab it is itself going to get drowned. For a looong time now, Pakistan has built an extensive network of canals in the Lahore (Punjab) area. The strategy is two fold. The canals form obstacles to an Indian armored strike towards Lahore (and they did in...

Sukumar

I said the M-1 would be the last heavy tank, no more 70 ton monsters. I am sure more MBTs are to follow from all the major powers. However, they will be lighter, low profile, fast and agile, carrying a variety of weapons including smart munitions - like the M-8 AGS which got cancelled.Lahore is t...

Sukumar

Qquincy, this is what the BR Army ORBAT page has to say:• T-55: 13 regts. @ 55 tanks each, (700+) with L7/105mm gun + Vijayanta standard upgrade • T-72M1: 35 regts. @ 55 tank each, (1900+) upgrade program to T-72S standard in progress • Vijayanta: 14 regts. @ 72 tanks each, (1000+) upgraded...

Sukumar

Michael, I assume you are referring to the performance of the US heavy divisions in Desert Storm.To be fair, it was not just the heavy divisions alone, but the combined arms effect of air superiority, information superiority, intelligence superiority, technological superiority, tactical surprise ...

Sukumar

I was wondering what the hell an AE was among the vast compendium of military terms. Then I figured it stood for Aerospace Engineers.So now I guess we oughta think of just space based wreckage !!

Sukumar

Gobind, good points. The American M-551 Sheridan, the Russian PT-76 and the French AMX-13 embody the philosophy of being light and highly mobile tanks.The Russians with their latest tanks the T-72 to T-90 have also adopted the same philosophy. The T-72 for example is much lighter than any of the ...

Sukumar

Here is the truck mounted FH-77B version:

SP Artillery system being developed by Bofors and GIAT:

Sukumar

What is the advantage of a SPG over towed howitzers with shoot and scoot capability? Both are mobile, and both would require same type of roads to travel.1. A tracked SPG is more mobile in cross country terrain and can keep up with armoured forces (tanks and APCs) when moving across rough ...

Sukumar

If that was true, Jee ! I cannot think of amy better instance of Indian ingenuity. Hats off to those wily fishermen. They are the righteous descendants of Kanhoji Angre's sea faring tradition.

Sukumar

A long time ago, this topic cropped up on the forum. Somebody remarked that India already has such a system albeit not as sophisticated as the US SOSUS in place in the Andamans sea and near Bombay High.I personally feel that India does not have the technological prowess for something like this. I...

Sukumar

Questions like this are far from rational. F-16 vs MiG-29, F-15 vs Su-27, FA2 vs MiG-29, do not really make sense.A well trained pilot with better tactics in a seemingly inferior plane can shoot down a lesser trained opponent in a more hi-tech craft. The IAF's Folland Gnats performed very well...

Sukumar

For those of you interested in knowing what Information Warfare (IW) is really all about, this is a good website:<A HREF="http://www.infowar.com/" target=external>Infowar.com</A>

Sukumar

Youre right Planenuts (nice name http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/ubb/smile.gif ) IW includes obtaining info and denying info to the enemy.So the IW squadron seems to have more of an ELINT and ECM role.Vverma, the IN has more than one squadron of Dorniers. One for regular MR/utility duties and th...

Sukumar

The publication of the draft nuclear doctrine is a very welcome first step. However the document needs a lot more beef.What would add value is some hypothetical scenarios, so that there is no ambiguity. These could always be published as an independent book by some "retired" general....

Sukumar

Badar, what I said about Soviet piloted MiG-25s overflying Israel before, during and after the Yom Kippur war is a fact you may not be aware of. It is possible that they may have flown over Iran too. There was no direct connection to the Shah getting F-14s though. The Shah wanted the latest US toys ...

Sukumar

Rama, the Syrians and Iranians are friends against their common enemy Iraq. The Shah did buy F-14s. You are probably thinking of Soviet piloted MiG-25s in Egyptian colors that regularly overflew Israel. The Israelis could do nothing about it with their F-4s.The IAF would not use the 25 as a bombe...

Sukumar

The MiG-25 has a never exceed red line at Mach 2.8 when flying clean (no external stores). With AAMs under its wings the drag drops the speed down to mess than Mach 2.5. With stores like bombs, the speeds would be much lower than Mach 2, like a regular fighter.All these speeds are at the max allo...

Sukumar

Vverma, the IN operates Dornier 228s in the Maritime Patrol and utility roles. The equipment you describe is found on those versions.Obviously the IW squadron has different equipment. Seems to be more of an ELINT role.

Sukumar

Vikrant, you defined IW correctly - attacking the enemy's computer networks and infrastructure to deny him the availability of timely and accurate information. Monitor enemy computer networks and their operations.Against this definition I could not understand what the Dorniers could be doing.S...

Sukumar

This news has been circulating for some time: An IW (Information Warfare) squadron, consisting of six Do-228s, was commissioned two years ago on the west coast of Goa. Does anybody have details on this squadron such as: 1. What equipment is carried by the Dorniers. 2. What is the mission, capabiliti...

Sukumar

Thanks Rupak. So let's see, the IAF command structure and ops responsibility seems to be like:Air Command - commanded by an Air Marshal (***) - Theatre of responsibility - made up of many groups.Group - sub area of a theatre, can generate air tasking orders - commanded by an Air Vice Marshal (...

Sukumar

OK Guys. Here's the dope. This topic of IAF reorg is close to my heart, and I was hoping more facts would come to light.Let's start with the USAF. In WWII the USAF was organized into many numbered airforces. The operational structure was XX Air Force - Air Division - Group - Squadron. This helped...

Sukumar

Sarvatra, you said "The IAF has a well evolved command structure and hierarchy".What is this command structure and hierarchy ? I have been trying to find out the IAF's operational structure for some time now. As already stated, the composite wing is being tested out by the USAF. The ...

Sukumar

The Mi-8/17s engines exhaust the hot gases sideways and into the rotor wash. The exhaust looks like a hole in the engine cowling. They do not have any kind of IR suppression devices.What the choppers lacked in Siachen was flare dispensers. Hot choppers make excellent targets against the cold snow...

Sukumar

Peeyosh, the objective is to provide mid course guidance and get the missile to the vicinity of the target in a standard mode of operation, not in case the guidance radar eats a HARM.If some one was trying to help you find your way, they may walk with you to the street corner and then let you fin...

Sukumar

MANPADS are effective against slow flying targets like helicopters. They afford some amount of air defense to infantry in the sense that they can shoot back, which is a psychological advantage. All MANPADS in existence are IR guided (except the Swedish RBS 70 series) and seek the heat emitted by ...

Sukumar

Wow ! good discussion guys.The delta wing offers the max area for a given wingspan, which translates into more lift. So from a view point of a wing providing lift, the delta is the best, though it suffers from some negatives in low altitude flight (which I will not go into).The double delta se...

Sukumar

Salman, after quite some time I was perusing the BR pages on Akash. If what is said there is true, then the Akash has an active radar seeker which is used in the terminal phase, not semi-active as you have mentioned.What this means is that the Akash carries an emitter which illuminates the target...

Sukumar

Jeez ! Verma, you were giving my ISP a merry chase around the web http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/ubb/smile.gif Thanks Rohit.It is interesting that DRDO has not published too many pics of Akash, Trishul (anybody seen Trishul ?), Rajendra, Pinaka etc. When are they gonna learn some marketing http://...

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