 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| . |  |
. |
One in three Indian grenades a dud: report
Mumbai (AFP) Sept 7, 2009 One in three hand grenades used by Indian soldiers is a dud, while their rifles are no match for those of extremists, a newspaper report said Monday. The Times of India said 30 percent of grenades fail to blow up after being thrown by troops in combat situations, while those that do work take four seconds to explode -- 1.5 seconds longer than those used by militants. Indian soldiers normally carry four grenades in counter-insurgency operations, Colonel R.S.N. Singh, from the Indian Defence Review, was quoted as saying. "Even a single dud can prove disastrous as it would leave the soldier vulnerable," he added. The criticism comes after deadly attacks in Mumbai last year left 166 people dead, an incident that highlighted the out-of-date and ineffective weaponry used by police in the country's financial capital. Officers initially tried to take on heavily-armed Islamist militants using bamboo sticks, revolvers and British colonial-era bolt-action rifles until commandos arrived. Retired army colonel U.S. Rathore said Indian soldiers still used hand grenades dating back to World War II and suggested their malfunction could be due to chemical degradation. The newspaper, which based its report on unnamed military and defence sources, said soldiers had also complained about the Indian Army's standard issue Insas assault rifle. "The barrel overheats with continuous firing," one source told The Times. "Oil spillage while firing is also a major trouble." The rifle's lack of a rapid-fire feature also fails to match up to the extremists' weapon of choice, the Russian-made AK-47, the report said. Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links The latest in Military Technology for the 21st century at SpaceWar.com
LockMart Leverages Sensor Capability Of Fighter AircraftDenver CO (SPX) Sep 04, 2009 Existing on-board sensor capability of tactical fighter aircraft can be leveraged to provide near real-time intelligence and enhanced situational awareness, as demonstrated by Lockheed Martin during the recent U.S. Air Force Empire Challenge exercise. For the first time, the Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS) received and processed electronic warfare data from an F-16CJ aircraft ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2009 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook