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Again, you evade my question by changing the goalposts. This discussion is not about what is our battle plan against China, that in itself is a vast topic in itself.
This is not about our battle plan against China ? Then how did we decide to go in for Light Tanks ? The decision has been pending with the IA since long , much before the crisis in Doklam or Galwan erupted , much before the IA either scrapped it / or put it into the cold storage for reasons unknown or perhaps the usual set of reasons namely lack of a capital budget , other platforms getting priority & on & on.
You were claiming tanks are obsolete, esp. light tanks against China since an excess of FPV drones & ATGMs can take them out easily.
I was countering your claim on why still light tanks still play a major role.
However this debate of the efficacy of light tanks in Ladakh has had it's share of supporters & detractors within the IA much before what happened in Galwan & what's happening in Ukraine today with both sides in a deadlock till the ones supporting the decision prevailed presumably because the Chinese had them in great numbers & deployed them on the LAC. Hence parity. At least in so far as the platform went, leave aside quantities . How wise was this decision given the numbers we've ordered is something time will definitely answer !
Again, evading question. How can I talk about the qualities/quantities of the tank (Zorawar) which is still on the drawing board (AFAWK)?
Pls re read what I wrote & improve your comprehensive powers . I was referring to the quantities in the public domain of the proposed Light Tank. Where did I bring up the quality ? Similarly the quantities of the light tanks in the possession of China is well known too except we take it with a pinch of salt as is the case with everything Chinese.
Just to recapitulate my emphasis was on their PRESENT quantities . I very much doubt whether these quantities have been frozen forever or new iterations aren't being developed. We've no idea what these nos would be towards the end of the decade . At least that information is not in the public domain as of now.
We cannot assume we will have hostilities end-of-this decade and not tomorrow, or in the next decade.
True. But we're in a worse shape today in as far as our Army & AF goes as compared to what we would be by the end of the decade. Or at least this is what is presumed. The only silver lining is China's not completely prepared itself & will complete it's modernization / upgradation / joint ness in operation somewhere around 2028. Add a couple of years as cushion & we reach 2030.
Zorawar might take its time to mature & come in numbers. Till then, we already have T-90s (med. category), T-72s (med. category), and BMP-2s (light category) fielded against China on LAC. Advent of Zorawar should ideally supplement BMP-2s & T-7s which are obsolete.
Then we ought to have augmented the MBTs & added to their numbers which is what the section in the IA arguing against the Light Tanks have been asking for since long instead of the Light Tanks.
I unfortunately do, and I am slightly ashamed to admit it.
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No problem . No need to be embarassed , you're among fiends . You , we know , you know.
I think I have proven my point. Light tanks, or armored vehicles, or for that matter, are not obsolete due to drones/ATGMS, esp. in open areas like deserts & arid conditions.
I remember reading about this first in 2014 or 15 IIRC on PKS's blog Trishul who was vehemently opposed to the idea then . Now this was much before Doklam , Galwan or Ukraine. I've not been frequenting his blog since the past 2 yrs so no clue if he's revised his position. While he made some great points arguing against these light tanks the counter to him was equally good raising thought provoking questions.
The argument to me which clinched the deal in favour of the nay sayers was always - we've already an inventory of medium & heavy tanks along with mechanised armour & infantry which we can't do away with for utilization in the plains & deserts for obvious reasons which means we reinforce them .
However we didn't have light tanks & prima facie they were a bigger liability than the medium & heavy ones for the weight restrictions which prevented it being heavily armoured. So why go in for them instead of the medium ones already doing duty on the LAC which though not the most optimum solution was still better than the light tanks.
In any case this is going to be one heavy war of attrition for both sides especially ours on & across the LAC , something on the lines of Ukraine ⁴ with our Jawans in the IA facing the brunt of it . I just hope our political & military leadership don't wilt under the pressure & handle the losses stoically.
Yup. You win Game set & match. Rig the game by framing rules in your favour & then declare imaginary victory. How old did you say you were , once again ?
Yup. Pointless discussion as of this time. Good night. Thanks for engaging. I've said whatever I've had to say on this topic too. Nothing more to add not unless I want to get into repetition territory like you already have.
