ramana wrote:manjgu or rohit vats,,
Does K-9 come under Armoured Corps or Artillery Corps?
Artillery brigade structure for reference. Will help to understand procurement and deployment -
1. Division artillery brigade -
- All divisions have an organic artillery brigade.
- Earlier, for an infantry division in plains, the structure was as follows:
3 x Field Regiments (105mm) + 1 x Medium Regiment (130mm) + 1 x Light Regiment (120mm mortars).
- In early 90s, IA went in for massive purchase of 130mm M-46 guns which came as a windfall on destruction of USSR.
- It is my understanding that IA converted many of its Field Regiments to Medium Regiments. So, this 3:1 ratio of Field to Medium no longer holds. Most divisional artillery is now of medium caliber.
- In case of Armored Division, it was 4 x Medium Regiments (130mm)
- For Mountain Divisions, it is same as Infantry Division but with Light Field Guns (LFG) instead of IFG, as LFG are lighter.
- Arty brigades in plains also have Surveillance and Target Acquisition (SATA) battery (counter-bombardment role)
- In some cases, SATA battery has been upgraded to a full-fledged SATA Regiments and these also operate the UAVs of the IA.
2. Corps Artillery Brigade -
- Not many left now as some were used as nucleus to raise the three Artillery Divisions.
3. Artillery Division -
- Tube artillery brigade
- Composite Artillery Brigade (Rocket and Missile Regiments)
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- So, to answer your question, K-9 will go the Armored Division's organic artillery brigade.
- Technically, we need 12 x 18 = 216 K-9 units only for the armored divisions.
- But then, if people remember, the SP Arty order was split between Tracked and Wheeled SP Arty.
- Wheeled SP Arty was the famous South African G6 gun.
- Numbers were 100+180 (IIRC)
- But with Wheeled SP Gun category dropped, expect the 180 order to translate into K-9 or part K-9 and part Mounted Gun System (MGS).
- Even more important than K-9 is the Wheeled Mounted Gun System (814 units) as these will percolate to all the required formations and fill the need for SP Arty.
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But the above is of course, on paper. With MOD now being pro-active and working in 'get what you have now, rather than wait for Godot', I don't doubt K-9 appearing in organic arty brigade of 3 Infantry Division, or as organic arty regiment of (I) Armored Brigade there.