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| Hal Tejas |
The official name of the Indian army is Indian Armed Forces. The total number of the soldiers in IAF is 1.3 million. However India is capable to mobilise much more when is need. For example the reserve army is twice as many. The army is divided in six main branches : Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air Force, Indian Coast Guard, Strategic Nuclear Command and Integrated Space Cell.
History of IAF
The armed forces are dated back more than several thousand years. Inventions like the
“Plava”- a side wings designed to steady the ship during storms, the “Voruna”- an ancient book with information about the routes in the ocean, “Dhanurveda”- texts with information about archery and martial arts and etc. belongs to the Indians.
The army today
It's main objective in past was to defend the country's borders but today it is much more often used in international missions like the mission in Kashmir. Joining in the army is a voluntary process but for most of the soldiers it is not just a job but also a great honor. On the other hand for some young boys joining in the army is the only possible way to have a well paid job and to escape from the poorness of Indian ghettos.
Indian NAVY
It currently has 170 vessels and 67 000 sailors. 2000 of these soldiers are commandos. The Indian NAVY has an aircraft carrier called “INS Viraat”. This is one of the six navies worldwide with capabilities to operate with nuclear weapons.
Indian Air Force
One of the modernest in the world. Today India has contracts with all the big producers of military aeroplanes. Most of them however are Russian like SU- 30 MKI for example. Today, India is producing it's own military plane called Hal Tejas.
The Indian military budget is the 10th biggest in the world and we can expect that the Indian army will continue it's development in the next years.
