Indian Army’s Sarath BMP 2 in Ladakh ready to foil Chinese misadventure on LAC
The Indian Army has deployed infantry combat vehicles in the Galvan Valley as Chinese troops had deployed their armored vehicles to strengthen their position amid border dispute with India along the Line Of Actual Control (LAC). The deployment of armored vehicles or BMP 2 is to counter threat to the Darbuk–Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldi (DSDBO) road, which is very important for the Indian Army.
The BMP 2 vehicles are not only capable of launching attacks on the enemy with missiles, mortars, rockets, and machine guns, but soldiers sitting inside can also move forward safely amid fire in the field.
The deployment of BMP 2 on the confluence of the Galvan Valley and the Shyok river has created an impregnable wall of defence to deter any possible misadventure of the Chinese Army. The BMP 2 armoured vehicles are also stationed along the DSDBO road and on the mouth of the Galvan Valley, besides on the road going towards the DBO.
The Chinese Army has increased the number of armoured vehicles because of the plain area on the other side of the LAC. It is easy for the Chinese army to bring tanks and other vehicles at a high speed.
A few years ago, the Indian Army started deploying tanks and armoured vehicles in Ladakh. China had already made a network of roads and railways in its occupied Tibet area, but the infrastructure development on the Indian side continued at a slow pace.
Assessing the situation of a possible attack from China, the Indian Army started bringing tanks and armored vehicles to the Ladakh plains. Currently, a large number of tanks and armored vehicles in the Ladakh region have been deployed by the Indian Army to give a befitting reply to the Chinese troops.
Indian army is also planning to add 156 BMP 2/2K ICVs. It will reduce the existing deficiency in the Mechanised Infantry Battalions will be mitigated and the combat capability of the Army will be further enhanced, sai an Indian Ministry of Defence MoD statement.
Recently, India’s MoD has also approved the upgrade of 693 IA BMP-2/2K Sarath ICVs to BMP-2M standard.
BMP-2/2K
BMP-2 (Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty, Russian: Боевая Машина Пехоты; infantry combat vehicle) is a second-generation, amphibious infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) introduced in the 1980s in the Soviet Union, following on from the BMP-1 of the 1960s.
BMP-2K (K stands for komandirskaya – command) is the command variant fitted with two whip antennas mounted on the rear of the hull, one behind the turret and one on the right-hand side of the rear of the vehicle, one IFF antenna (pin stick) on the left-hand side of the rear of the vehicle and support for a telescopic mast in the front of the IFF antenna.
The firing port equipped with the periscope was removed from either side of the vehicle. The antennae on the turret were removed. The radio equipment consists ether of the R-123M and R-130M radio sets, or the more modern R-173, R-126 and R-10. The crew consists of six men.
BMP-2/2K Sarath
BMP-2 Sarath (Chariot of Victory), also known as BMP-II is the Indian license-produced variant of the BMP-2, built by Ordnance Factory Medak. The first vehicle, assembled from components supplied by KBP, was ready in 1987. By 1999, about 90% of the complete vehicle and its associated systems were being produced in India.
It was estimated that, by 2007, 1,250 vehicles had been built. India has also developed a number of versions of the Sarath including light tank, command vehicle, recon vehicle, weapons carrier, ambulance etc.
BMP-2K “Sarath” is the Indian license-produced command vehicle, similar to the Soviet/Russian version.
Source:- Zee News
