In the context of fast, complicated and unpredictable situations in the world, the Asia Pacific region is witnessing a strong wave of modernising the armies. Countries in the region are trying various programmes of modernising weapons and equipment to improve the operation capability for forces, the infantry ones in particular.
Intensely purchasing and renovating the main infantry weapons and equipment
According to researchers, at present, infantry weapons and equipment of countries in the Asia Pacific region, including 90% of the tanks, 80% of the self-propelled artilleries, and 70% of the ground anti-air missile have been developed since 1970s and 1980s. Even, some categories of weapons and equipment dating back to the 50s and 60s of the last century are still seen in service of some countries.
However, the ground forces of some other countries are being equipped with modern weapons and equipment, including the M1 Abrams main battle tanks, the M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, the American AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, the T-14 Armata new-generation tanks, the Russian BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles, the Chinese Type 99 main battle tanks, etc. According to latest surveys of world strategic study agencies, these systems will still be renovated, modernised and used until 2035.
In this situation, despite different approaches, most countries in the Asia Pacific region have selected to both purchase newly-developed weapons, equipment and renovate the existing ones in their service. The reason is that huge amounts of budget are needed for the development of new weapons and equipment. Even the US Army has yet to succeed in newly equipping all tanks and armoured vehicles according to their development programme of “The future combat systems”, which cost about 162 billion dollars.
In fact, it is far more economical to renovate the old weapons and equipment than to develop or purchase new ones. However, the improvement of weapons and equipment is not always necessary but to depend on the situations and demands of the army and the capability of the economy. Based on the effectiveness analysis, most of the Asia Pacific countries have had optimal selections in modernising their core infantry weapons and equipment. The typical examples include the modernisation of tanks and armoured vehicles by purchasing the M1A2 SEPV3 tanks by Australian Army, the improvement of T-72 tanks by Indian Army, the purchase of PT-91 tanks, which are modified from T-72 tanks from Poland by Malaysian Army, etc.
 |
| An Abrams main battle tank in combat |
Improving the range and accuracy of artilleries and missiles
Improving the accuracy and range of artilleries and infantry missiles has been paid special attention by countries in the region. Systems of self-propelled artilleries have been successfully researched and developed, including the South Korean K9 Thunder and the Chinese SH-1 self-propelled howitzers, which are not inferior to the German 155 mm PzH 2000 regarding the long-range fire, accuracy, time of deployment, etc. Therefore, Australia has chosen to modernise their artillery by purchasing the South Korean K9 Thunder self-propelled howitzers, while Pakistan acquired the Chinese SH-1 self-propelled howitzers.
In modernising their weapons and equipment, countries in the region have attached importance to applying the microelectronic technology, putting into use the precision-guided artillery munitions, which are either controlled and self-motivated or laser-guided, to improve the lethality and combat efficiency by reducing the targeting radius. As these precision-guided artillery munitions can be launched through most of artillery systems having the same calibre, all functions of artilleries are enhanced without depending on the modernisation of weapons. This makes the precision-guided artillery munitions become their main concern. For example, Australian Army has put into use the M-982 shells for 53 M-777A2 howitzers by the BAE Systems. The M-777A2 howitzer is also compatible with the M1156 precision-guided munitions by the Orbital ATK Company, and the anti-tank SMArt155 shells by the Diehl/ Rheinmetall Group. India has also bought the M-777 artillery system by the BAE Systems in order to improve the long-range firing precision capability of their infantry artillery.
Infantry missiles have been quickly developed and new control techniques have been continuously created. After receiving the BrahMos cruise missiles, Indian Army has become the first army force being equipped with supersonic cruise missiles in the world. These missiles, which can carry a 300 kg nuclear warhead and reach a maximum range of 280km, meet the requirements of Indian Army in terms of the accuracy, long-range assault capacity and operation altitude. Most recently, the Philippines has also equipped its army with the BrahMos cruise missiles. Many countries in the region have also put much concern about their infantry anti-tank missiles and the improvement of accuracy for these kinds of missiles including the AGM-114L Hellfire anti-tank missiles installed with millimetre-wave active radar-guided head; the missile systems launched from AT-10 and AT-11 Russian tank guns, equipped in tanks and infantry fighting vehicles to improve the accuracy from the 1st-shot and increase the firing range.
Improving the fire power and the protection capacity of tanks and armoured vehicles
Countries in the region have been enhancing their application of technological advances to upgrade equipment on their tanks and armoured vehicles by using larger-calibre guns, new-gen dynamic armour-piercing and programmed ammunitions. Besides, with the replacement of the new-gen thermal vision equipment and the modern firing control system, the capacity of fire assaults and task adaptability of tanks has been significantly improved. A typical example of this trend is the Korean main battle tank K2 Black Panther - the 3rd-gen main battle tank by Korean Army which has been put in service in large quantity. The fire, mobility, protection and communication of K2 tanks are greatly improved as they have been equipped with 120mm L/55 smoothbore gun, which has higher fire range and more powerful assault capacity. To meet the demands for their combat in the future, Korean Army has started their programme of researching and designing the next-gen tanks with the first model shown in the Seoul ADEX 2023 defence exposition.
Another feature in modernising tanks and armoured vehicles is to use the generalised and modularised designs to improve their adaptability capacity and upgradable potential in the future. As a result, it is possible to make any adjustment based on the threat levels and demands for combat speed in the battlefields, or perform multiple military tasks, at the same time, create favourable conditions for any upgradability and repairs according to the technical development. Tanks should possess the comprehensive protection capacity and multi-layered defensive measures against various threats. Hence, building the active protection system which combines “anti-detection and anti-hitting” based on solutions including active detection, active identification, active tracking, active jamming and active assault is important and necessary, making the survival of tanks and armoured vehicles. The typical example of this trend is the Type 10 main battle tank by Japan, which has been modified and modernised from the old Type 90. This tank has the total combat weight decreased to only 44 tons, equipped with the advanced firing controlling system, which can carry out the “seek and destroy” assaults. Type 10 tanks are installed with the combined armour made of technical ceramic and carbon fibre. This armour uses the modular design, which is able to be adjusted based on the threat levels and combat requirements in the battlefields. It is estimated that, in necessary situations, when this tank uses the secondary armour, the total combat weight will be 48 tons. Type 10 tanks also have the advanced Command, Control, Communication, Computer and Intelligence (C4I) system installed, which can fast exchange and share information with other equipment in the battlefields.
Developing the unmanned vehicle technology and personal equipment
Unmanned vehicle technology has been creating a revolution in the military affairs and ground forces in the Asia Pacific region are not apart from this trend. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are now being widely used to perform reconnaissance, inspection, information collection, even attacks tasks. The ground forces of China, India, Korea and Japan are developing many types of UAVs in different sizes and capacities. Unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) have also been developed to conduct dangerous tasks such as mine clearance, reconnaissance, goods transportation and combat supports. Despite many controversies regarding the ethicality and legality, the development of weapon systems owning the automatic capability has received much concern from several countries in the region. Apart from modernising their large weapons and equipment, countries in the region have paid attention to improving the combat capability for every soldier by providing them with modern personal equipment. All troops have been equipped with better armour, helmets integrated with communication systems and information display, night visions and other combat supporting items.
In conclusion, the trend of modernising infantry weapons and equipment by countries in the Asia Pacific region is a complex and multifaceted process. Although this process may help them better protect their interests, it still has potential factors boosting an increasing tension and a possibility of an arms race in the region. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain dialogues, enhance the transparency and build the strategic trust among countries to protect a secure, stable and peaceful environment in the Asia Pacific region in the present situation.
Senior Colonel DANG DONG TIEN