AAD

INTRO

1. The principle aim of AAD in war is to cause max attrition on the en air power by physical destr
of hstl ac/heptrs. Should the same not succeed, deterrence must ensue. The force structuring and
concept of emp of AAD at the strat ops and tac levels of war should be guided by the above aim.

AIM

2. To acquaint the class with role, function and org of AAD unit.

PREVIEW

3. Topic will be covered under fwg parts:-

(a) Part I. Glossary, Role, Msn and Functions of AAD.

(b) Part II. Various Types of Army AD eqpts held in IA.
(c) Part III. Principles of AAD plg.
(d) Part IV. Factors and Principles Affecting Org of an AAD Unit.
(e) Part V. Emp of AAD in Various Ops of War.

PART I – GLOSSARY, ROLE, MSN AND FUNCTIONS OF AAD

GLOSSARY

4. Air Def. Measures designed to nullify or degrade the effect of attack by hostile ac, guided msls
and other AD objects.
5. Active AD. Direct def action to destroy, divert or reduce the effect of an air attack.
6. Passive AD. All actions other than active measures taken to min the effects of hostile air action.
These incl use of cover, concealment, cam, dispersion and deception.
7. Vulnerable Area. It is a key area to which the air threat has been related and which merits
AD. Normally, its dimensions would exceed 1000mx1000m and upto 3000mx 3000m.
8. Vulnerable Point. It is a key point to which air threat has been related and which merits ad.
Normally, its dimension does not exceed 1000mx1000m.
9. All Wx Wpns. Any wpn system which is cont and fired by Rdr. Capb of engaging tgts day/ni
and under all wx conditions.
10. Fair Wx Wpns. Any wpn system which is not connected to a Rdr. Affected by limitations of wx
and day/ni.
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11. Aim. To cause max attrition on en air power by physical destr of hostile ac/heptrs. Should
the same not succeed deterrence must ensue.
12. Role. To preserve specified VAs / VPs from critical damage/destr from en air action.

13. Msn.

(a) Comb Z. To provide eff AAD protection to grnd forces against low and med alt air attks.

(b) Strat Assets. To provide eff terminal def to designated strat VAs / VPs against low level
air attks upto ht of 1500 m or as defined from time to time.

14. Functions.
(a) Detection. The fwg means are adopted:-
(i) Elect, Rdrs, LLTV.
(ii) Vis - Observers.
(iii) Int agencies.
(iv) Misc Sources.

(b) Iden. Obtained through the fwg means:-

(i) Flt plan correlation.
(ii) Tr behaviour.
(iii) Iden friend or foe (IFF).
(iv) Vis.

(c) Designation. Based on threat assessment, designate the tgt to suitable wpn sys.

(d) Destr. Depending on the nature of the tgt, the most appropriate wpns such as ac,
guns, msls etc will destr the tgt.

PART II: VARIOUS TYPES OF ARMY AD EQPT HELD IN IA

15. Types of AAD Eqpt in IA

(a) Rdrs.
(b) Fire Cont Eqpt.
(c) Guns.
(d) SAGW (Surface to Air Guided Wpns Sys).
(e) Gun - Msl System.

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16. Rdrs. Initiating action of an ad engagement is detection of an AB object. Basically carried

out by svl rdrs.
17. Fire Cont Eqpt. FC rdrs are an integral part of all-wx wpns. They serve to auto-tr the tgt and
feed data to wpns. System consists of Rdr and Comptr. FC rdr may cont the fire of two or more AA
guns or a combination of guns and msls.
18. Guns. Def of VAs/VPs against low level Air Attks.

(a) AD guns can be Cl on basis of:-

(i) Fire Cont

(aa) All Wx.

(ab) Fair Wx.

(ii) Mob
(aa) Towed

(ab) SP

(iii) Characteristics

(aa) High rate of fire.

(ab) All rd traverse.

(ac) Near vertical elevation.

(iv) Limitations. Ltd rg and Alt.

(b) L-70 Gun

(i) All Wx gun with FC rdr.
(ii) Characteristics
(aa) Rg
(aaa) Air tgt at RPC - 3.5 km.
(aab) Air tgt at LPC - 2 km.
(aac) Ground tgt - 1.5 km.
(ab) Rate of fire - 240/300 rds/min.
(ac) Prime mover - 5 ton Leyland.

(c) ZU-23-B Gun

(i) Fair Wx towed guns.
(ii) Characteristics
(aa) Op

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(aaa) Rg air tgt - 2.5 km.

(aab) Rg grnd tgt - 2.0 km.
(aac) Rate of fire - 2000 Rds/Min
(1000/BRL)
(ab) Gen
(aaa) Weight- 950 kgs
(aab) Tower - 3 ton fat/1 ton

(d) ZSU-23-4B (SCHILKA)

(i) All wx sp gun sys.
(ii) Characteristics
(aa) Detection Rg - 17.7 Kms.
(ab) Rate of Fire - 3400 Rds/Min.
(ac) Effective Range
(aaa) Air Tgt - 2.5 kms.
(aab) Grnd Tgt - 2 kms.
(aac) Continous Op Time - 8 hr.
(aad) Speed X Country - 30 km/h

SURFACE TO AIR GUIDED WPNS SYS – SAGW

19. SAGW SYS - GEN

(a) Eff rg, alt and kill probability of a gun is ltd.

(b) Guns cannot match the evasive action taken by the tgt.
(c) A GM overcomes these limitations to a large extent.
(d) Provide local AD of VAs/VPs.
(e) Has a higher SSKP.
(f) Carries a much larger warhead.
(g) Has longer rg and alt.
20. Various Types of SAGW.
(a) Shoulder Fired. IGLA-1M.
(a) Sp Msls
(i) STRELLA 10M.
(ii) OSA-AK.
(iii) KVADRAT.

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21. IGLA – 1M (SAM -14)

(a) Rg approacher tgt - 4.5 km.
(b) Rg receder tgt - 5 km.
(c) Dead z - 500 m.
(d) SD time - 14 - 17 s.
(e) Type of Fuze - impact.
(f) Guidance - passive IR.
22. STRELLA- 10 M (SAM 13)
(a) Short FW SP Msl.
(b) Characteristics
(i) Guidance - Photocontrast/IR.
(ii) Range - 800 - 5000 m.
(iii) Msl speed - max 700 m/s.
(iv) Tgt speed - Head on - max 420 m/s.
(v) Receder - max 310 m/s.
23. OSA- AK
(a) Low Level all wx SP msl.
(b) Characteristics
(i) Max Detection Rg - 45 kms
(ii) Max Tr Rg - 28 kms
(iii) Rg of Msl siting rdr - 14 kms
(c) MSL 9M 33M3
(i) Rg - 1.5 to 10 km
(ii) Ht of ac - 25m to 5000 m
(iii) Ht of heptrs - 10 m to 5000 m
(iv) Cross over Rg - 6 km
(v) Speed of msl - 680 m/sec
(vi) Guidance - COMD LOS

24. KVADRAT (SAM – 6)

(a) Characteristics

(i) Acqn Rdr - 5 to 65 km.

(ii) Guidance Rdr - 0 to 55 km.

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(b) Msl
(i) Dead zone - 5 km.
(ii) Max Rg - 24 km.
(iii) Type of fuze - Radio/Proximity.
(iv) SD time - 30 sec.
(v) Guidance - semi active.

GUN MSL SYSTEM

25. Gun- Msl Sys. Combination of Gun and Msl Sys.eg Tungushka.
(a) Characteristics

(i) Acqn Rdr - 18 km

(ii) Guidance Rdr - 16 km
(iii) Msl(FW)
(aa) Rg - 8 km
(ab) Dead z - 2.5 km
(iv) Gun
(aa) Rg - 4 km
(ab) Rate of fire – 4 – 5000 / min

PART III - PRINCIPLES OF AAD PLG

15. Principles of AAD Plg. Quantum of AAD resources available will seldom be adequate to
cater for all the VAs/VPs in a comb Z. The resources available have to op continuously. Judicious
allotment of the available resources would, therefore, be of paramount imp to obtain optimum
results. Basic principles of war apply equally to plg of AAD resources. However, certain principles
which demand particular emphasis while plg for AAD are:-

(a) Conc of Force. The min basic scales of def for each wpn sys are laid down. These
scales may be incr, if addl resources are available to incr the deg of eff but in no case should
the scales be decr. The temptation to disperse AAD resources to as many VAs/VPs as
possible w/o regard to min basic scale of def must be curbed. AAD units should never be split
below tp level as this would result in the fwg:-
(i) Lack of mut sp.
(ii) Ltd tgt handling capability.
(iii) Lack of all rd def.
(iv) Lack of depth.

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(v) Non-availability of HQ/CPs. This would lead to ineffective op/tac cont and lack
of EW/iden info to wpn posns, resulting in overall ineff and jeopardising the safety of
friendly ac.
(vi) Insufficient lgs sp.
(b) Economy of Effort. Due to paucity of AAD resources there is need to prioritize the
VA/VPs for providing AD with utmost deliberation. Adequate AD resources would seldom be
available for allotment to all VAs/VPs. Assets which can be protected by other means, incl
PAD measures, should not be allotted AD wpns. The right type of aprop mix of wpn sys will
also ensure economy of effort.
(c) Flexibility. Priorities of VAs/VPs keep changing with the prog of battle. It is necessary
to reallocate, and regp AAD resources. The battlefd scenario may require fast switching of
these resources from one sect to another. There is a need for flexibility to catr for changing
reqmt, the fact is more pronounced in mech warfare.

(d) Foresight. Efficient plg of AD is a process which demands great deal of time and
staff work. The planners must be able to anticipate as early as possible the expected changes
and consequent shift in priorities and take aprop steps to meet these reqmt well in time.

(e) Mob. While allocating, gp or regp of AAD resources, it is essential to consider the
mob of wpns with the mob reqmt of sp fmn. The mob of wpn sys should be compatible to that
of VA/VP.

(f) Coord. The allotment of AAD resources must be coord with the allotment of other AD
resources available, incl AF, other fmns op in the sect.

(g) Integration. The plan of allotment of AAD wpns must be integrated with op plans of
the fmn cdr. Integration must start from the plg, right from the inception of plan. AADC must
be incorporated in the beginning itself.

(h) Complimentary Mix of Wpns. In order to catr for various types of air threats there
is a reqmt of allotting a judicious mix of wpns of aprop quality and qty. This would enable
limitations of one sys to be overcome by the capabilities of the other. This will also improve
the tgt handling capb.

(j) Maint of Morale. AAD is capb of helping in maint of morale in the long run by
destroying or damaging hstl ac and thereby reducing the effect of en air attk. Just dply of AD
wpns in public eye and nearing may help, when the morale of tps and civ population has been
severely strained because of prolonged ops and by air attks.

(k) AW Capb. Depending upon the air threat the reqmt of providing AD during day/ni to
various VAs/VPs should be kept in mind and AD resources allotted accordingly. It should be
remembered that all AD wpns do not have AW capb.

(l) All Rd Def. En air can gen attk a VA/VP from any direction. Adequate resources
must, therefore, always be allotted to VAs/VPs to ensure all rd def.
(m) Mut Sp. AD wpns would be priority tasks for the en air. It is, therefore imp that they
should mut sp each other. This would also facilitate engagement
of tgts by more than one wpn sys simultaneously and also plan rest/maint etc for the eqpt
and the crew.

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(n) Def in Depth. Inspite of best efforts, some of the hstl ac would be able to penetrate
the outer def. Dply in depth should be ensured to engage all such tgts.

(o) Adequate Lgs Back Up. AD resources especially those being emp with mech fmns
need hy lgs sp (particularly in tpt amn and FOL) which needs meticulous plg.

PART IV - FACTORS AND PRINCIPLES AFFECTING ORG OF AN AD UNIT

16. The org of AAD units are based on the fwg factors:-

(a) Role of the unit.

(b) Wpn sys and its characteristics.
(c) Basic scales of def.
(d) Need for eff comd and cont.
17. Org is structured on the fwg principles:-.

(a) The smallest sub unit is based on the basic scales of def for a VP for that wpn sys. It
is designated as a tp, except in the case of SP SAM sys.

(b) The org should follow a regt to have three or more btys to meet the functional demands
of any fmn by effecting simple mod when changes are reqd.
(c) The tps or btys required for a fmn which cannot be gp into complete units are formed
into appropriate sizes as part of the next higher fmn.

(d) In case there are more than one unit in the fmn, suitable comd and cont elements are
catered for, at the aprop level.

18. AAD is equipped with guns and SAMs to meet the potential air threat. The org of units is
based on their role, eqpt, likely tasks, the need for eff comd and cont as well as ease of gp. Effort
has been made wherever possible to standardise the orgs of almost all types of AAD units to consist
of three AAD btys, of two tps each. A tp is the smallest element and is designed to protect one VP.
In case of SP msl units, a bty is the smallest subunit designed to protect a VP/VA. AAD is org into
Indep AAD Bdes, each bde having four to six AAD regts based on threat perception and related to
the task. The org of various AAD units are discussed in succeeding paras.

(a) Lt AD Regt (SP). This unit is presently equipped with FW AD towed gun sys ie, 23mm
twin gun (ZU-23-2. The org is designed to provide close AD protection against FW attk. Each
gun bty has two tps of four guns each.
(b) Lt AD Regt (Comp). This unit is equipped with FW gun sys (at present Zu-23-2, twin
gun) and man ptbl (MP) short rg SAM sys (Igla-1M at present) and is designed to provide FW
AD to semi mob VPs of a fd force.
(c) Lt AD Msl Regt (SP). The unit is equipped with FW, short rg tr SP SAM sys, presently
Strela-10M). It is designed to provide FW AD to mech fmns.
(d) AD Regt - AD Regt (Semi-Mob) - AD Regt (Fly Catcher). Equipped with all weather
(AW) towed AD Gun Sys, ie Superfledermaus (SFM)/Fly catcher rdr and L/70 guns. These

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types of regts are designed to provide AW close AD. Semi-mob unit is org similarly but auth
only one third the total prime movers.
(e) AD Regt (SP). This unit is equipped with AW SP gun sys (ZSU-23-4, Schilka) and is
capb of providing close AD to VAs/VPs of mech and armd fmns.

(f) AD Msl Regt (SP). Equipped with AW short rg SP SAM Sys, (OSA-AK or its
successor), the unit is designed to protect widely separated VAs in an armd/mech fmn. The
wpn sys is very eff against low flg tgts such as AH.

(g) AD Gp (SP). Equipped with med rg SAM (Kvadrat) and Strela 2M at present. An AD
GP (SP) consists of four guided wpn (GW) btys, one cont and one tech bty. Each GW bty
consists of one tp of integrated manner to provide area AD cover. The GW btys are not
designed to op indep for protracted pds. This dply is arng, within tech constraints, to conform
to the shape and extent of area to be def as also to permit leap frogging, if and when required.

PART V – EMP OF AAD IN VARIOUS OPS OF WAR

19. Attk. Attacking forces, especially armr, would be highly vulnerable to air attk. Well before
the aslt, arty would have started pre-H hr bombardment and covering fire. These guns may be loc
by the en. Gun As could, therefore, be a maj tgt attracting en air strikes as a CB measure. The
relative imp of VA/VPs during each ph (mob ph, conc ph, mov to fwd assy As, est of br H, induction,
breakout ph etc) will keep on changing with the prog of ops. This will necessitate reallocation of AAD
resources. During a deliberate attk ops the fwg will merit AD protection:-

(a) Inf in assy As.

(b) Armr conc.
(c) Gun As.
(d) Defiles, ie brs and xg places over the main obst.
(e) Adm/maint As.
(f) HQs.
(g) Engr resources.

20. Adv. Unhindered adv pre-supposes a favourable air sit which cannot be guaranteed by AF
alone. It may not always be possible for the AF to know the exact loc of own tps and also spare the
reqd amt of air effort for provision of AD protection due to fluidity of ops. It is thus necessary to allot
integral AAD right from the onset of the ops to adv forces. Fwg VAs/VPs are likely tgts of the hstl
air:-
(a) HQs of large fmns ie, CC, div and corps HQ.
(b) Adm/maint/lgs areas.
(c) Leading CT and CGs.
(d) Gun As.
(e) Colns on the mov. e.g Engr Colns, Gun gps and EVCs.
(f) Defiles, bottlenecks, routes eg, brs xg sites and minefd gaps.
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(g) Conc of tps, vehs and eqpt eg, conc/assy/stg/FAAs, A and B VWAs.
(h) Adv/fwd helipads and AHs on grnd/FAARPs.
(j) Engrs stores incl those mov with CG and CCs.
(k) JADC and corps comn centre.
(l) HB/AB force.

21. Def. In def ops AD is primarily concerned with protection of static tgts. While in the depth
areas these would be in the form of static adm/lgs and other vital instlns like airfds, comncen, imp
brs etc in the imdt tac battlefd, these could take the form of static defs like nodes, gun As, HQ, and
other resources. Likely tasks for AAD will be:-
(a) Def locs.
(b) Armr conc.
(c) CA force.
(d) Gun As.
(e) Nodal pts on L of C/axis of mov for CA force.
(f) Defiles, bottlenecks both natural and artificial.
(g) Adm/maint/lgs areas.
(h) HQs.

CONCLUSION

22. AAD resources are always at a premium. It is therefore necessary that all measures are
adopted to avoid or minimise the effect of air attks on the battlefd. Besides passive measures, wpns
of other arms that can be used in AD role must be emp for protection. En ac must be engaged before
they deliver their wpns. The attacking ac can come from any direction. Therefore, if the tac sit permits
wpns in AD role should be placed all around, about 300 to 400 m from the centre of their assets.
Vulnerable elements can be pulled into this circle. However if the tac sit does not permit, the
engagement of tgts should be carried out from respective loc keeping in mind eff rgs.

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