BOOSTING ANTI-ARMOUR FIREPOWER

India’s evolving anti-tank guided-missile capabilities have undergone a paradigm shift in recent years. A Special Report

India, one of the largest and fastest-growing economies in the world, has long sought to achieve self-sufficiency dependency in arms manufacturing. This pursuit stems from a desire to reduce on foreign military equipment, enhance its armed forces' capabilities, and bolster its defence industry, aligning with its broader goal of becoming a global power.

In October 2021, the Indian Army carried out an extensive demonstration of its antitank guided missile (ATGM) capabilities at Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh for the first time. During the mock drill in high-altitude terrain, Indian soldiers were seen taking positions atop mountain ridges to monitor the enemy's movements on a road in the distance. As the visibility fell due to dense fog, a trooper was seen using his field radio to coordinate an engagement, a procedure known as the 'radio-telephony procedure.

After receiving a nod from the commander, the tracker alerted the firer. The launcher was quickly configured with the projectile loaded in it, and the target was destroyed within seconds. The exercise was a befitting reply to the 2020 Chinese adventurism in the Himalayas, which sent ripples down the corridors of power in Beijing.

Evolution of ATGMs

Since the end of the Second World War in 1945, high-velocity heavy calibre projectiles, explosive rounds and landmines have always remained the most favoured weapons of professional armies all across the world. While it is easy to engage a stationary human target with a sniper rifle from large distances, it is tremendously difficult to engage highspeed mobile targets like battle tanks and armoured vehicles with LRDLOS (Long Range Direct Line of Sight) shooting.