5 advanced weapon systems used by Indian Armed Forces
What's the story
A few hours ago, the Indian Air Force executed a well-planned 19-minute-long operation across the LoC to annihilate JeM terror camps in Pakistan.
The airstrike, which came in response to the recent Pulwama attack, has shown the prowess of Indian forces, especially when it comes to handling potential threats.
Let's take a look at other weapon systems in India's arsenal.
UAV
Rustom drones for surveillance and reconnaissance
DRDO's Rustom drones are being used by all three services for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance operations.
The UAVs can give a birds-eye-view of up to 250km and can stay up in the air for up to 24 hours.
Notably, DRDO is also working on Rustom 2 which, like America's predator drones, would be able to carry payloads like radar or situational awareness systems.
Torpedo
Varunastra anti-submarine torpedo
Inducted into the Indian Navy in 2018, the Varunastra is a home-made heavyweight anti-submarine torpedo.
The torpedo, weighing around 1.25 tonnes, can target stealthy submarines in deep waters by delivering as much as 250kgs of explosives at a speed of 40 nautical miles per hour.
It took DRDO more than 10 years to develop this revolutionary weapon system.
Defense system
Maareech Advanced Torpedo Defense System
Maareech is an advanced countermeasure system used by the Indian Navy to detect an incoming torpedo underwater.
The system detects an incoming missile and deploys countermeasures to confuse and divert it away from the Navy's ship.
As part of this, the system runs the torpedo through a long course to exhaust its energy and ensure it doesn't hit the target.
Air defense
Akash surface to air missile system
Akash is a fully-autonomous surface-to-air missile defense system developed by the DRDO.
This all-weather system can defend vulnerable zones against air low, medium, and high-altitudes attacks carried out by fighter jets, cruise missiles or air-to-surface missiles.
It can even destroy targets coming in from several directions at the same time, including fighter jets soaring some 30 kilometers away.
Rocket launcher
Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launcher
Pinaka is an advanced multi-barrel rocket launcher currently being used by the Indian Army.
This system can fire as many as 12 rockets in just 44 seconds and neutralize targets sitting as far as 75km in a snap.
Now, a major part of Indian Army's arsenal, Pinaka was first employed during the Kargil war and used to destroy enemy posts on mountain tops.