Over the last four months, the army had systematically signalled that it did not want to buy more Arjuns. The message from senior officers was 124 Arjun tanks have been bought already; no more would be ordered for the armys fleet of 4000 tanks. The comparative trial, or so went the message, was merely to evaluate what operational role could be given to the armys handful of Arjuns.
The senior officers who attended the trials were taken aback by the Arjuns strong performance, an officer who was present through the trials frankly stated. But they were also pleased that the Arjun had finally come of age.
The armys Directorate General of Mechanised Forces (DGMF), which has bitterly opposed buying more Arjuns, will now find it difficult to sustain that opposition. In keeping out the Arjun, the DGMF has opted to retain the already obsolescent T-72 tank in service for another two decades, spending thousands of crores in upgrading its vintage systems.
Now, confronted with the Arjuns demonstrated capability, the army will face growing pressure to order more Arjuns.
The current order of 124 Arjuns is equipping the armys 140 Armoured Brigade in Jaisalmer. With that order almost completed, the Arjun production line at the Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF) in Avadi, near Chennai, needs more orders urgently. The Rs 50 crore facility can churn out 50 Arjuns annually. That would allow for the addition of close to one Arjun regiment each year (a regiment is authorised 62 tanks).
Tank experts point out that conducting trials only in Mahajan does not square with the armys assertion that they are evaluating a role for the Arjun. Says Major General HM Singh, who oversaw the Arjuns development for decades, If they were evaluating where the Arjun should be deployed, they should have conducted the trials in different types of terrain: desert, semi-desert, plains and riverine. It seems as if the army has already decided to employ the Arjun in the desert.