ARTICLE : WHAT IF?????

 WHAT IF????

 

LT COL NOEL ELLIS

 

09/IV/2021

 

As one watches the war in Ukraine unfold, it brings shivers down the spine, without getting into the destruction of buildings, loss of life of civilians & the men and women in uniform. I shall also not discuss who is right or who is wrong. Further, there is no point discussing who is responsible to start it and who can stop it. What worries me most as a Mech Officer, is the destruction of ‘military equipment’ that one sees mangled and strewn lying across Ukrainian streets.

 

It is also not about to whom this equipment belongs to. It is all about the final outcome after that equipment has been hit with some projectile. Let us assume that the maximum equipment is Russian the way they appear to be lined up. The scenes are gory and unpleasant.

 

Why I say this is because most of the equipment one sees blown up to smithereens is also used by India. The T-72s, BRDMs, BMPs, self-propelled Artillery guns and  MBRLs (Multi Barrel Rocket Launchers) etc are all in ‘India’s armoury’. Our ‘life line’ as far as the Mechanised forces is concerned is ‘Made in Russia’. If this is the result, then it is time to introspect India.

 

One has seen videos of hand held rocket launchers being used at not more than a distance of four hundred meters which are capable of blowing up a 40-tonne tank to tatters. It is a different matter that the secondary fires which erupt from the ammunition stowed inside burn everything. After it catches fire and explodes throwing away turrets of tanks to a considerable distance. Definitely, they turn into ‘Iron Coffins’ for crew manning those ‘beasts’, if one can call them so.

 

A direct hit from a missile, which has a penetration power of about 400mm of armour or more, can pierce any class of a Russian tank. The ICVs and soft skinned vehicles therefore stand no chance of survival. One is also surprised to see that the ‘reactive armour’ layer that these tanks wear, were ineffective or did not react.

 

These days with missiles having fire and forget capabilities, the 'firer' can be invisible and still cause unimaginable damage to what our Mechanised forces who just wait for a “Tally-Ho” signal to proceed to annihilate enemy armour which comes between them and their objective.  

 

The manoeuvre warfare, tank to tank distance, tactics of fire and move, one leg on the ground, pivots et al all look good on ‘sand models’ and ‘paper war games’. On ground, if the enemy is determined they will blow apart any onslaught. The 40 tonne ‘match boxes’ we claim to be the spine of Mechanised warfare, would face stiff resistance.

 

One tank/ICV blowing up in a squadron or a Mechanised company can lower the morale of troops in combat. Burning bodies and charred dead bodies need guts to handle. To prioritise casualties with disgusting cuts & burns is very difficult. With the skin of your comrade sticking to you and in cases burning your own skin is a heartbreaker. The ‘cas-evac’ we talk of, is not good enough. Unless it is included in the cost of war.

 

People will argue that this is Fighting in Built up Area, Urban warfare, Close quarter battle and whatever name one can give to this Street-to-street fighting. The results are seen mangled ‘iron’ on the roads.

 

Can India afford such kind of casualties? Is the equipment we hold good enough to take such a battering? Can we afford to lose so much equipment? Are we geared up to evacuate every man injured or burnt, from the tank he/she was manning to be saved? Do we have the logistics train to support not only ‘feeding’ the troops in contact, leave alone repairing equipment in situ? I urge all Mech forces commanders to cross their hearts and say Yes.

 

Here one is not discussing the use of ‘tactical nuclear weapons’ by the enemy. If used then the consequences would be far more gruesome. Are we prepared to say with conviction that our NBC (Nuclear Biological & Chemical) systems in our AFVs (Armoured Fighting Vehicles) are ready to be operated with a press of a push button? Hope the answer is Yes.

 

Why I raise these questions is because there is a vacuum. The Josh, valour and courage of our troops is beyond compare but cannot match a rocket or a missile. This ‘invisible miscreant’ comes hissing with its tail lit. What destructive capability it holds should be observed from the graveyard of equipment we see in Ukraine.

 

My aim of writing all this is my apprehensions. It has been fifteen years since I hung my uniform and there would have been tremendous improvement in all fields of warfare for sure. Fact remains that we hide the ‘reality’ of how effective our equipment is and take cover behind ‘regimental spirits’. This is not enough, especially against the enemy in the North and East.

 

There are no doubts about the capabilities and professionalism of the ‘crews’ of the Mech Forces. The bitter truth is that they are ‘deaf’ because all they hear is what our ‘radio transmission relays’, besides hearing the deafening sound of the engine. ‘Blind’ because, even if we have our ‘cupolas’ open, the ‘sandstorm’ which is kicked up by the tracks, acts as a curtain between them and the enemy soldier with a missile launcher, hiding miles away behind a bush.

 

For India, the Mech Warfare think tank needs to take note, which would have been done I presume. ‘What if’ we have to go through this.  I wonder!!!!!!!!

 

JAI HIND

© NOEL ELLIS