The Army has issued a Request for Information (RFI) for cannister anti-armour loiter ammunition (CALM) for its mechanised forces, which may be used against enemy tanks and other targets in Western India’s plains and deserts, as well as high altitude locations in Ladakh’s northern frontiers.
The CALM System is a drone or a pre-loaded canister with loiter ammunition that, once launched, may linger aloft for a length of time above the area of action before being directed down to kill the target with the explosive payload it bears. Ordinarily, loiter ammunitions are equipped with a nose-mounted camera that allows the operator to view the operation area and choose targets. There are various types of these bombs that may be retrieved and repurposed if they are not utilised in an attack.
The Army published a request for information (RFI) for the Cannister Launched Anti-Armour Loiter Ammunition (CALM) System on April 8. The Army has said that it plans to purchase 150 of these systems, which will be launched from Mechanised Infantry BMP Infantry Fighting Vehicles that have been particularly adapted for this purpose. The ‘Make in India’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ programmes are being used to procure these systems.
According to the RFI, the CALM Systems will be employed in the Western plains and deserts, as well as the Northern high altitude zones with elevations up to 5,000 metres. The system should be able to work in temperatures ranging from – 15 degrees Celsius to 40 degrees Celsius in the plains and deserts, and between minus 15 degrees Celsius and 40 degrees Celsius at high altitude. It will be used by the Army’s Mechanised Infantry units for day and night surveillance of targets beyond line of sight in real time, as well as beyond visual range engagement with enemy armoured fighting vehicles and other ground-based weapon systems across long distances.
The CALM System was particularly effective in the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict in 2021, when Azerbaijani troops employed Israeli technology extensively to wreck havoc on Armenian tanks, radar systems, communication centres, and other military objectives. The loiter ammunition’s top-down assault potential offers it a significant advantage over targets like tanks, which are vulnerable to any strike on the top where the armour protection is weak. In Ukraine, the Russian military is also utilising ZALA KYB loiter ammunition, although other sources claim that the US has also armed Ukraine with Switchblade loiter munitions, which can target Russian armour from a distance of 10 kilometres.
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