Military

Indian Armed Forces

India has one of the best fighting forces in the world. The bravery and courage of our jawans is un-paralleled on this planet - as our neighbour would tell.

India is amongst the handful of nations with nuclear weapons. Picture shown is that of Agni - India's LRBM (Long range Ballastic missile). Agni III can now strike targets as far as 3,000 km away, from Middle-east to China.

India's MRBM (mid-range Ballastic Missile) Prithvi is already inducted into the army.

Nations with largest active troop size, 2004-05
Source: Military Balance, US

Country	Troop size (millions)
China USA India N. Korea Russia S. Korea Pakistan Turkey Egypt Iran	2.255 1.422 1.325 1.106 1.037 0.687 0.619 0.514 0.450 0.420

Nations with largest military budgets, 2005-06
Source: International Institute for strategic studies, UK

	Country	Total Defense Expenditure ($ billions)	Armour (Main Battle Tanks and APC)	Artillery Systems
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.	China USA India N. Korea Russia S. Korea Pakistan Turkey Iran Pakistan Israel	81.48 518.1 19.04 5.21 18 21.06 4.26 12.16 4.3 4.26 9.45	13,200 29,920 5,815 6,560 48,270 4,650 3,445 7,165 2,380 3,445 14,200	29,060 5,178 7,100 21,400 30,045 5,528 3,952 4,935 4,594 3,952 2,783

The power of an air force depends on the quality of its technology, training, and equipment. The world's most powerful air forces have advanced aircraft, well-trained crews, and efficient maintenance and supply systems.

As of 2004, the Indian Air Force was the fourth largest air force in the world, with about 1700 combat aircraft, including over 350 fighters and more than 500 helicopters. The Indian Air Force also controls a large arsenal of surface-to-air missiles. About 110,000 people serve in the Indian Air Force. India's naval air force has about 70 combat aircraft and approximately 75 armed helicopters.

Nations with largest Air forces, 2004
Source: International Institute for Strategic studies

	Country	Aircrafts & Helicopter units	Personnel
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.	USA China Russia India Ukraine France Turkey Japan Great Britain Germany	18,169 9,218 7,331 3,382 2,451 2,175 1,964 1,957 1,891 1,641	590,000 470,000 130,000 110,000 150,000 90,000 - - 70,000 75,000

Note:
* Aircrafts include combat planes, fighters, helicopters and bombers from all service branches.
* Personnel data is from 1997

Navy

A powerful navy is modern, well trained, and can fight effectively. The size of a navy does not necessarily reflect its fighting strength, however. For example, one aircraft carrier can provide as much striking power as can several cruisers or submarines. In addition, advanced weapons can give a small navy major striking power.

India enlarged its navy during the 1980's as part of a major arms build-up. The country now has about 25 surface warships, including 2 conventional aircraft carriers. The Indian Navy's 16 submarines include diesel-powered and nuclear submarines. More than 55,000 people, including marines, serve in the Indian Navy.

Viraat.jpg (9001 bytes)

India's INS Viraat

Nations with largest navies, 2005-06
Source: International Institute for strategic studies, UK

	Country	Total Fleet	Frigates	Destroyers	Submarines
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15.	USA # China Russia # Japan France # UK # India* # S. Korea Italy *# Taiwan Turkey Germany N. Korea Pakistan Egypt	1,866 284 701 172 140 164 145 85 109 97 182 129 708 34 102	62 42 17 10 31 21 11 9 15 21 19 12 3 8 10	55 21 14 44 3 11 8 6 4 11 - 2 0 0 1	72 69 53 16 10 16 16 20 6 4 13 14 26 10 4

Note:
* Frigates figures include cruiser ships and aircraft carriers
- Frigates, Destroyers, Submarines, data is from 2003
# Denotes navies with aircraft carriers (India's INS Vikrant might be converted to a naval museum - as of news of January 2004)
- Total fleet includes all ships under military control