Govt sets June 2018 target to meet army’s ammunition shortage
We have set the ball rolling to improve our ammunition holding. But let’s be clear... that no military can claim to have 100% ammunition for all types of weapons to fight long wars.
AN ARMY OFFICER
and a string of reports have exposed chinks in the armoury. A July 2017 report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) revealed that almost 40% of the ammunition stockpile in September 2016 would not even last for 10 days. Only 20% of WWR holding was sufficient for 40 days, the CAG said after an audit that covered 152 types of ammunition, ranging from that for smalls arms, artillery guns and tanks to infantry combat vehicles.
In 2013, the defence ministry approved a plan to build WWR for 20 days by March 2015 with instructions that the remaining deficiency be made up by March 2019. “We are still nowhere close to our target. Building WWR that can last for 10 to 20 days will be a good beginning,” said former northern army commander Lieutenant General DS Hooda (retd).
The shortage has been attributed to disregard of government policy, delay in placing orders, suppliers missing deadlines, and quality issues.
“We have set the ball rolling to improve our ammunition holding. But let’s be clear about one thing that no military can claim to have 100% ammunition for all types of weapons to fight long wars,” said an officer. “Huge costs are involved as ammunition has shelf life.”
Another senior army officer suggested it would be a good idea to review the army’s operational strategies to find out if such a large WWR was needed at all. As per the government’s operational directive, the force should hold enough ammunition for 30 days of intense fighting and 30 days of normal fighting (or 40 days of intense fighting). “In this day and age, are we really going to fight a 60-day war?” he asked.