Why is Indian army deploying tanks in Ladakh, close to Indo-China border? What's the strategy?

First understand what kind of situation army is facing there, unlike Pakistan’s border on China border also known as “McMohan” line or LAC we dont have any visible line to distinguish nations territory, Indians considering china as a threat but there is a totally different picture on the border, sometimes they came to our territory sometimes we goes in their, the media wont show you the badass side of our forces.

Now why we are deploying tanks to LAC its not like we are declaring war on them and we will fire on their army when they show up, deploying tanks is a strategic as well as a necessary move which should be done before but its never too late, one of the biggest reason behind it may be the training of Indian armored in those brutal environment where the air is so thin which create problem to even start the engines, Indian army is testing and deploying special lubricants and fuels to get the tanks in fighting conditions.

See this, Indian Army’s T-72 in kashmir..

Indian armored is going under a huge training session in which they are trained to work with infantry in different battlezone like Jungle warfare, desert warfare, urban warfare and all terrains available in India.

Another pic of Indian Armor in Northern Kashmir doing some maneuver in extreme cold environment.

We are preparing our force to counter anything which in unfavorable for India and this is a pretty badass move by our government to deploy some armor there it will strengthen our domination on our side.

At an altitude where engines find it difficult to burn fuel due to low level of oxygen, there’s a reason why people in New Delhi are deploying 100 tanks in this region.

Soft Power ;

Past few months, our relations with China hasn’t been so well. PLA men intrusion in Ladakh in March, in Arunachal Pradesh in June are alarming. These transgressions are not taken lightly anymore.

Also not to forget China becoming constant hurdle for India in UN & other international bodies. It’s the time we show them we are no more a sit back & anticipate ideology.

Before answering the question proper, it’s important for you all to know What is this T-72 tank?

The T-72 is a Soviet tank that entered production in 1971. At the inception, about 20,000T-72 tanks were built, making it one of the most widely produced tanks post world war II. The T-72 was widely exported and saw service in 40 countries including India. The T-72 is forty-one tons and very small compared to Western main battle tanks. The T-72 has a comprehensive nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) protection system. The main gun of the T-72 has a mean error of 1 m at a range of 1,800 m. Its maximum firing distance is9,100 m .The cost of one tank is approx 8-10 Crores. Power is 780hp. It has a fuel capacity of 1200 litres and has a speed of 60 Km/Hr.

With this as a small prelude, now comes the larger question that why there is so much of fuss around about the mobilization of these tanks?

First of all this is actual a no question to be asked, I don’t understand why there is so much of fuss about this deployment.

We need to understand that Tanks are no “Brahmastra” they are just weapons like any other weapon used in Army( Rocket launchers, AK 47, MMG,etc) the only peculiarity is they provide armour and mobility . So, the deployment of tanks don’t need to be exaggerated. The actual question should be Tanks are the weapons of plains, so why deploy them in mountainous terrain.

The factor could be that in order to catch up with China’s aggressive military and infrastructure build-up across the border, we also want to show our muscle power. I must say that this is a welcome step taken by Raksha Mantri Ji to deploy the T-72 tanks on the barren heights of Ladakh. It has more to do with the Psychological warfare with china, remember the 1971 war in which on the second day of war itself, we aired the news on Bangladeshi radio (erstwhile east Pakistan) that we have won the war and many Pakistani soldiers have surrendered (not even a single soldier was captured). But the result of this was that we won the war in 6 days, the news broke down the moral of the Pakistani troops fighting in east Pakistan. So now you get the larger picture.

This is not the first time, Army tried to use these tanks back in 1962 war with China but it all went in vain, but this is the first time that the tanks are being deployed again at these freezing altitudes. Back in 1962, some tanks were airlifted to Ladakh in AN-12 transport aircraft. But they failed to make any significant impact as the crew were not acclimatized to the environment and the tanks were not equipped to operate in the rarefied atmosphere.

Though tactically speaking tanks are primarily meant for operations in the plains, the Indian Army has adopted several unusual tactics to beef up its presence. The Ladakh region in general is a plain area with hints of mountain ranges and the mechanised units provide the major moral booster to the increased ground forces. As part of recent force accretion measures, two regiments of T-72 tanks have been deployed, the first in 2014 and another late last year. A third regiment will be moved in soon, forming a full brigade.

China too has major mechanised units on its side of the frontier and the brigade is expected to ensure offensive parity. An eye for an eye.

But operating and maintaining tanks at such low oxygen conditions has significant challenges. The air is rarified and temperatures go down to -45°C, affecting their performance. The air, thin in oxygen, makes it difficult to breathe plus fierce winds amplify the chill. . Which leads to severe degradation in the performance of these tanks as the cold temperatures and high altitude affect several parts and sub-components of the tanks.

This has also resulted in non-standard procedures to keep the tanks operational, among them the repeated switching on during the nights in winter to prevent freezing.

While the tanks and crew have acclimatised, they have not been able to test their fire power here due to lack of firing ranges. So, presently they are trained at Ahmednagar.

Lastly, With Chinese troops repeatedly entering Indian territory, the positioning of the tanks is meant to prove that India is stubborn to assert its authority over parts that China tries to claim as its own. We are watching you this time, don’t be in a light mood of 1962. Then the times were different, we were not equipped, we were not ready, it was not a military failure, it was a political failure which led to the defeat.

I am quoting the lines published in the famous newspaper “The New York Times” after the war of 1962 , which read:

The Indian soldiers lacked everything,
The only thing which they didn’t lack was courage.