sudhir007
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The Arjun BLT is claimed to be superior to older Soviet bridgelayers
The Arjun BLT (or Bridge Layer Tank) is a combat engineering vehicle, designed to carry, lay and retrieve an assault bridge. It was developed by DRDO. The reason this bridgelayer was developed, is because the current Indian AVLBs are not capable of supporting the Arjun MBTs, that are much heavier than the previous tanks, operated by the Indian Army. It is worth mentioning that to date there were no production orders on this armored bridgelayer.
This combat engineering vehicle is based on the Arjun main battle tank, which is in limited service with the Indian Army. The turret was replaced with a bridgelaying system. It can handle larger loads and uses cantilever type bridgelaying method, where bridge is laid horizontally. The main advantage of such design, is that it can not be observed some distance away by the enemy.
It is an MLC-70 class bridge, with a payload capacity of 70 t. It provides passage for wheeled or tracked military vehicles. It is also capable of supporting the lighter T-72 or T-90 main battle tanks, that are currently in service with the Indian Army.
The Arjun BLT can carry two types of bridges. A steel bridge can span a gap of 24 m, while aluminum bridge can span a gap of 26 m. The bridge can be recovered from either end. On travelling the bridge is carried in two halves one on top of the other. It is claimed that Arjun based armored bridgelayer is superior to the T-72 based units.
This armored bridgelayer has a crew of two, including driver and commander (bridge operator).
The Arjun BLT has the same level of cross-country mobility as the Arjun main battle tank. Vehicle is powered by a German MTU MB 838 Ka-501 turbocharged diesel engine, developing 1 400 hp.