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In Tamil Nadu yesterday (14 February), Prime Minister Narendra Modi handed over the first Arjun Mark 1A tanks, a much upgraded version of the indigenously-developed Arjun main battle tank (MBT), to the Indian Army.
The Mark-1As handed over to the Indian Army in Chennai, nearly three months after Prime Minister Modi rode on an Arjun tank near in Rajasthan, are part a long-cleared order for 118. Officials at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) believe this order for 118 Arjun Mark-IAs will be the Indian Army’s last order for the 68-ton indigenous tank, a report in India Today says.
Developed by the DRDO’s Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE) in the 1980s and the 90s, and built by the Ordnance Factory Board’s Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF) in Tamil Nadu’s Avadi, the induction of the Arjun MBT into the Indian Army began only in 2005.
Between 2005 and 2010, two regiments of Arjun Mark 1 were inducted for the desert sector along the border with Pakistan in Rajasthan.
In a competitive trial organised by the Indian Army in 2010, the Arjun MBT outperformed the Russian-origin T-90, which is in service in large numbers, on every crucial parameter, whether driving across rugged sand-dunes or engaging targets and accurately hitting target. Yet, no more orders for the Arjun MBT followed, even as the Army inducted hundreds of T-90s.
The CVRDE, meanwhile, worked on a new version of the Arjun, which was to be called Mark-II, to accommodate the improvements demanded by the Army.
The weight of Arjun Mark-I — 62 tonnes — was a major issue for the Army, which says the tank is too heavy to operate in semi-developed and developed sectors of the Western Front.
Army’s First Order For Arjun Mark 1A Tanks Could Be Its Last: Report - Defence News India
In Tamil Nadu yesterday (14 February), Prime Minister Narendra Modi handed over the first Arjun Mark 1A tanks, a much upgraded version of the indigenously-developed Arjun main battle tank (MBT), to the Indian Army.
www.defenceaviationpost.com
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