All About F-INSAS, Nipun Mines, LCA — India's New Defence Systems

Probable Question

Comment about the significance of the advanced defense system in India.

Context

The Defence Minister of India has recently handed over several new defense systems, including the F-INSAS, the Nipun mines, and the Landing Craft Assault (LCA), to the Army.

About the F-INSAS system

• F-INSAS stands for Future Infantry Soldier As A System.
• It is a program for infantry modernization.
• It focuses on increasing the operational capability of the soldier, equipping them with a modern, lightweight, all-weather-all-terrain, cost-effective, and low-maintenance system.
• F-INSAS has secured advanced communications set for real-time exchange of information and for enhanced situational awareness.
• Sources for F-INSAS system: Defence Public Sector Undertakings, and private Indian industries, have been indigenously designed by the Indian entities, including the DRDO and the ordnance factories ecosystem.

F-INSAS System Comprises

• Ak-203 Rifles: 
  • The full gear of the F-INSAS system includes an AK-203 assault, a Russian-origin gas-operated, magazine-fed, select-fire assault rifle, with a range of 300 meters.
  • It is being made at Korwa near Amethi in a Russia-India joint venture.
• Multi-Mode Hand Grenade: 
  • F-INSAS includes a multi-mode hand grenade, to use in defensive and offensive modes.
  • In defensive mode, the grenades are to be hurled when the thrower is in a shelter, while the target can be harmed by fragmentation. 
  • In the offensive mode, the grenades do not fragment and the adversary is harmed by the blast or is stunned. 
  • The weapon kit also has a multi-purpose knife for close-quarters combat.
• Ballistic helmets and Ballistic goggles: 
  • It is provided for protection against small projectiles and fragments, along with a bulletproof vest. 
  • The helmet and the bullet-proof jacket are capable of protecting the soldier against 9 mm bullets and ammunition fired from AK-47 rifles. 
  • The helmet has a mounted night-vision device for operating in low-light conditions and the option of installing a thermal imager sight. 

The F-INSAS Modeled

• F-INSAS is one among many soldier modernization programs across the world, started in 2000. 
• Across the world, there is an estimated 20 armies following such a program the US has Land Warrior, while the UK has FIST (Future Integrated Soldier Technology). 
• The DRDO had conceptualized the F-INSAS (not to be confused with INSAS or Indian Small Arms System) in line with the targets of the Army’s Infantry Soldier Modernisation Programme with an aim to optimize the soldier’s performance across the full spectrum and duration of a military operation.
• The quality requirements for the project were set by the Army, but the research and development efforts are still on to further finetune the F-INSAS for all types of conflict scenarios and terrains.

Nipun Mines

• Nipun mines are indigenously designed and developed anti-personnel mines, termed by the DRDO as ‘soft target blast munition’. 
• These mines are meant to act as the first line of defense against infiltrators and enemy infantry. 
• They have been developed with the efforts of the Armament Research and Development Establishment, a Pune-based DRDO facility, and the Indian industry. 
• Anti-personnel mines are meant to be used against humans as against anti-tank mines that are aimed at heavy vehicles. 
• They are smaller in size and can be deployed in large numbers. 
• The Army has said that the mine will provide protection to the troops on the borders and is more potent and effective than the existing anti-personnel mine in its arsenal.

Read yesterday’s edition of Current Affairs on Jiyo Parsi Programme, in case you missed reading it.

The Landing Craft Assault

• The Landing Craft Assault (LCA) is meant to serve as a replacement for the boats with limited capabilities currently in use in the Pangong Tso lake. 
• The LCA, which has been indigenously developed by Goa-based Aquarius Shipyard Limited, is said to have a better launch, speed, and capacity to operate across water obstacles in eastern Ladakh. 
• Similar vessels are already in operation in the Indian Navy.

Some Other Defense Systems

• A thermal imaging sight for T-90 tanks; a handheld thermal imager; and a frequency-hopping radio relay for tactical communication across much longer ranges.
• Downlink Equipment 
  • It is with Recording Facility to help helicopters in surveillance missions was also handed over. 
  • Using this system, reconnaissance data is recorded and can be accessed only when the helicopter returns to the base.
• Another defense systems: Infantry Protected Mobility Vehicles; Quick Reaction Fighting Vehicles, and Mini Remotely Piloted Aerial System surveillance, detection, and reconnaissance at the infantry battalion and mechanized units level.

News Source: The Indian Express

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/all-about-nipun-f-insas-lca-new-weapon-systems-handed-over-to-the-army-8093327/

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