*Analysis: It is a shame for DRDO, Indian ordinance factory, Defense Ministry and relating sectors to povide dud grenades to Indian soldiers on the frontline protecting international borders and fighting insurgency. It is imperative that dud grenades aspect should be thoroughly investigated and concerned entities should be brought to justice.
Internationally, a project for one year takes ten fold longer in India. Decisions are taken at a snail pace and time is wasted on unneccessary red tape bureaucracy. Defense procurement system is politically corrupt, as an example urgently needed Hawk Mk132 advanced jet trainers for Indian Air Force, which took 30 odd years to acquire at the cost of hundreds of young Indian Air Force pilots life.India is the largest democratically governed country in the world as is an examplery system for other nations to follow suit, but at the same time the system is a curse with too many voices and noises, NO ACTION. India should have for some period a system of administration similar to China, which is straightfoward with no two way decision making that would benefit for the betterment of the country at large. (DTN Defense-Technology News)
*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media
(NSI News Source Info) MUMBAI, India - September 10, 2009: One in three h
and grenades used by Indian soldiers is a dud, while their rifles are no match for those of extremists, a newspaper report said Monday.
The Times of India said 30 percent of grenades fail to blow up after being thrown by troops in combat situations, while those that do work take four seconds to explode -- 1.5 seconds longer than those used by militants.
Indian soldiers normally carry four grenades in counter-insurgency operations, Colonel R.S.N. Singh, from the Indian Defence Review, was quoted as saying.
"Even a single dud can prove disastrous as it would leave the soldier vulnerable," he added. (Image: Indian army soldiers head towards the encounter spot during a gunfight with militants near Srinagar)
The criticism comes after deadly attacks in Mumbai last year left 166 people dead, an incident that highlighted the out-of-date and ineffective weaponry used by police in the country's financial capital.
Officers initially tried to take on heavily-armed Islamist militants using bamboo sticks, revolvers and British colonial-era bolt-action rifles until commandos arrived.
Retired army colonel U.S. Rathore said Indian soldiers still used hand grenades dating back to World War II and suggested their malfunction could be due to chemical degradation.
The newspaper, which based its report on unnamed military and defence sources, said soldiers had also complained about the Indian Army's standard issue Insas assault rifle.
"The barrel overheats with continuous firing," one source told The Times. "Oil spillage while firing is also a major trouble."
The rifle's lack of a rapid-fire feature also fails to match up to the extremists' weapon of choice, the Russian-made AK-47, the report said.
and grenades used by Indian soldiers is a dud, while their rifles are no match for those of extremists, a newspaper report said Monday.
The Times of India said 30 percent of grenades fail to blow up after being thrown by troops in combat situations, while those that do work take four seconds to explode -- 1.5 seconds longer than those used by militants.
Indian soldiers normally carry four grenades in counter-insurgency operations, Colonel R.S.N. Singh, from the Indian Defence Review, was quoted as saying.
"Even a single dud can prove disastrous as it would leave the soldier vulnerable," he added. (Image: Indian army soldiers head towards the encounter spot during a gunfight with militants near Srinagar)
The criticism comes after deadly attacks in Mumbai last year left 166 people dead, an incident that highlighted the out-of-date and ineffective weaponry used by police in the country's financial capital.
Officers initially tried to take on heavily-armed Islamist militants using bamboo sticks, revolvers and British colonial-era bolt-action rifles until commandos arrived.
Retired army colonel U.S. Rathore said Indian soldiers still used hand grenades dating back to World War II and suggested their malfunction could be due to chemical degradation.
The newspaper, which based its report on unnamed military and defence sources, said soldiers had also complained about the Indian Army's standard issue Insas assault rifle.
"The barrel overheats with continuous firing," one source told The Times. "Oil spillage while firing is also a major trouble."
The rifle's lack of a rapid-fire feature also fails to match up to the extremists' weapon of choice, the Russian-made AK-47, the report said.
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