Enough ammunition for war: Defence Ministry

Armed Forces well equipped for meeting any operational requirements: MoS for Defence

The Defence Ministry on Monday assured the Rajya Sabha that India has adequate reserves of ammunition to cater to contingencies during war.

“There is adequate stock of ammunition with the Armed Forces and it is well equipped for meeting any operational requirements,” Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre said in a written reply to Trinamul’s Vivek Gupta.

Asked whether additions to the storage since 2014 meet the officially sanctioned requirement of the War Wastage Reserve (WWR) of 40 days of intense war, the minister said adequate reserves have been authorised in terms of WWR.

The authorisation and holding of ammunition is as per the operational requirements, he said.

Moreover, he said, making of the stock of ammunition to desired level is a continuous process, the requirements for which are identified every year and procurements are undertaken accordingly.

The minister listed some steps taken to ensure adequate availability of ammunition like placing 5-year roll in indent on the ordnance factories, finalisation of ammunition road map in respect of certain identified ammunition and their procurements.

RAFALE DEAL

In reply to another question by CPI leader D Raja, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman emphatically denied involvement of Reliance Defence or the public sector Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) in the deal signed for procuring 36 Rafale aircraft through government-to-government rou-te to meet the “critical operational necessity” of the fighter aircraft in the Indian Air Force. She said the deal signed in September 2016 is for supply of direct flyaway 36 Rafale aircraft and “it does not envisage any manufacturing of platforms in India.”