Plateau areas are prone to "freeze to death". How backward is the equipment of the Indian army?
Our patrol officers and soldiers are patrolling the Karakoram Mountains Introduction
The Karakoram Mountains are a restricted area for life
The Karakoram Mountains are a natural chasm that straddles the border between China and India. It is also an inaccessible "death zone", average At an altitude of more than 6,000 meters, the oxygen content in the air is only 60% of that in the plains, and the natural environment is very harsh.
The living conditions in the Karakoram Mountains are extremely harsh, and no army is willing to fight here.But the geographical location here is extremely important. India has always wanted to cross the Karakoram Mountains and push the Sino-Indian border to the Kunlun Mountains area. India believes that only in this way can absolute security be ensured in the Indian-controlled Kashmir region.
Indian border guard convoy
We must not be careless
The Karakoram Mountains are about to be closed. Will India seize the last opportunity to "repeat its old tricks" and cross the traditional Sino-Indian Line of Control again? Enter the Chinese side of the Line of Control. Today we will take a look at the level of weaponry and logistics equipment of the Indian army, whether it has the ability to cross the Karakoram Mountains, and whether the ridiculous incident of soldiers freezing to death will still happen.
Can India realize its wish?
The FH77B howitzers imported from India are mainly equipped with the Indian army Mountain Division
The Indian army is "weak"
In the border conflicts in 2020, the Indian border guards truly felt that the name of the "death zone" in the Karakoram Mountains was well-deserved. More than a dozen Indian soldiers froze to death because they could not receive timely help. In order to gain the upper hand in border struggles, the Indian army purchased a large number of weapons and equipment from the international community that are suitable for combat in plateau areas.
The Mi-171sh helicopter installed in the People's Liberation Army Air Force's transport and search force has good plateau flying capabilities
1 The quantity and quality of Indian helicopters are very low
It is a problem for helicopters to fly on plateaus
The Karakoram Mountains are high-altitude mountains, 6,000 meters high The average altitude has exceeded the ceiling of most helicopters. Even if a small number of plateau helicopters equipped by the Indian army can "climb" up the Karakoram Mountains, the maneuverability and load of the helicopters are completely incomparable with those in low-altitude areas. Only helicopters with enhanced plateau performance can be used normally in the Karakoram Mountains.
The Mi-17-V5 helicopter equipped by the Indian army
The Mi-17-V5 helicopter equipped by the Indian army is the main force
Take the Mi-17-V5 helicopter equipped by the Indian army as an example. This type of helicopter is based on the Mi-17 helicopter Both the Chinese and Indian armies are equipped with a large number of Mi-17-V5 helicopters for the plateau model developed on the market. The Indian army has ordered a total of 200 helicopters of this type from Russia. A mere 200 helicopters are a drop in the bucket for the huge Indian army.
The Indian helicopter industry is "lagging behind"
Although the Indian army has a large number of helicopters, the number of helicopters that can be deployed in the northern military region is only a few dozen. India does not have the ability to develop helicopters above 10 tons, and the number of helicopters cannot meet the requirements.
The US-made CH-47 "Chinook" transport helicopter equipped by the Indian army. India has a total of 15 helicopters of this type.
Indian helicopters play a limited role.
The helicopters of the Indian army can only undertake part of the service work and cannot undertake large-scale airdrops. Therefore, the role played by the Indian army's helicopters is really limited. The injured Indian soldiers could not be sent to the rear field hospital in time and could only freeze to death on the plateau.
India’s delusional attempt to use helicopters to speed up plateau transportation capabilities seems to be unworkable.
Our military is accelerating the development of helicopters
The situation of the People's Liberation Army is completely different. As early as 2016, the number of helicopters equipped by the People's Liberation Army Aviation has exceeded 1,000, and the group armies under the Western Theater are all assigned to the Army Aviation Brigade. In addition, the Xinjiang Military Region and the Tibet Military Region also have army aviation brigades under their jurisdiction.
The two army aviation brigades have given priority to being equipped with 15-ton Z-8L transport helicopters and 10-ton Z-20 general-purpose helicopters . The number of plateau transport helicopters greatly exceeds that of the Indian army. Indian media estimates that as of mid-2022, the Chinese military has equipped nearly 2,000 helicopters.
The Z-20 utility helicopter equipped by a land aviation brigade in the Tibet Military Region
The transportation and search and rescue force of the Chinese Air Force has also installed the latest Mi-171sh helicopter with enhanced plateau performance. This makes the transportation and search and rescue capabilities of the western theater better than that of India. The military is several levels above.
2 The Indian army’s logistics support capabilities are very poor.
The Indian army is the “Weapons Exhibition Hall of All Nations.”
India’s military industry is basically relatively poor, and India’s international environment is also relatively superior. Therefore, India is a “big family” in the international arms sales market. The Indian army’s equipment comes from many sources. Russian equipment, American equipment and European equipment all appear in the equipment sequence of the Indian army.
From this picture, we can see that the equipment gap between the Indian army and our army is huge. During the border conflict, all frontline troops of our army were equipped with anti-riot equipment, which greatly protected the border guards.
Indian logistics support equipment is very backward.
The Indian army purchases equipment. "Don't seek the best, but seek the most expensive" and often purchase unrealistic weapons and equipment. The Indian Army attaches great importance to the introduction and installation of large-scale weapons and equipment, but it has never been very "focused" on logistical support equipment.
India always believes that there is a big gap in firepower level with the Chinese army, but the Indian army has ignored that the real gap between the two sides is the logistics support equipment.
There is a huge gap between the two sides
In previous border conflicts, we can clearly see that the support capabilities of the Indian border guards are very different from those of China. All Chinese border guards wear riot protective gear, and important parts of the body such as the head, neck and The chest can be effectively protected.
It can be seen from the picture that the clothing of the Indian border guards has not been unified yet.
How is the protective ability of Indian individual soldiers?
However, the protective ability of Indian soldiers can only be described as pitiful. Very few people wear anti-riot helmets and anti-riot suits. The clothing is diverse, even the most Basic combat equipment is not provided, which is enough to show that the Indian army's combat readiness awareness is poor, and its logistics support capabilities are "worse than worse."
The tracked field ambulance equipped by our army is carrying out field rescue work
"While the troops and horses are not moving, food and grass go first." Our ancestors' understanding of logistics support has deeply influenced the Chinese army more than 2,000 years later. The Chinese army never fights uncertain battles. The People's Liberation Army has summed up the battlefield support requirements of "two up and two down" from its long-term war experience. Specifically, "ammunition can go up, food can go up, the wounded can go down, and martyrs can go down." Go down".
Our army's three-level rescue system
Take the rescue of the wounded as an example. Our army has established a three-level rescue system. First, each company is equipped with a health worker. If the injury is minor, the wounded can carry out self-rescue and mutual rescue. . Secondly, seriously injured people can be sent to the field hospital in the rear through armored ambulance .
Finally, various transportation methods can transport the seriously injured to rear hospitals with better medical conditions for treatment, so that the fatality rate of the injured is greatly reduced.
Camels and horses play an important role in India's border material support.
The Indian army's wounded rescue is "so-so"
The Indian army has long neglected logistical support. After the Indian border guards were injured in the Galwan Valley, the Indian army's field rescue was not available at all. wounded and sick soldiers were abandoned in the valley. The lowest temperature at night on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau dropped to below minus 20 degrees Celsius. The fate of these soldiers can be imagined. Without the use of thermal weapons , India Suffering such heavy casualties was "not unfair at all."
Two years have passed, and the Indian army’s rescue equipment and system have not made any progress!
Indian soldiers accompany senior officers on inspections
3 The hierarchy of the Indian army
The Indian army is highly hierarchical
The most criticized thing about the Indian army is its strict hierarchy, which is mainly affected by two reasons. One is the influence of India's own caste system. When it comes to the army, India's aristocratic races enjoy privileges in the army, and the promotion path of ordinary soldiers in the Indian army has been "stuck."
Second, India has been under British colonial rule for a long time. The strict hierarchy of the British army has inevitably affected the Indian army. Officers and soldiers are two completely different classes and cannot enjoy equal treatment.
Among Indian military officers, the proportion of high-caste racial officers is extremely high, and low-caste officers are often squeezed out, which greatly damages the combat effectiveness of the Indian army.
The unity of officers and soldiers ensured the strong combat effectiveness of the People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army is completely different. The Red Army period regarded the unity of officers and soldiers as the most important principle of army building. This move allowed the combat effectiveness of the People's Liberation Army to be fully exerted.During the border conflict, the troops The chief officer rushed to the front line and set an example for the soldiers. The Indian army cannot understand why the People's Liberation Army has such strong combat effectiveness.
4 The gap between the weapons and equipment of the two sides is even greater
The gap between the weapons and equipment systems of the two sides is obvious
India's defense industry has always been very weak, and the Indian army's weapons and equipment are based on "buy, buy, buy". On the one hand, it makes the logistics support system of the Indian army very "overwhelming", on the other hand, it also devastates the Indian defense industry system.
The M-777 ultra-light howitzer equipped by the Indian Army can be quickly maneuvered and deployed by CH-47 helicopters
The Indian Border Guards artillery is an IWC brand
Take the Indian Border Guards as an example, the Indian Border Guards have adopted A variety of artillery equipment, the imported artillery equipment includes: Swedish FH-77B 155mm howitzer, South Korea's K-9 self-propelled howitzer and American M-777 ultra-light 155mm howitzer, is even equipped with old-fashioned M-46 130mm cannon.
The Indian Army's artillery regiment (the establishment is equivalent to our army's artillery battalion ) has simply become the "Artillery Exhibition Hall of All Nations". Different artillery requires the establishment of different ammunition supply systems and maintenance support systems. estimates the logistics of the Indian Army The support department is the busiest branch of the military in the world.
A PCL-181 vehicle-mounted howitzer equipped by a synthetic division of the Xinjiang Military Region
Looking at the PLA artillery, our army has inherited the artillery doctrine of the Soviet army. Artillery is the most important fire support force of our army. Our army's artillery has a large number and first-class performance.
PCL-181 vehicle-mounted howitzer has powerful performance
The artillery brigades of the Xinjiang Military Region and Tibet Military Region have all eliminated the PL-66 152mm towed howitzer with poor maneuverability, unsatisfactory range and power, and has installed the new PCL-181 vehicle-mounted howitzer. This type of artillery uses a 6-wheel high-mobility chassis with excellent maneuverability and can retreat as soon as it hits. The survivability performance of
artillery has been doubled. It is equipped with an automatic gun comparison system and the computer automatically calculates and sets the shooting elements. 's strike accuracy and range have been greatly improved.
The long-range rocket launchers installed by an artillery brigade in the Tibet Military Region
The artillery regiments under the synthetic division have all been replaced
The artillery regiments under the synthetic division in the Xinjiang Military Region have also installed a large number of this type of artillery, which can provide heavy and medium-sized synthetic regiments of the synthetic division. Suppressive fire. Our army's artillery equipment models are as compact as possible, and all use self-propelled or vehicle-mounted chassis. Their strike capabilities are far beyond that of the artillery regiments of the Indian army.
In addition, each artillery brigade is also equipped with several battalions of long-range rocket launchers. The strike distance and power of long-range rocket launchers are beyond what India can achieve.
The Indian side has always said that India is no longer the India of 1962. They are far worse than it was in 1962.
Conclusion
India is an ambitious country. The border war in 1962 left an indelible mark in the hearts of Indians Shadow, Although the Karakoram Mountains will be closed at the end of July, the Indian army's logistical support cannot meet the needs of front-line troops, and the probability of the Indian army "making trouble at the border" has decreased, but we must not be careless.
If he dares to cross the line, he will be given a thunderous blow to let him know that the gap between the Chinese army and the Indian army is even greater than in 1962.
