BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile

As India test-fired a new version of the surface-to-surface supersonic cruise missile BrahMos having a range of around 400 km from an integrated test range at Balasore in Odisha on Wednesday, a veiled message was sent to the country’s adversaries. The range of the new land attack version of the missile has been extended to 400 km from the original 290 km, officials said, adding that its speed has been maintained at Mach 2.8 which is nearly three times that of sound. While India has already deployed a sizable number of the original BrahMos missiles and other key assets in several strategic locations along the de-facto border with China in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh, the IAF is also integrating the cruise missile on over 40 Sukhoi fighter jets which is aimed at bolstering overall combat capability of the force.

Akash SAM

"As part of the ongoing build-up in the sector, the air defence systems of both Indian Army and the Indian Air Force have been deployed in the sector to prevent any misadventure by the Chinese Air Force fighter jets or the People's Liberation Army choppers there," government sources told ANI in June 2020. The Indian quick reaction air defence missile includes the Akash missile which can take down very fast-moving combat aircraft and drones in a few seconds and many modifications and upgrades have already been done in it to make it suitable for deployment in the high mountainous terrain. With possible air challenges from China in mind, the Tezpur Air force station in Assam has also been specifically fortified with the right resources. It is located at a distance of 172 km from the China border and has two SU-30 MKI squadrons. A squadron of Akash Missile has been inducted at this base.

Nirbhay Cruise Missile

India has deployed subsonic missile Nirbhay to counter China along the Line of Actual Control. The state-of-the-art missile, which can be deployed from multiple platforms, is capable of loitering and cruising at 0.7 Mach at altitude as low as 100 metres.

Shoulder-Fired Missiles

The Indian Army has further bolstered its combat readiness in eastern Ladakh by deploying troops with shoulder-fired missiles in several sensitive areas in the backdrop of increasing activities by Chinese helicopters in the region, official sources told PTI in August 2020. These missiles have a range of two to five km and they are capable of bringing down low flying helicopters and aircraft, they added. The deployment of a sizeable number of troops with shoulder-fired missiles came as part of India's overall approach to significantly ramp up combat capabilities of the Army and the Indian Air Force in eastern Ladakh.

Mechanised Forces

According to a report by ANI, a visit near the LAC in the Chumar-Demchok area in Eastern Ladakh shows that for countering the Chinese People's Liberation Army's deployment of armoured columns, the Indian Army is battle-ready to face the Chinese Army with its T-90 and T-72 tanks along with the BMP-2 Infantry Combat Vehicles which can operate at temperatures up to minus 40 degree Celsius. "The Fire and Fury Corps is the only formation of the Indian Army and also in the world to have actually deployed mechanised forces in such harsh terrain. The maintenance of the tanks, infantry combat vehicles and heavy guns is a challenge in this terrain. To ensure crew and equipment readiness, adequate arrangements are in place for both man and machine," said Major General Arvind Kapoor.