AFAIK it's 4 regiments of tube Artillery per Artillery Brigade of an Armoured Division.
I referred to a popular and well respected website called Orbat.com (now defunct)
Here is an archived version
http://web.archive.org/web/20050213035332fw_/http://orbat.com/site/toe/toe/india/armoredtoe.html
Indian Armor TOEs
Indian Armored Division
v.1.1 February 18, 2001
The Indian Army does not appreciate discussion of its TOEs. This is unfortunate, particularly since good TOEs are given to many foreign armies, for example, to foreign students at the National Defence Academy in New Delhi. As usual in India, secrets are secrets only for Indian citizens. The following is a approximate TOE of an Indian armored division. It should be considered no more than a guide.
Staff
HQ Squadron
- Signal Regiment
- Armoured/Assault Engineer Regiment
- EME Regiment (Electrical and Mechanical Engineers – Maintenance)
- ASC Battalion (Army Supply Corps)
Supply Company
3 X Transport Companies
Tank Transporter Company
- Divisional Ordnance Unit
- Artillery Brigade
3 X 155mm Medium Regiments (18 guns each)
- Air Defense Artillery Group1
1 X SP SAM Regiment
1 X SPAA Regiment
- Reconnaissance Regiment (proposed)
4 x Squadrons
Aerial Recce Flight ( 5 x Helicopters)
- 6 Tank Regiments (45 tanks each)2
- 4 BMP Battalions (approximately 825 men, 3 companies)
Notes and Comments
- The Armored Division’s ADA Group used to have 12 SAM-6 and 20 ZSU-23-4.
- The composition is different now.
- See TO Indian Tank Regiment
Independent Armored and Mechanized Brigades
v. 1. February 18, 2001
The standard TO for an
Independent armored brigade is:
- 3 tank regiments
- 1 BMP battalion
- 1 artillery regiment
- 1 reconnaissance squadron
- Bridge Layer Tank (BLT) Troop. 8 x Bridge Layer tanks
Part of Bde HQ. These exist in HQ of armd bdes integral to armd divs also.
These brigades are assigned as corps troops on a scale of one per plains corps. The exception is XVI Corps (Nagrota, near Jammu). This corps has three independent armored brigades for various operational reasons.
Independent armored brigades can be tailored for their mission. 14 (I) Armored Brigade, belonging to II Corps, for many years (and may still have) four tank regiments and two BMP battalions. This was because unlike the other corps brigades whose role is primarily defensive, 14 (I) Armored Brigade was to be used offensively on a supporting or minor axis, while 1 Armored Division, the main striking force of II Corps, would undertake the main effort, or major axis.
The mechanized brigades are smaller. India for a long time had only 55 (I) Mechanized Brigade (Beas, Punjab), and only in 2000 added a second one, converting 340 (I) Infantry Brigade (XII Corps) to mechanized configuration. These brigades have one tank regiment and two BMP battalions.
Armored Regiments
v. 1.1 February 18, 2001
This section is by Mandeep Bajwa.
- Regimental HQ and HQ Squadron
RHQ Tank Troop (3 x command tanks)
HQ Squadron
Reconnaissance Troop (7 4WD jeep type with MMG and radios)
Administrative Troop
Inter-Communication Troop (8 x 4WD jeep type with radios to serve as stations
to link RHQ and outlying/detached Squadrons/Troops)
- 3 X Sabre Squadrons, each:
HQ Troop (2 x Control tanks)
Administrative Troop
4 X Tank Troops (3 tanks each)
Depending on the type of equipment, tank regiments constitute a "brick" of 55 to 70 tanks. The first is more common today. The brick is composed of:
- 30 operational tanks
- 15 training tanks (operational in wartime)
- 10 maintenance reserve tanks
The maintenance reserve is small because India does not expect a war with Pakistan to last for more than a few weeks.
AFVs in the tank regiment are known as the F echelon. A Sabre squadron's administrative troop is responsible for providing the fuel, ammunition, rations, and other supplies for 24-hours of combat, and vehicles in it are termed the A1 echelon. Additional supplies are the responsibility of the regiment's administrative troop, and vehicles in it are known as the A2 echelon. All other supporting/supply vehicles are known as B echelon vehicles.
The tank squadron has a small maintenance capability: fitters and ARVs are part of the Administrative Troop. The maintenance capacity at regimental level comes under the Technical Adjutant/Officer. A Light Repair Workshop from the EME is attached to each armored regtiment. The independent armored brigade and the armored division have a considerable EME (Corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineers) contingent for maintenance support, equivalent to a large company for every armored brigade.
