NEW DELHI: India since the creation of the commonwealth of Independent states (CIS) (formerly the USSR) is now struggling to acquire the critical spare parts needed for both the preponderant Soviet equipment and the license produced military programs underway with the former Soviet Union.

India also requires the much neglected weapon system increments as the military strength no longer {implies only the weapon hardware count. Instead the force multipliers and steps taken towards self-reliance form the true barometer of military might.

Force multipliers are the subsystems which enhance the capabilities of a weapon system. For instance night firing devices instrument is to increase accuracy and lethality specialized ammunition and electronic warfare equipment are the hi-tech equipment which are generally not visible unlike the tanks guns aircrafts and frigates yet they play a decisive role in warfare.

It is in these powerful increments that Pakistan has assiduously worked. Their military thinking is structured around the concept of accuracy and range and essentially dictated by Pakistan’s geo-political realities. Pakistan lacks depth hence it needs an offensive military strategy. The Pakistan air force is tailored for an offensive strategy. And its army as Ge Mirea Beg former army chief declared intends to take the war into the enemy’s territory through what has been called the “offensive defence” doctrine.

Moreover with most of its vital installations around Islamabad and Rawalpindi this area becomes the country’s strategic nerve center which needs to be defended at all costs. Heavy defence industries are located at Taxila Pakistan ordnance factories at Wah Kamara air force complex Kahuta nuclear plant general headquarters at Rawalpindi and the capital itself constitute this vital complex. With a7 to 10 minute flying time needed by the Indian Air Force to reach this complex Pakistan has developed a powerful system of air defence called Crystal.

Crystal is Pakistan’s national air defence complex controlled by its air force. It has a mix of powerful US and French high and low looking radars the low looking radars concentrated in Punjab and other select vital areas to provide sufficient overlapping needed for early warming. The army air defence command which controls the ground-based defence equipment like the Stinger missiles air defence artillery and SAM RBS-70 systems is integrated into the Crystal. Early warning which is essentially provided by the mobile observer units and the surveillance mobile radars deployed along with border are linked to the various controlling sectors and also the main controlling center which controls the interceptor aircraft like the F-16. The success of this complex system depends upon fast control communications and early warning. Pakistan has acquired mostly US and French automotive systems. This means that control and communications are done through computers and ground data linking.

Linkage from the ground control center to the airborne interceptor aircraft however is a major weakness the other likely grey areas in Crystal which Pakistan has been trying negotiate with France and lay are the gaps in high altitude and hilly region radar coverage.

The early warning which is essential to Pakistan given its lack of depth is another area where unselecting efforts have been going on since the 80s. These include tanks with the UE for an airborne early warning and control system (AWACS) like the E-2C Hawkeye and P3C Orion for maritime long patrolling. With military aid denied by the US under the Pressler amendment the possibility of Pakistan reducing Saudi AWACS cannot be ruled out.

On the other hand India’s air defence ground environment system (ADGES) which is the equivalent of Pakistan’s Crystal has been indicted for tardiness by the 1991 Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report. Both India’s communication and control and reporting centers need to be upgraded.

While Crystal is both defensive and offensive in nature (Who track enemy aircraft and guide its own aircraft by space management) Pakistan’s general offensive armament thrust has been two pronged. The force multipliers and the high-technology items have been mostly sought from U.S. France and other western countries in general. Other technology has been acquired from china through license and joint production and transfer of technology. The force multipliers are then pat on medical technology hardware to make it more effective In this area Pakistan since the post-Zia era has been working towards self-reliance.

The Heavy Rebuild Factory at Taxila which undertook the refurbishing of its T-59 tanks with Chinese assistance and the M series tanks and armored personnel carriers with US assistance was renamed Heavy Defence Industries when n 1990 Pakistan signed a joint-production contract with Norinco of China for the production of the main battle tank Khalid.

Two things are significant in the step. For the first time Pakistan entered into a joint contract which means equal financing joint research development and export of the tanks. Till now Islamabad was undertaking licensed-production only in which critical components were imported Mon importantly Pakistan adopted progressive approach towards Pakistan building learning the basic skill along the way. The old T-59 tank with Chinese assistance were up graded to T-69HMP which i expected to match the Indian T-7 tanks in armor sighting systems fire control system and ammunition in fact the T-69LLMP is to form the basis for the Khalid tank As China has closed down six of its nine tank factories the technology acquired by Norinco is expected to be transferred into this joint-production. The ordnance factories at Wah indigenously manufacture nearly the whole range of specialized ammunition of all calibers.

With the stoppage of US military assistance more than the weapon hardware it is Pakistan’s licensed Production and high technology upgrades of existing weapons system which have suffered. These include the licensed-production of the MI13A2 armor personnel carriers’ underway with the General Dynamics Corporation of America and up gradation of Pakistan M4748 tanks.

Article extracted from this publication >> February 7, 1992