Equipment List:
Hey people, maskedakshat here. While writing IAW, I realized that a lot of ‘research’ would be needed, since India had a ton of military programs going on, many of which are supposed to see the light of the day in the next handful of years, the face of the Indian Armed Forces would be completely different in 2035 than in 2022 or 2023. Naturally, the list of changes done is quite long, which is why I have decided to just make a list of all the goods that Indian armed forces would be using at that time. Most of these are completely real and will definitely be seen in real life by then, although with some differences. Some, however, are not entirely real, or not supposed to be there but are there anyways. And there are some that are straight out of my delusions and the voices. They are there because I decided they should be. Please keep in mind that this is a hastily put-together list, so don’t expect me to give fancy numbers or names, I am not a military nerd that spends 16 hours a day arguing about some goddamn sensor suite of a goddamn aircraft or a ship from a goddamn country I have never even heard of. I simply believe military stuff is good, regardless of whatever it is, not my job to argue about what is better or not. Also note that only the equipment not in real life right now is shown here, there will be a lot of things in the story that I won’t bother mentioning here, google them yourselves. The ones here are only to give you an image of what they may look like.
Also, any names given in (“”) are completely fictional, the actual names in real life may be different. And we won’t know until 2035 arrives.
1. AMCA “Shwet”:
Indian Fifth Generation Multirole stealth fighter currently in development, supposed to begin rolling out somewhere after 2025. In the story, the Shwet will appear both in the Air Force and the Navy, serving on board the INS Vikrant as well as INS Vishal. The Air Force will have two squadrons and the Navy will have one, by the time they get transported.
HAL AMCA "Shwet" (artist's depiction) [https://i.postimg.cc/pXm4tkmf/1667459041-Dcw4-Ky-IMG-20221103-WA0005.jpg]
2. TEDBF “Kumbhir”:
Twin Engine Deck Based Fighter (TEDBF) named Kumbhir. Will be replacing the MiG-29’s of the Navy and serve as the primary carrier based multirole fighter in the Indian Navy.
[https://i.postimg.cc/jj3397Rg/TEDBF.png]
3. F/A-18IN “Shershaah”:
Domestically manufactured, licensed variant of the F/A-18 Super Hornet specifically for the Indian Navy. Inducted in 2024, until the Rafale-Ms and the Kumbhir’s arrival. Even after their arrival though, they still served in the Indian Navy alongside the two aircraft. And before you type an angry comment, yes I know that both Super Hornet and the Rafale M are contenders for the Navy’s MRCA program, I just don’t care. Indian Armed Forces’ equipment procurement process, to say the least, isn’t very good, and me and the people behind the story had a migraine thinking about what aircraft was the most likely to be inducted. So I smoked all the crack at once and decided I’ll have both aircraft at once. Simple as that. Besides, it is better that way. The more tech I have to flex in the fantasy world, the better.
I don’t need to put an image of a Super Hornet here, do I?
4. Project-18 class (Ashoka class) Guided Missile Destroyers
Next Generation Destroyer (NGD) Project-18, named the ‘Ashoka’ class after the great emperor of the Mauryan Dynasty. Currently still in development in real life, but considering that the Indian shipbuilding isn’t as fucked as the rest of the military industrial complex, you can be sure these would be around by then. Would also be the largest destroyers in the Indian Navy at the time.
[https://i.postimg.cc/zGS9dvL6/P18.png]
5. MLH “Mayur”:
Indian Multirole Helicopter (IMRH) or sometimes referred to as MLH, named “Mayur”, will replace the Mi-17V5 in all branches of the Indian Armed Forces in the story. In real life, the helicopter will begin rolling out by 2025 or 2026.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
[https://i.postimg.cc/L51Wj8Ky/IMRH.jpg]
6. “Dweep” class Landing Purpose Dock (LPD):
Currently in development in a joint cooperation by Navantia and L&T. No news as to when it would come out, but considering how usually the Indian Armed Forces usually don’t reveal things (not really secrecy, its like they simply don’t go telling anyone unless you ask them, it’s the real reason writing this series gives me migraine), it probably is already built and no one knows about it. And I am a common man on the internet, so don’t expect me to know some arcane info.
[https://i.postimg.cc/htr5LY6q/LPD.png]
7. Arjun Mk3 FMBT:
Futuristic Main Battle Tank (FMBT) project, known as Arjun Mk3 in the story. In real life, there isn’t much info regarding the project for some reason apart from some news articles saying the tank is in development. A lot of photos of designs come up when searching about it, but I cannot confirm whether they belong to the FMBT or not. But after seeing a photo of the Arjun Mk2A, it is possible to say the tank would look somewhat like a Leopard 2A6.
8. Arjun Mk2A MBT:
9. [https://i.postimg.cc/ZqSMpSVH/Arjun-Mk-2.jpg]
10. DRDO Zorawar:
New light tank currently in development by DRDO. This is something that will appear quite often in the story considering how much of a pain it would be to deploy MBTs in every conflict when they are not even needed.
[https://i.postimg.cc/26PcjNbn/Zorawar-light-tank-DRDO-model-7.jpg]
10. INS Vishal:
Indigenous Aircraft Carrier-2 (IAC-2) INS Vishal. Currently WIP in real life, though work has already began and is expected to complete in a few years. Would be the largest aircraft carrier in the Indian Navy at the time of its induction, and also in the story. No photo here since there isn’t any good photo on the internet, so just imagine it to be like INS Vikrant but significantly bigger significantly based.
11. HAL CATS system and its components:
India’s indigenous Loyal Wingman project. It has a lot of systems that I may or may not list here, depending on how things work out. For now, it is clear that the CATS Warrior would make an appearance, working alongside either Tejas Mk1 or Mk2 airframes converted for use as motherships, or directly in conjunction with the American Mothership.
[https://i.postimg.cc/bv9FRB5h/CATS-AI-Warrior.jpg]
12. FICV “Abhay”:
Futuristic Infantry Combat Vehicle (FICV) program. Long story short, the current fleet of BMP-2s gone, replaced by the new Abhay FICV. Now unlike the Navy, here I decided to roll with a single candidate, that is the one built by DRDO and L&T. It looks cool so here I’ll be putting more than one image of it. Not a bad idea considering this is a webnovel, one where you still have to use your imagination to feel the story, so why not add some eye candy? Also, partly because there aren't any clear photos of it that display it in its entirety, at least in my opinion.
[https://i.postimg.cc/pV3brgbG/FICV-abhay-2.jpg]
[https://i.postimg.cc/bJYVVRX2/abhay-5.jpg]
[https://i.postimg.cc/fypHLnVx/abhay-3.jpg]
Specials:
This section includes things that are completely fictious and were added as a joke in the story, only for me to realize that they could be used in a really nice way in the story.
The first is the Dhruvyaan, Indian Space Station launched in 2030, operated entirely by a crew of 9 astronauts. It too, gets transported in the new world, so we will get to see it as well.
The next is from the American side, because why not. Its name: XC-1 “Mothership”, an excessively large, stealth airborne drone carrier based around the Loyal Wingman Concept. I planned for it to run on nuclear power using ducted turboprops, and carry XQ-58 Valkyrie UAVs. These would be seen operating alongside the Indian HAL CATS Warrior as well. The Mothership also has the insane feature of refuelling AND rearming fighter aircraft midair, one aircraft at a time. I planned for it work by getting the plane to dock with the Mothership, then pulling inside the Mothership using a hatch in an internal bay, where robotic arms would do the rearming process. Once rearmed, the plane would be brought outside the hatch as the Mothership increased throttle, then release the plane after the pilot had pulled the throttle all the way to max.
For the aircraft carrier reference, imagine it somewhat like the one in this video:
https://youtu.be/mzWhBsloxc4
(Courtesy of: Messier82 on Youtube)
The Mothership would look similar except smaller (not sure how small exactly, don’t ask) and more like a stealth version of it, and with the turboprops being ducted.