Army146;s divya astra rumbles in desert

The Indian Army and Air Force today put up a massive firepower demonstration of the new long-distance multiple weapon firing ranges here. Am...

The Indian Army and Air Force today put up a massive firepower demonstration of the new long-distance multiple weapon firing ranges here. Amid deafening explosions and clouds of dust kicked up by tank columns and infantry combat vehicles, MI-35 attack helicopters, MiG-21 and MiG-23 jets swooped in to unleash a deadly salvo of precision-guided ammunition.

8216;Divya Astra8217; showcased the latest equipment and weapon systems in the Indian Army, an exercise only in training and not a signal to any quarters, said Chief of Army Staff General N.C. Vij. He did not want to talk of war in times of peace. 8216;8216;Insurgency operations are in an all together different spectrum. Here what we have shown is the maximum use of firepower. In insurgency it is the reverse and there is minimum use of firepower as we want to minimise collateral damage,8217;8217; said the Army Chief.

On the Krasnopol precision-guided ammunition fired from the 155-mm Bofors guns, the Army chief said it has to be verified at high altitude. Krasnopol is guided onto the target by a laser designator operated by an observer close to the target.

Capping the firepower display were the GRAD BM 21 multi-barrel rocket launchers. On command from the fire control officer, the six trucks with back mounted GRAD launchers, each consisting of 40 tubes with 122-mm rockets, lined up to unleash a hailstorm of steel and explosives. Waves of rockets went streaking out and crashed into their targets several kilometres away.

Among the weapons and equipment on display were the infantry weapons including automatic grenade launchers AGLs, under barrel grenade launchers UBLs, the Dragunov sniper rifle and the Carl Gustav 84-mm rocket launcher. Growling 1,000 horsepower T-90 tanks and BMP-II infantry combat vehicles formed the armoured and mechanised component.

The Army also demonstrated long range reconnaissance and observation system, integrated observation equipment and radars. The Israeli-made Searcher UAV also demonstrated its capabilities by taking high-resolution pictures of 8216;8216;enemy activity8217;8217; from very high altitude.

The Air Force provided close support to the Army by bringing in MiG-21 fighters which let loose S-24 bunker buster rockets.

Story continues below this ad

Later during the exercise, Army engineer regiments laid out a high strength bridge across the 65-metre wide Indira Gandhi canal within minutes. Three T-90 tanks at a time rolled across the bridge, testing its strength.