Meeting the Challenge of Ammunition Reserves

To believe that there will be no war, or war can be averted is a disastrous fallacy. In our own lifetime, how many conflicts have we witnessed and are currently witnessing? The fact is that man has always fought man. To fight better, man has been in the quest to make better weapons. From sticks and stones, to swords and spears, to chariots and elephants, to gunpowder and cannons and artillery, to matchlocks and rifles, to battleships, to tanks, to submarines, to fighter aircraft and missiles, and then to nuclear power. In today’s context from perception warfare, to cyber warfare, to space warfare, to drone warfare, the quest is never ending. The only way that you can avoid war, is to prepare for it. With preparation one develops a strong deterrence. Such deterrence is by far cheaper than the cost of war. There are various methods of developing deterrence, however, the foremost and most important is hard power, that comprises of the weapon and its corresponding ammunition.

Meeting the Challenge

In order to meet the challenges posed by the environment, the Indian Defence Forces are suitably equipping themselves, upgrading and modernising existing weapon systems. The intent is to furnish the military with world-class equipment and training, a testament to the nation’s unyielding spirit to overcome any challenge.

The crucial issue is to ensure that a weapon system is developed or procured as a whole. This is so because any weapon system has many components, the primary ones being the weapon itself and all types of ammunition that it can fire. Other issues include spares, maintenance, and training. In true form for any weapon system to work all these components have to be thought through and contracted as a whole.

The Myth of Short Wars

India must dispel the Myth of Short Wars. Such a narrative was possibly conceived to justify ammunition shortages. The Ukraine War has upended many of the theories of war, including one that modern wars will be short and swift.

Self-Reliance is crucial to sustaining and winning wars. India needs to wean away from import dependency. While the pursuit to infuse technology in our war fighting system indeed remains an enduring one, the conclusion that we can draw is that self-sufficiency in critical technologies and investment in R&D is an inescapable strategic imperative. The security of nations cannot be outsourced, nor can it be dependent on other nations. Inadequacies in military–industrial complexes have to be identified. War may demand, the monthly consumption of some munitions, much more than can be produced in a year.

Types of Ammunition

There are various types of ammunition that are stocked in the Defence Forces. At the unit level these comprise of Service Ammunition and Training Ammunition. Service Ammunition includes First Line and Second Line Ammunition. First Line Ammunition can be further classified as On Weapon Scale and Unit Reserve. Second Line Ammunition is generally half of First Line Scale and is easily accessible to the unit. Service Ammunition is stored carefully to be used in case of war and comprises of the latest vintage. As this ammunition gets older and nears the expiry of its shelf life, it is converted to Training Ammunition and is consumed during training.

At the National level, reserve ammunition is stocked in various ammunition depots, to support the Field Formations in case of war. Such ammunition is called War Wastage Reserves (WWR). WWR is calculated in two categories to cater for battle engagements, and are classified as Intense and Normal rates. It is this WWR that is most critical, as it is this ammunition that will support and tide over the Nation in case of war. Therefore, if the Nation foresees a short and swift war, say 10 days, it will cater for that much ammunition, and if it expects a long-drawn-out war, say 100 days, then it will cater for that much ammunition.

War Wastage Reserves

Ammunition, along with the weapon system required to fire it, form the most important pre-requisite for battle. Ammunition comprises of various categories and parts. For example, there is small arms ammunition, to be used in machine guns, rifles, carbines, and pistols. All different calibres. There is tank ammunition, which too has many categories, like high explosive and anti-tank etc. Likewise, there is Artillery ammunition and Missiles, to name a few. These ammunitions come as a whole or in parts, for example the cartridge case separately and the fuze separately. The point is that all kinds of ammunition have to be stocked, including all the sub-parts. At one point there was a sudden crisis and war was imminent. A fact check was carried out, only to find that there were adequate artillery cartridge cases but inadequate fuzes. The shell cannot explode without the fuze, so it was as good as not having the ammunition. In another case, ammunition was hurriedly imported from a country other than the original manufacturer. However, later it was learnt that the muzzle velocity of the imported ammunition was different from the original, while the fire control systems were manufactured to cater only for the original muzzle velocity. Resultantly, in case fired, the round would have missed the target. This necessitated modifications to the fire control systems. Therefore, to avoid hasty purchases, the WWR must cater for all types, categories, parts, sub parts etc, so that the weapon has a corresponding ammunition, and in sufficient numbers to sustain the anticipated duration of war.

The aspect of war wastage reserves is the greatest lesson one needs to learn from the Ukraine conflict. India has been cutting down the requirement of reserves, repeatedly stating that war will last only 10 days. Accordingly, our WWR have been so catered for. This requires an urgent and immediate recalculation, not only the initial stocking but also the sustenance. Building the industrial base is a prerequisite to winning wars, and along with this comes the dependence on the private sector. The government needs to lay down consistent policies and ensure financial commitments.

Adequate Quality Control too, must be exercised. There have been cases where the ammunition failed to achieve the desired destruction or penetration levels during the trials. However, despite the shortcoming, thousands of rounds were produced, which eventually had to be segregated causing a huge loss to the exchequer. The procurement, production and quality control agencies must be held accountable for timelines and quality.

Much of the capability development should be dominated by the need for deterrence and ability to win conventional wars. In case of weapon platforms, ammunition production also needs to be factored in and ensured that all types of ammunition are available in simultaneity to operationalization of the weapon platform. We need truly Indian R&D, and production, not imported equipment stamped as Indian.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Maj Gen VK Singh, VSM (Retd), has commanded an Independent Recce Sqn in the desert sector, and has the distinction of being the first Armoured Corps Officer to command an Assam Rifles Battalion in Counter Insurgency Operations in Manipur and Nagaland, as well as the first General Cadre Officer to command a Strategic Forces Brigade. He then commanded 12 Infantry Division (RAPID) in Western Sector. The General was the Major General (Operations), prior to retirement.


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