THE DAY MUMBAI STOOD STILL

What happened in Mumbai came to me in four stages: Shock, Denial, Acceptance, Anger!
There is a definite realization. Being a nuclear power doesn’t secure you. The challenges increase manifold if the enemy is invisible. I too want to participate in the total annihilation of the unseen and invisible enemy which is causing havoc across Globe. People are dying even as I write this down!

But unlike what others are doing, which is organizing rallies and lighting candles (which I think are great ideas to get people together for a common cause, but I fail to see how it can bring terrorism down).
I think the issue needs to be addressed in a different manner as well!

I will not spend time debating and justifying violence vs non-violence. All I am going to talk about today will be some measures which our army / NSG / Special Forces / BCC (Black Cat Commandos) need to take, not only to combat the invisible army, but also to set an example for everyone else in the world to see.

One of my passions is to follow the latest in arms and ammunition. So here is a list of weapons which I think ought to be part of the Indian Armed Forces. These are some of the best and most powerful weapon systems / ammunition to tackle any unforeseen contingency.

Disclaimer: If you are a firm believer in non-violence, and guns and ammunition makes you dizzy! Well, I suggest you not to go further down.

a) 50 calibre Barrett Rifle – The most effective sniper rifle available today in the world. It can hit the target from a distance of 2,400 meters. The bullet used in this gun is 50 calibre and has the ability to damage a 6-inch thick steel plate. Imagine attaching X-ray vision to this sniper rifle, with the ability to see through the walls, it can really spell doom for the terrorists!

b) M16 assault rifle – probably the most dangerous assault rifle in the world today. It has served the US army since 1961 and continues to be a fav still…Popularized by Video Games, this deadly demon has the ability to fire bullets and launch grenades at the same time. Extremely destructive…and extremely effective! In India only the special forces have access to M16 A2 (a version of M16)

c) Cornershot: An invention by an Israeli Commander to combat Guerilla warriors, this attachment (yes, it can be attached to any gun, pistol and even a bazooka!) allows the solder to look through the corner without exposing himself in the battlefield. It has an attached camera and Imagine if our commandos had this weapon attachment….

d) ESMAW – Novel Explosive rocket launcher…A fav with the US Marine Corps. It weighs a minimal 5 kgs…has an effective range of 250 mtrs and max range of 500 mtrs. Best part – it has delayed detonation, which means, the rocket will pierce through the walls of concrete to reach the hiding place of terrorists and then detonate! Beat that!

e) XM307 Air Bursting Weapon System – Capable of remote operations. It has a laser range finder, and a day/night sight. It is actually a light autocannon that delivers suppressive fire out to 2,000 meters. The weapon provides devastating firepower against visible and hidden targets such as those in foxholes, behind rocks / walls, and inside building with windows!

f) M110 Sniper Rifle: A semi-automatic sniper rifle which weighs less than 15 pounds. It has a suppresser at the nozzle which reduces the fire flash, making the shooter almost invisible. A rapid reload from the magazine. A long range thermo-optical maginifier, which allows the sniper to see through smoke, smog or fog upto 800 mtrs.

g) TASER X26 – For all the people believing in the Geneva Convention, here is a ‘less than lethal’ weapon. Absolutely fantastic for self defence in a situation wherein the forces would want to neutralize the terrorists yet capture them alive. It has an electro-stun system, which stuns the target with an electric shock and hijacks his central nervous system for some time. The product was tested on a monster of a US marine weighing 250 pounds and pumping iron that would put Arnold to shame…the marine couldn’t get up for 4 minutes flat! Imagine if our cops had the X26 at the CST station…

h) BERETTA LTLX 7000 – Once again a non-lethal weapon, which has the ability to fire targets at far range. This is a humanitarian sniper’s dream come true! The bullet is custom designed and hits the target at a speed of 211 mph (in a test where the object was kept at a distance of 50 mtrs), giving a nasty bruise but well short of killing the target! The best part: the kinetic energy mechanism in this gun allows it to deliver similar velocity at different distance. Thus when the same test was repeated on the target kept at 250 mtrs, the velocity of the bullet was 231 mph (almost similar to the one delivered above). Amazing! Isnt it?

i) XM214 MICROGUN: A SUPER CALIBRE ASSAULT RIFE WITH CUSTOM MADE CARTRIDGES – Lord of the guns made popular by the videogame called Team Fortress 2. This lethal dose of damage can fire upto 10,000 rounds per minute (remember the scene from Predator, wherein Arnie is firing a mult- barrel gun, that’s what I am talking about). The gun weighs 15 kilos and each cartridge costs about USD 200! It takes 400,000 USD to fire this weapon for 20 sec! So if there is a large group of militants and the forces want to wipe their impressions out in less than a minute…this is the answer!

j) M32 Multi Grenade Launcher – A semi automatic weapon that fires 6, 40 mm grenades in less than 3 seconds! A total mayhem causer, this launcher is your saviour when caught in the middle of a firefight. It can totally devastate any militant shelter home within seconds, not allowing any reaction time for the enemy. The best part, the overall design makes the launching of the grenade almost silent, thus providing the much needed invisibility to the armed forces while they are busy engaging the militants into a deadly assault.

k) MEI Mercury 40 MM Grenade – The Mercury grenade is the latest developed ammunition for the M32 Grenade launcher. Its designed to reach out to nearly half a mile! The shell can therefore travel a distance of 800 mtrs and still cause maximum damage. The Mercury comes in variants. The flare, which almost ignites the sky as it travels through its trajectory, making the enemy shit bricks, because it can give the illusion of being a missile! Next up, the Mercury high explosive dual purpose round, no explanation on that. The name says it all. The best part is – the overall design allows the grenade to deliver shrapnel upto 30% further.

l) DRAGON SKIN – In an armed combat, the defense is extremely important as well. One would want to be alive to use the firepower at his / her disposal. Dragon skin is the latest in the field of body armour suits. This beauty uses advanced ceramics and titanium compounds to build a shield which can protect someone from AK 47’s 7.62 mm rounds! Just so that you know, AK 47 is one of the few guns, which have the power to go through a quarter inch of steel plate like a knife goes through butter. Most of the bullet proof jackets fail against the test of 7.62 mm rounds! The funda is simple, the overlaying design of the jacket allows the impact power of the bullet to get dispersed over a larger area, and that is vitally important, because the traditional bullet proof jackets can stop the bullet from piercing through, but if shot from a nearly point blank range, the force itself could be devastating!

m) MP7A1 – We often assume our enemies to be like the villains in the Bollywood movie. Pistol trotting, not-fearing and with strength that could bring down a building! In real life, things could be a little different from our imagination! What we often hear is the militants being in the prime of their youth and seemingly innocuous and having average human strength, which therefore means, just like us if they are scared to die. Most of the time they would want to cover themselves in bullet proof vests. There are often hostage situations and the worst nightmare is to realize after shooting a guy in the chest, that he is aiming the gun at you! In these situations, the forces there need a weapon which is as compact as a sub-machine gun but can spit firepower as devastating as that of an assault rifle. Well, the answer to that situation is the MP7A1! It’s the latest in PDW or Personal Defense Weapons. The weapon is to be used in Close Quarter Combat situations. The ammunition used in this gun delivers firepower equal to an assault rifle, which can go through normal bullet proof vests (but not he Dragon Skin). So it’s a lethal combination of a gun that has little and fast recoil and ammunition that is deadly, is what makes this one of the best combat weapons against the enemy!

n) Gatecrasher – The biggest challenge in fighting against the invisible enemy is to breach their ring of shelter and deliver the blow. The gatecrasher is one of the best ammunition which can be used to end a hostage situation. It enables the security forces to make an entry point anywhere they want by delivering a carefully and precisioned blow to the walls / doors etc, at the same time not causing any other collateral damage. This device can puncture a 19 inches thick brick-wall without bringing down the house! Gatecrasher uses a water jacket to focus the explosion on a specific area transforming the power of explosion to become a precise cutting tool. At the same time this technology withholds the explosion to deliver damage on the other side of the wall, which could potentially kill the hostages.

I know of a fighter pilot who says the best of the aircrafts can’t deliver unless the pilot is equipped with the skills. I am in total agreement with what this gentleman says, and I rest the blog by mentioning the imperativeness of training our Police / Forces to use these weapons. As for the junta that believes in the weapons causing immense collateral damage, I have an advice – really do the homework before you make that comment :) because most of the times, collateral damage is caused because of the untrained weapon user and not because of the weapon itself.

I dedicate this post to all those brave souls who immolated their lives in the line of duty. May their souls rest in peace! Amen!