SOURCE:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelpeck/2020/08/03/tank-battles-in-the-himalaya-mountains-indian-t-90-tanks-face-chinese-armor/#7bd1a98c6e02
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWL98EdMYm8
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Today's Latest Indian Defence News/Indian defence Updates in Hindi As Follow:T-90 tanks cant fight with Chinese Type-15 Tank in Ladakh,Need for AIP submarine
Today's Latest Indian Defence News Headlines:-
-Armed forces working on 100 emergency procurement contracts amid tensions with China
-L&T TUAV UAV shows what the Private sector can achieve where DRDO has struggled
-Indian vs Chinese Tanks: The Mighty Indian T-90 Tanks Have No Answer To Chinese Type 15 Lightweight Tanks
-AIP Submarines Will Increase The Lethality Of The Indian Navy
-INDIA, US NEGOTIATING UAV CO-DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, SAYS PENTAGON OFFICIAL
-Disengagement between troops hit dead end in Ladakh; Indian Army prepares for long haul
-India test fires helicopter-launched anti-tank ‘Dhruvastra’ missile in Odisha.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelpeck/2020/08/03/tank-battles-in-the-himalaya-mountains-indian-t-90-tanks-face-chinese-armor/#7bd1a98c6e02
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWL98EdMYm8
Tank Battles In TheHimalaya Mountains?
Indian T-90 Tanks Face Chinese Armor
By Michael Peck
India has deployed its Russian-made T-90 tanks against Chinese forces in the disputed border region of Ladakh.
But moving 45-ton tanks in a mountainous region with poor roads and bridges comes with its own challenges.
The Indian armor has been stationed at the desolate outpost of Daulet Beg Oldi, which lies at an altitude of 16,000 feet and features one of the world’s highest airfields. The outpost is a few miles from the Chinese border and just south of the strategic Karakoram pass, which India fears could be an invasion route for Chinese troops occupying the Aksai Chin area.
“With the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) deploying close to 50,000 troops in Aksai Chin, the Indian Army for the first time has deployed a squadron (12) T-90 missile firing tanks, armored personnel carriers (APCs) and a full troop brigade (4,000 men) at Daulat Beg Oldi to prevent any Chinese aggression from the Shaksgam-Karakoram pass axis,” according to the Hindustan Times, citing top Indian military commanders.
While tempers appear to have cooled somewhat as Chinese and Indian troops disengage, both sides have sent in reinforcements. Significantly, China and India are sending tanks to the Himalayas, a vast mountain range that includes Mount Everest and a harsh climate arduous for both humans and vehicles.
China has deployed the Type 15 light
tank, a 30-ton vehicle armed with a 105-
millimeter cannon that can fire shells
and anti-tank guided missiles. China
claims that its 1,000-horsepower diesel,
coupled with the Type 15’s relatively
light weight, will make the tank handy in
mountainous terrain.
“With a powerful engine, the Type 15 lightweight
main battle tank can effectively operate in plateau
regions difficult for heavier tanks, and with its
advanced fire control systems and 105-millimeter
caliber armor-piercing main gun, it can outgun any
other light armored vehicles at high elevations,”
said China’s state-controlled Global Times.
Though lighter than the 70-ton U.S. M1A2 Abrams,
Russia’s 45-ton T-90 main battle tank – essentially
a modernized Cold War T-72 — is significantly
heavier than the Type 15. Its 125-millimeter
cannon can fire shells as well as AT-11 anti-tank
guided missiles. Its defensive gear includes
Kontakt-5 explosive armor and the Shtora infrared
jamming system to stop incoming anti-tank
rockets. While Chinese Type 15s have yet to see
combat, Russian T-90s have fought in Syria, with
at least one being badly damaged by a U.S.-made
TOW anti-tank missile fired by Syrian rebels.
India has customized its variant, the T-90S
Bhishma, with non-Russian gear such as a French
thermal imaging system. The Type 15’s light
weight may enable it to use roads and bridges that
the T-90 can’t. One the other hand, India’s 1,000
T-90s have superior firepower and armor
protection.
Arzan Tarapore, a non-resident fellow at the U.S.-
based National Bureau of Asian Research
thinktank, believes the Indian T-90s are there as a
warning to Beijing that Chinese territory is
vulnerable to an Indian counteroffensive. “They
are not there to defend Indian territory, but to
threaten Chinese territory,” Tarapore tells me.
“This is and has long been Indian doctrine: to
threaten a punishing riposte against China - ideally
to strengthen India’s hand in disengagement
negotiations; or in the worst case, to actually try to
seize Chinese territory as a bargaining chip to
reverse China’s incursions.”
Chinese and Indian troops engaged in several mass
fistfights in June in the disputed Galwan River
valley, resulting in 20 Indian deaths and dozens of
Chinese casualties. Both nations fought in a brief
war over Ladakh in 1962, in which China defeated
poorly prepared Indian forces. Chinese now
appears to be pushing against the demarcation line
in response to India building a new highway to
sustain its forces in the area.
This isn’t the first time that India has deployed
tanks to Ladakh. During the 1962 war, India
airlifted French-made AMX-13 light tanks aboard
Soviet-made An-12 transport planes, and T-72s
were sent in 2016. In 1962, “the tank crews
quickly acclimatized itself to the freezing
temperature and ratified air at 15,000 feet,” noted
one Indian news account. “The machines,
however, faced more problems than the men. Low
operating pressure and ratified air created
problems in the cooling systems of the tanks and
the freezing temperature affected the efficiency of
their engines.”
Which raises the obvious question of how useful
tanks will be in a mountainous area with very poor
roads. During the Korean War, for example, U.S.
tanks were invaluable during combat in the
flatlands: once the fighting shifted to the
mountains, American tanks became mobile
howitzers, lobbing shells from inclined ramps at
Communist troops in the hills.
And Ladakh itself is one of the most difficult places
on Earth for tanks to operate. The thin air and
temperatures in the region can plunge to 50
degrees below zero Fahrenheit, an Indian Army
colonel told India’s NDTV in 2016. Indian tanks
must use special fuel and lubricants at least twice
every night, and the engines must be revved-up to
keep the tank’s systems from freezing.
But even in the mountains, tanks still offer
something unique: a big, heavily armored, mobile
cannon that can deliver far more firepower than
what a foot soldier can carry on his back. Modern
vehicles like the T-90 also have thermal sights and
other advanced sensors to spot targets at night and
in fog. While there will be no armored blitzkriegs
in the Himalayas, tanks can provide invaluable fire
support to infantry. On the other hand, in
restricted terrain, tanks will need the infantry to
protect them from man-portable anti-tank rockets.
Should more clashes erupt in Ladahk, Type 15s
may occasionally battle T-90s. But in the Himalaya
mountains – nicknamed “the roof of the world” –
the biggest danger to Chinese and Indian tanks
isn’t the enemy. It’s the climate.
India has deployed its Russian-made T-90 tanks against Chinese forces in the disputed border region of Ladakh.
But moving 45-ton tanks in a mountainous region with poor roads and bridges comes with its own challenges.
The Indian armor has been stationed at the desolate outpost of Daulet Beg Oldi, which lies at an altitude of 16,000 feet and features one of the world’s highest airfields. The outpost is a few miles from the Chinese border and just south of the strategic Karakoram pass, which India fears could be an invasion route for Chinese troops occupying the Aksai Chin area.
“With the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) deploying close to 50,000 troops in Aksai Chin, the Indian Army for the first time has deployed a squadron (12) T-90 missile firing tanks, armored personnel carriers (APCs) and a full troop brigade (4,000 men) at Daulat Beg Oldi to prevent any Chinese aggression from the Shaksgam-Karakoram pass axis,” according to the Hindustan Times, citing top Indian military commanders.
While tempers appear to have cooled somewhat as Chinese and Indian troops disengage, both sides have sent in reinforcements. Significantly, China and India are sending tanks to the Himalayas, a vast mountain range that includes Mount Everest and a harsh climate arduous for both humans and vehicles.
China has deployed the Type 15 light
tank, a 30-ton vehicle armed with a 105-
millimeter cannon that can fire shells
and anti-tank guided missiles. China
claims that its 1,000-horsepower diesel,
coupled with the Type 15’s relatively
light weight, will make the tank handy in
mountainous terrain.
“With a powerful engine, the Type 15 lightweight
main battle tank can effectively operate in plateau
regions difficult for heavier tanks, and with its
advanced fire control systems and 105-millimeter
caliber armor-piercing main gun, it can outgun any
other light armored vehicles at high elevations,”
said China’s state-controlled Global Times.
Though lighter than the 70-ton U.S. M1A2 Abrams,
Russia’s 45-ton T-90 main battle tank – essentially
a modernized Cold War T-72 — is significantly
heavier than the Type 15. Its 125-millimeter
cannon can fire shells as well as AT-11 anti-tank
guided missiles. Its defensive gear includes
Kontakt-5 explosive armor and the Shtora infrared
jamming system to stop incoming anti-tank
rockets. While Chinese Type 15s have yet to see
combat, Russian T-90s have fought in Syria, with
at least one being badly damaged by a U.S.-made
TOW anti-tank missile fired by Syrian rebels.
India has customized its variant, the T-90S
Bhishma, with non-Russian gear such as a French
thermal imaging system. The Type 15’s light
weight may enable it to use roads and bridges that
the T-90 can’t. One the other hand, India’s 1,000
T-90s have superior firepower and armor
protection.
Arzan Tarapore, a non-resident fellow at the U.S.-
based National Bureau of Asian Research
thinktank, believes the Indian T-90s are there as a
warning to Beijing that Chinese territory is
vulnerable to an Indian counteroffensive. “They
are not there to defend Indian territory, but to
threaten Chinese territory,” Tarapore tells me.
“This is and has long been Indian doctrine: to
threaten a punishing riposte against China - ideally
to strengthen India’s hand in disengagement
negotiations; or in the worst case, to actually try to
seize Chinese territory as a bargaining chip to
reverse China’s incursions.”
Chinese and Indian troops engaged in several mass
fistfights in June in the disputed Galwan River
valley, resulting in 20 Indian deaths and dozens of
Chinese casualties. Both nations fought in a brief
war over Ladakh in 1962, in which China defeated
poorly prepared Indian forces. Chinese now
appears to be pushing against the demarcation line
in response to India building a new highway to
sustain its forces in the area.
This isn’t the first time that India has deployed
tanks to Ladakh. During the 1962 war, India
airlifted French-made AMX-13 light tanks aboard
Soviet-made An-12 transport planes, and T-72s
were sent in 2016. In 1962, “the tank crews
quickly acclimatized itself to the freezing
temperature and ratified air at 15,000 feet,” noted
one Indian news account. “The machines,
however, faced more problems than the men. Low
operating pressure and ratified air created
problems in the cooling systems of the tanks and
the freezing temperature affected the efficiency of
their engines.”
Which raises the obvious question of how useful
tanks will be in a mountainous area with very poor
roads. During the Korean War, for example, U.S.
tanks were invaluable during combat in the
flatlands: once the fighting shifted to the
mountains, American tanks became mobile
howitzers, lobbing shells from inclined ramps at
Communist troops in the hills.
And Ladakh itself is one of the most difficult places
on Earth for tanks to operate. The thin air and
temperatures in the region can plunge to 50
degrees below zero Fahrenheit, an Indian Army
colonel told India’s NDTV in 2016. Indian tanks
must use special fuel and lubricants at least twice
every night, and the engines must be revved-up to
keep the tank’s systems from freezing.
But even in the mountains, tanks still offer
something unique: a big, heavily armored, mobile
cannon that can deliver far more firepower than
what a foot soldier can carry on his back. Modern
vehicles like the T-90 also have thermal sights and
other advanced sensors to spot targets at night and
in fog. While there will be no armored blitzkriegs
in the Himalayas, tanks can provide invaluable fire
support to infantry. On the other hand, in
restricted terrain, tanks will need the infantry to
protect them from man-portable anti-tank rockets.
Should more clashes erupt in Ladahk, Type 15s
may occasionally battle T-90s. But in the Himalaya
mountains – nicknamed “the roof of the world” –
the biggest danger to Chinese and Indian tanks
isn’t the enemy. It’s the climate.
