India’s imported T-90S main battle tank from Russia. Previously, Indian media reported that the inventory of armor-piercing shells used by T-90S tanks was insufficient.
According to a report quoted by government sources in India Today on December 14, the plan is related to the army’s preparations for war on two fronts, and weapons and ammunition will be purchased from foreign and Indian domestic manufacturers.
According to the Times of India, in a report submitted to Parliament in 2017, the Indian National Audit Office said that since March 2013, the serious shortage of ammunition storage and war consumption reserves of the Indian army has not improved significantly.
The Indian army plans to increase the stockpile of weapons and ammunition used for heavy war
Of the 152 ammunitions of the army, the inventory of 121 (80%) is lower than the inventory requirements of the Indian Ministry of Defense’s 40-day high-intensity war. Moreover, due to the unimproved stockpile of weapons and the emergence of new military tactics, the stockpile has dropped to 10 days.
According to the investigation into the terrorist attack on the brigade-level staff of the Indian Army in Uri in September 2016, the military admitted that the weapons reserve was insufficient.
There are three main reasons for India’s lack of ammunition. First, the budget problem. There are two problems with the ammunition funding of the Indian army: first, more funds are needed to reach the maximum inventory; second, the overall allocation of funds is likely to be insufficient to purchase ammunition, which occurs every year.
The second is the problem of military factories. Military factories have been lagging behind the production plan of ammunition, weapons, vehicles, equipment and components. Many ammunition needs to be purchased out and cannot be produced on its own.
Third, the issue of ammunition procurement planning. While spending a lot of money to introduce main war weapons, India often lacks plans to purchase or produce related munitions abroad.
