Series Of Surprises Awaits India’s Defence Sector In 2023

After the busy and bustling year in 2022, expectations will be super high for this year to fill in the arena of India's military hardware and equipment. India will add some lethal inventories like upgraded AK-203 assault rifles, light tanks to fight at higher altitudes and others to its military forces.

The year 2023 is all set to witness a series of surprises in the field of self-reliance or Aatmanirbhar Bharat in defence. 

Here are the six very significant items that will arrive this year—

First AK-203 rifles—

The first Indian AK-203 rifle will be another very significant milestone in 2023. Kalashnikov AK-203 assault rifle will be produced and delivered under the made-in-India programme in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh.

Lieutenant Colonel JS Sodhi (Retd) said that the Indian army wants this particular weapon, a pretty worthy successor of the old AK-47 to become a standard assault rifle infantry weapon for the infantry units of the army.

One of the special things about this weapon is that it has a special capability barrel. It has retrospective compatibility with many of the systems including the magazines and ammunition of the old AK-47. India's Rashtriya rifle units and infantry regiments are one of the largest users of the Kalashnikov series of rifles, he added.

The weapon is a part of a programme to produce over six lakh rifles for the army's infantry regiment. Production machinery and kits have arrived at the Indian facility with top Russian officials saying that manufacture will commence very shortly.

First Zorawar light tank—

The Zorawar light tank is a small but extremely important entrant into the Indian Army in 2023. It will be the first indigenous light tank under the project ‘Zorawar’ by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in collaboration with private sector giant L&T.

The defence ministry recently cleared the procurement of 354 of these tanks being explicitly built in response to an Indian Army requirement in Ladakh when the standoff is going on with China. The People's Liberation Army’s (PLA) deployment of more agile light tanks like the ZTZ-4A in the Depsang plains and south Pangong Tso sector had triggered an urgent push at the Indian Army headquarters to look towards lighter, more urgent tanks than the workhorse T-90 Bhishma tanks that India has deployed at those heights. 

Unlike heavy Main Battle Tanks, light tanks like ‘Zorawar’ and Chinese counterparts are nimble, can climb higher, can perform better in rougher terrain and are far easier to maintain because these are purpose-built for high altitudes and cold temperatures.

First C-295 for Indian air force—

Indian Air Force (IAF) will finally get a moment to exhale with the first C-295 transport aircraft to be delivered around September 2023. As part of a deal for 56 of these aircraft signed by the Indian government, the first 16 will be manufactured and supplied from an Airbus production facility in Spain, while the remaining 40 will be manufactured at a Tata-Airbus joint venture facility in Vadodara. 

Given India's excruciatingly long-winded weapons procurement process, the delivery of aircraft will be of huge significance. The journey towards the C-295 deal had been stalled for years, but took a major political push to see through given the Indian Air Force has been eager to induct new generation transport aircraft to feed its growing logistics requirements. By the time the first foreign-built, C-295 orders on the Indian joint venture facility could swell beyond 40 to accommodate requirements from the Indian coast guard and possibly other agencies as well.

Second Arihant class submarine—

With understandable stealth, India's second Arihant class nuclear ballistic missile submarine is expected to enter service with the Strategic Forces Command in 2023. 

The improved second Arihant class submarine has remained typically in the dark since its reported launch in 2017. It has been referred to by various names, including Arighar and Aridhaman. Like Arihant, which has been on nuclear petrol since it entered service in 2016.

The new submarine is a ballistic missile submarine or Boomer because it carries nuclear-tipped missiles and forms the third leg of a triad of air, land and sea-based nuclear weapon-carrying platforms, enunciated in India's draft nuclear doctrine after the May 1998 Pokharan two nuclear test. These submarines are part of the Advanced Technology Vessel project India's costliest defence project.

The programme to build four nuclear-powered ballistic missile-carrying submarines is quite simply India's largest defence programme estimated at 90,000 crore rupees. Each of these submarines costs upwards of 4000 crore rupees. By the end of this year, India will have two nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines with the likely operationalisation of longer-range nuclear delivery missile systems as well.

Third squadron of S-400 air defence systems—

The S-400 missiles squadron will be the third squadron of India's air defence systems from Russia. Despite its ongoing conflict with Ukraine, the Russian Government is working towards supplying the third batch of it to India between January and February 2023.

The Indian inspection teams were in Russia recently along with the Indian Air Force personnel who visited the production facility there. India's first two S-400 squadrons have already been operationalised in the northern and eastern sectors respectively. China and India now have their respective S400 air defence systems deployed along the line of actual control (LAC).

Last Scorpene Submarines—

The year 2023 will also bring to an end the enormously important Scorpene submarine building programme with the final two submarines to be commissioned into the Indian Navy. The fifth submarine Vagir delivered to the Indian Navy in December will be commissioned in January, while the sixth and final submarine named Vagsheer will be delivered and commissioned a few months later.