TexasJohn
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oh my god...no wonder it weighs so much.
Size does matter!!
But seriously, it does have a lighter footprint compared to the T-90
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oh my god...no wonder it weighs so much.
India will test its 14 Arjun main battle tanks in June desert exercises alongside, and in comparison to, Russian T-90 and T-72 tanks.
But Army officials have already declared that the indigenous tank is not fit for combat.
Conceived in 1974 at an original design and development cost of $3.6 million, the Arjun tank program under the Defence Research and Development Organization now costs $83.33 million. The Arjun tank was to have replaced the aging T-72, but development delays led the service to order T-90s after the Kargil battle in 1999, and the Army still says it has a serious shortage of main battle tanks. The T-90 now serves as Indiaâs main battle tank.
An Army official said next monthâs exercises are user and comparative trials in the deserts of Rajasthan.
Army sources said the Arjun continues to be only a training tank and is not yet qualified for combat, as it is very heavy and will need many changes in its logistics tail, including the size of the rail cars that transport them.
But a Defence Ministry official said the Arjunâs defects have been removed, and if it passes next monthâs tests, more production orders will be placed with the state-owned Heavy Vehicles Factory, Avadhi.
Army officials disagree, saying there are still at least a dozen defects in the tank, including a deficient fire-control system, inaccurate gun and faulty air conditioning that makes it difficult to operate in very hot conditions.
The quality of the Arjun tank also has been a concern for the Parliamentâs Standing Committee for Defence, which in its 16th Report in 2006-â07 said that one official had testified, âI am afraid our quality control is very poor. I have heard that five tanks were presented before the media. However, when the media and other people went away, the tanks were put back in the factory because still some quality checks had to be made.
âThe biggest problem in India in respect of defense production is quality control. If China can do it, why can we not do it?â The Defence Ministry official admitted that there is a shortfall of about 3,500 tanks and that the delivery schedule of the Arjun is not satisfactory. The Army is junking more tanks in the next two to three years than it will be inducting, which will lead to further shortfalls. The Army sources said that around 1,000 tanks out of the 3,000 now in service will be junked by 2008.
If the Arjun is not cleared for combat, the Army will need to purchase more tanks besides the T-90 from overseas markets and upgrade more than 1,600 of its T-72 tanks, the Army sources said.
E-mail: vraghuvanshi@defensenews.com.
He wrote 'air conditioning' dosn't neccesarily mean lack of cooling units similar to civil vehicles.
not enough insulation from hot components and wrong choice of construction materials
When talking about aircon units I would think it meant for the electronics systems.
The tank, without air-conditioning, can dissipate heat
Is the fire control system fixed?
The Army has absolutely 'zero complaints' from the performance of the Arjun Tank in dusty, hot desert conditions in Rajasthan.
I think we have to stop looking for things that are not obvious in the hope of trying to find faults.
Dr.Natarajan, DRDO Chief. Circa 2004.
Yes.
Actually there was a specific problem with FCS units that were overheating due to no aircon units on the T-series of tanks which could not be retro fitted. If they did not fit a aircon system to a similar unit then the same problems would reoccur.
When a report says ''zero complaints' do you read it as 'zero plus one complaints' ?
Volume 21 - Issue 17, Aug. 14 - 27, 2004
If the guys in the article were correct the tank should be out by now or are they merely bidding their time......?