Is Pakistan raising 2 new strike corps?

[Khan vilatey]

This is a strategic question based on publicly available data.

pakistan is buying

- 236 sh-10 self peopled artillery systems = 15 new battalion/units

-200 vt-4/ alkhalid 2 / mbt 3000 tanks = that’s 6 new battalions / units

600 t-90 or Ukrainian pilot t-82 tanks = that’s 20 new battalions /units

raised 2~ 4 divisions for gawadar and cpec

Possibly Russian pantzir air defence for close air protection of mobile armored formations

deigned and built there own motorized infantry transport vehicles with weapon cannon options to mobilize this infantry force force.

over 26000 baktar Shikan atgms for use against tanks

8 submarines for the navy
12 frigate level surface ships
8~10 corvettes
Possibly 2~4 destroyers

at least 74 more block 3 jf-17 inclusive of jf-17b twin seater 24 on order

possibility project Azm or an interim buy of 45 f-20 stealth planes from China

at least 40+ ylong 2 armed drone platforms


Question is Pakistan raising another two strike corps?

what impact will this have for us Vis-à-vis Indian numbers. These numbers will bring our parity to Indian number from 2:1 in India’s favor to 1.3:1. Will this make us more prone to a militaristic response to India’s aggression against us?

will we intervene militarily for let’s day Kashmir with a force this strong?

please this is a strategic discussion based on facts and numbers please keep your responses on topics and not on chest thumping

KV

 

[S.Y.A]

Have you looked at the existing equipment of the army? most of it is old. This is nothing but routine procurement to modernize the force.

 

[Old School]

There won't be 'significant' manpower increase for the PA in the near future as we have already hit the ceiling of max. The focus is now in on navy which is the most strategically crucial element of our armed forces. Securing the Arab sea and 'denial of access' to our adversaries are the more important priorities .

 

[ADIL SHERDIL]

My guess is these procurement are done to modernize or update old or obsolete equipment. To raise 2 more strike corp PA will also need high influx in manpower as well. If you look at the ratios of 2:1 to 1.3:1 PA would need atleast 200k more soldiers. These will cause a strain on the economy.
I don't know about the procurement of 600 T-90 or Oplot tanks. If there is such news then this will be done to replace aging fleet fleet of T-59 and T-69 Tanks because most of these tanks are now being operated by FC.
If you ask me SPH are the future of artillery these procurement are much needed .

 

[crankthatskunk]

Even if this procurement is to replace the ageing equipment, that is a good news.
At least we would be having a credible defence against the aggressors.

It is not correct to say that parity with India would be achieved or the gap would be closed. Apart from heads count, it is very difficult to understand and estimate the real strength of Indian Army in terms of Equipment.

There had been so many contradicting reports on the battle readiness of IA and numbers of obsolete equipment in IA.

 

[Kompromat]

Most of that equipment will replace old stuff Army has.

 

[niaz]

I would agree with @ADIL SHERDIL. Pak Army is fairly large for the size & GDP of the country. What is really needed is to improve the leadership quality of the officer corps and the fighting quality of the ordinary jawans.

This can be achieved by providing the soldiers with modern equipment and by improving their training and general fitness and by ensuring that promotions of the officers to the senior cadre are strictly on merit. We want a ' Lean & Mean' army but not necessarily a larger one.

 

[hussain0216]

Some of your info is right
Some of it is wrong

Bottom line is however we are preparing to ensure we have what we need to smack the shit out of the Indians

 

[Khan vilatey]

My guess is these procurement are done to modernize or update old or obsolete equipment. To raise 2 more strike corp PA will also need high influx in manpower as well. If you look at the ratios of 2:1 to 1.3:1 PA would need atleast 200k more soldiers. These will cause a strain on the economy.
I don't know about the procurement of 600 T-90 or Oplot tanks. If there is such news then this will be done to replace aging fleet fleet of T-59 and T-69 Tanks because most of these tanks are now being operated by FC.
If you ask me SPH are the future of artillery these procurement are much needed .

agreed but how will we man
30 new tank battalions
15 new sp artillery regiments
And 2~4 divisions announced for cpec and gawadar defence

One core is about 40k men thinking we will raise two under the guise of cpec and equip them with the above
This would raise our strike corps numbers from 4 to 6 corps

meaning a dedicated strike corps for Kashmir and additional corps in Sindh and Punjab for strike operations

to clarifications I did not mean that parity of the over all force with India would go up to 1.5:1 rather just the strike and defensive elements in theater

so short answer is don’t increase troops a lot but arm them and train them better. I believe pak army will go up from 550 to 600k but will be better equipped and much more mobile.

I will explain this in a detailed post with maps and strategic numbers to explain

KV

 

[Sal12]

agreed but how will we man
30 new tank battalions
15 new sp artillery regiments
And 2~4 divisions announced for cpec and gawadar defence

One core is about 40k men thinking we will raise two under the guise of cpec and equip them with the above
This would raise our strike corps numbers from 4 to 6 corps

meaning a dedicated strike corps for Kashmir and additional corps in Sindh and Punjab for strike operations

to clarifications I did not mean that parity of the over all force with India would go up to 1.5:1 rather just the strike and defensive elements in theater

so short answer is don’t increase troops a lot but arm them and train them better. I believe pak army will go up from 550 to 600k but will be better equipped and much more mobile.

I will explain this in a detailed post with maps and strategic numbers to explain

KV

is this your suggestion, analysis or news. I think Pak army has 2 strike corps. PA has raised one division for CPEC and perhaps will create one more for gwadar. That's it.

 

[Khan vilatey]

is this your suggestion, analysis or news. I think Pak army has 2 strike corps. PA has raised one division for CPEC and perhaps will create one more for gwadar. That's it.

is this your suggestion, analysis or news. I think Pak army has 2 strike corps. PA has raised one division for CPEC and perhaps will create one more for gwadar. That's it.

this is my analysis

here is the order of battle for Pakistan


Punjab - Strike Corps
I Corps
Mangla II Corps
Multan
6 Armoured Division
Kharian 1 Armoured Division
Multan
17 Mechanized Infantry Division
Kharian 40 Infantry Division
Okara
37 Mechanized Infantry Division
Gujranwala
Punjab - Holding Corps
IV Corps
Lahore
10 Infantry Division
Lahore
11 Infantry Division
Lahore
XXX Corps
Gujranwala XXXI Corps
Bahawalpur
2 Artillery Division
Gujranwala 26 Mechanized Division
Bahawalpur
8 Infantry Division
Sialkot 35 Infantry Division
Bahawalpur
15 Infantry Division
Sialkot 40th Infantry Division
Okara
Sindh J&K, FANA
V Corps
Karachi X Corps
Rawalpindi
16 Infantry Division
Hyderabad Northern Area Command
Gilgit
18 Infantry Division
Hyderabad 12 Infantry Division
Murree
25 Mechanized Infantry Division
Malir 19 Infantry Division
Jhelum
23 Infantry Division
Gujrat
West Front
Balochistan NWFP / FATA
XII Corps
Quetta XI Corps
Peshawar
33 Infantry Division
Hyderabad 7 Infantry Division
Mardan
41 Infantry Division
Hyderabad 9 Infantry Division
Kohat
Other Major Commands
ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) Engineer-in-Chief Pakistan Army
Army Air Defence Command ERRA (Earthquake Reconstruction &
Rehabilitation Authority)
Army Strategic Forces Command

https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/pakistan/army-orbat.htm


The corps in Sindh are dual purpose mechanized infantry brigades designed for strike and holding purpose. These will come into action in the Sindh desert to strike and relieve pressure on the Punjab strike corp formations.

With the new influx of equipment I theorize that we will raise at least two more strike corps as the equipment (two divisions is one corps). I think one of the mechanized corps in Sindh will be upgraded to full strike corps. I also think one more strike corps will be raised in Punjab dedicated to Ladakh Kashmir operations. Giving us 2
Strike corps in Punjab proper, one in Sindh and one for Kashmir. The Kashmir one will have light armor IFV type equipment and probably 2 brigades of sh-10 shoot and skoot sp artillery. One of the key reasons for this is the Chinese ballistic radar integration in these formations. Pakistan in the past suffers from integrating newer and more advanced
SLC-2 Radar
Chinese ballistic radars with our our sp and towed Artillery regiments

the American (Don’t remember the version we have)fire finder radars are old and have issues in Kashmir due to the terrain. India got the newer version of this. These new formations will plug all these gaps.

I will write a comprehensive article
To explain my analysis. Hope we can discuss this further so I learn more

KV

 

[khansaheeb]

It seems we are planning for more than India, I almost fell off my chair when I saw this figure: -"over 26000 baktar Shikan atgms for use against tanks".

 

[Khan vilatey]

It seems we are planning for more than India, I almost fell off my chair when I saw this figure: -"over 26000 baktar Shikan atgms for use against tanks".

https://cenjows.gov.in/pdf/Pakistan-Defence-Insustry_03-04-17.pdf

Here is a report from India that shows this number. Look at page 12 these numbers are so high that we have started using this in Kashmir to take out Indian bunkers with devastating effect.


This is an Indian article so please take it with a grain....I mean ton of salt but seemed good so quoting here. We believe in good phalanx tactics to stop Indian armor numbers.

https://www.opindia.com/2018/02/ind...sile-to-counter-indias-mechanised-forces/amp/


(4.0) Conclusion

• Pakistan Army possesses strong anti-tank capability which will be a challenge to Indian mechanized formations in any future conflict.

• The main objective of these anti-tank formations is to prevent a break-out by Indian armoured formations. Using speed, mobility, terrain familiarity and stand-off range of their missiles, they intend to blunt Indian mechanized offensive.

• With the ability to engage targets at night, they can spring a surprise on any advancing armour column. Working in conjunction with some armour and/or AH-1 ‘Cobra’ gunship helicopters will make for a formidable force.

• They will play an important role in next Indo-Pak war. And like the Israelis in 1973 war, Indian Army will have to evolve tactics to counter them. And while Israelis were taken by surprise, Indian Army knows the existence of this capability.
• Apart from counter-tactics, Indian Army also needs to invest in a technological solution like Active Protection Systems (APS) for its main battle tanks.

(This article was written by Rohit Vats who tweets at @KesariDhwaj, the original article can be read on his blog)

will start a new thread on what India thinks of Bakhtiar Shikan

KV

 

[Yaseen1]

we should increase number of trained civilian citizens to voluntarily fight for nation in case of war,for army more focus should be on improving technology and procurement of new and modernized weapons instead of raising number of troops

 

[Signalian]

pakistan is buying

- 236 sh-10 self peopled artillery systems = 15 new battalion/units

-200 vt-4/ alkhalid 2 / mbt 3000 tanks = that’s 6 new battalions / units

600 t-90 or Ukrainian pilot t-82 tanks = that’s 20 new battalions /units

raised 2~ 4 divisions for gawadar and cpec

Possibly Russian pantzir air defence for close air protection of mobile armored formations

deigned and built there own motorized infantry transport vehicles with weapon cannon options to mobilize this infantry force force.

over 26000 baktar Shikan atgms for use against tanks

SH-15 Artillery, VT-4/Oplot MBT etc could be in the news and have been discussed on PDF, but it is yet to be seen if fruition occurs. AK-II has to come up sooner or later and hopefully PA will have one type of MBT in its inventory, like other western countries. The newly raised Infantry formations for CPEC carry light weapons, so are not part of Strike Corps which are heavily armored/mechanized. These formations also have paramilitary units in them. Pantsir S-series AD system also hasn't joined PA inventory AFAIK.

Motorized transport are 4X4 (Defender 110/TLC/Hilux/L-200/MRAP etc) and trucks. Mechanized are M-113/Talha etc. APC for infantry has been there since 1960's and HIT has produced thousands of M-113 under license. Al-Talha and its variants are not proper IFVs, there are specialised versions though. Viper/Hamza IFV have not joined PA inventory AFAIK. ATGMs are a necessity since IA has more MBT/IFV/APC combined than PA, TOW-I needed replacement so TOW-II was sought after and lastly R&S Battalions were converted to LAT so replacement for RR was required through ATGM launchers.

Maybe you should thoroughly view Pakistan Army Tanks/Artillery and other related threads before you write your next analysis.

https://cenjows.gov.in/pdf/Pakistan-Defence-Insustry_03-04-17.pdf

Here is a report from India that shows this number. Look at page 12 these numbers are so high that we have started using this in Kashmir to take out Indian bunkers with devastating effect.


This is an Indian article so please take it with a grain....I mean ton of salt but seemed good so quoting here. We believe in good phalanx tactics to stop Indian armor numbers.

CENJOWS is an Indian Govt Syndicate, but this article is a poorly copy pasted and hastily prepared document. A pathetic effort to put together information from all corners of the internet. I would have expected something formidable from them.

this is my analysis

here is the order of battle for Pakistan


Punjab - Strike Corps
I Corps
Mangla II Corps
Multan
6 Armoured Division
Kharian 1 Armoured Division
Multan
17 Mechanized Infantry Division
Kharian 40 Infantry Division
Okara
37 Mechanized Infantry Division
Gujranwala
Punjab - Holding Corps
IV Corps
Lahore
10 Infantry Division
Lahore
11 Infantry Division
Lahore
XXX Corps
Gujranwala XXXI Corps
Bahawalpur
2 Artillery Division
Gujranwala 26 Mechanized Division
Bahawalpur
8 Infantry Division
Sialkot 35 Infantry Division
Bahawalpur
15 Infantry Division
Sialkot 40th Infantry Division
Okara
Sindh J&K, FANA
V Corps
Karachi X Corps
Rawalpindi
16 Infantry Division
Hyderabad Northern Area Command
Gilgit
18 Infantry Division
Hyderabad 12 Infantry Division
Murree
25 Mechanized Infantry Division
Malir 19 Infantry Division
Jhelum
23 Infantry Division
Gujrat
West Front
Balochistan NWFP / FATA
XII Corps
Quetta XI Corps
Peshawar
33 Infantry Division
Hyderabad 7 Infantry Division
Mardan
41 Infantry Division
Hyderabad 9 Infantry Division
Kohat
Other Major Commands
ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) Engineer-in-Chief Pakistan Army
Army Air Defence Command ERRA (Earthquake Reconstruction &
Rehabilitation Authority)
Army Strategic Forces Command

https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/pakistan/army-orbat.htm


The corps in Sindh are dual purpose mechanized infantry brigades designed for strike and holding purpose. These will come into action in the Sindh desert to strike and relieve pressure on the Punjab strike corp formations.

With the new influx of equipment I theorize that we will raise at least two more strike corps as the equipment (two divisions is one corps). I think one of the mechanized corps in Sindh will be upgraded to full strike corps. I also think one more strike corps will be raised in Punjab dedicated to Ladakh Kashmir operations. Giving us 2
Strike corps in Punjab proper, one in Sindh and one for Kashmir. The Kashmir one will have light armor IFV type equipment and probably 2 brigades of sh-10 shoot and skoot sp artillery. One of the key reasons for this is the Chinese ballistic radar integration in these formations. Pakistan in the past suffers from integrating newer and more advanced
SLC-2 Radar
Chinese ballistic radars with our our sp and towed Artillery regiments

the American (Don’t remember the version we have)fire finder radars are old and have issues in Kashmir due to the terrain. India got the newer version of this. These new formations will plug all these gaps.

I will write a comprehensive article
To explain my analysis. Hope we can discuss this further so I learn more

KV

Post 242 is the updated ORBAT for PA

https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/retaking-kashmir-after-70-years.603628/page-17