Indian Army has only enough ammunition reserves to fight for 10 days

The Indian Army currently maintains limited ammunition reserves, sufficient to last only about 10 days of war.

Indian weapons in a parade. Photo: India Today.

A report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) on July 21 said that qThe country's army is required to maintain enough ammunition to last for a 20-day war, but only 20% of these ammunition types meet combat readiness requirements, according to India Today.

According to the report,As many as 61 out of 152 types of ammunition that the Indian army plans to use in case of war can only meet its needs for 10 days.

Previously, the Indian Army was ordered to maintain a sufficient War War Reserve (WWR) of ammunition.for use in a 40-day war. By 1999, this ammunition stockpile had been reduced to 20 days' worth.

According to the CAG, the Indian Army has recently been trying to improve and add some important categories to its WWR such as explosives, demolition materials, ammunition for battle vehicles (AFVs) and artillery to maintain “superior firepower in critical situations”.

Shortage of ammunition stocks is severely affecting the training of the Indian Army. The CAG said that due to shortage of ammunition, army commanders have been forced to issue training restrictions. In 2016, of the 24 types of ammunition required for training, only three were sufficient for more than five days.

Concerned about the shortage, the Indian government had come up with a plan to quickly replenish ammunition by 2015. However, the CAG report said that over the past three yearsThere was no significant improvement in increasing ammunition reserves for WWR./.

According to VNE