Army's Future Main Battle Tank (FMBT) project likely to be delayed

[angeldemon_007]

BANGALORE: Army's futuristic tank programme is likely to be delayed, with the military still procrastinating over its requirements, more than six months after it was scheduled to hand it over to the country's defence research establishment. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is yet to receive a critical document listing the Army's technological and combat wish list for its Future Main Battle Tank (FMBT).

The DRDO was keen on finalising the design for the ambitious project by 2013. No indications have been provided by the Army as to when it will hand over the Preliminary Specifications Qualitative Requirements (PSQR), which is seen as a sanction to kick-start development activities on the FMBT. "The draft PSQR finalised by a former DGM is now being refined by the newly-appointed DGM. Nothing has been finalised yet, and we have not even started any discussions on it," said P Sivakumar , director of Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment.

The document, which is expected to provide a clear technological roadmap of the country's much-vaunted next generation battle tank by broadly listing its main features, is the precursor to the General Staff Qualitative Requirement (GSQR) document, which in turn, details its exact features. Due to the delay, drafting the GSQR document would go beyond the year 2012-13.

In September 2010, the CVRDE director had told ET that the Director-General of the Army's Mechanised Forces has communicated that the PSQR would be sent to the DRDO by December last year, once the army gets the necessary feedback from its various divisions relating to the FMBT. In order to ensure that it hits the ground running as and when it receives the green-light from the Army, the DRDO has decided to start work on the tank project based on the previous draft PSQR. "We are working on the design, based on the draft PSQR. But unless we get a clear confirmation, we will not be able to start action on the development side," Sivakumar said.

The design and development of the FMBT has been conceived under a rather tight timeline set by the Army. The DRDO has been told that it will have to finalise its design activities by 2013.

The country's military, which has projected a need for about 1,200 FMBTs, has indicated in no uncertain terms that it expects the tank to go into production by 2020. Initial development costs for the project, which is seen as crucial for the country's future battle readiness, has been estimated at Rs 1,500-crore.

The Indian Army's desperate need for stateof-the-art tanks has been well documented, with a significant portion of its 4,000-strong fleet populated by largely obsolete, nightblind Russian-made T-72 tanks, which have been in service for more than 30 years.

Its battles with the DRDO, marked by the Army's reluctance to induct the Arjun Main Battle Tank, have only recently subsided after the country's first indigenously-built tank comprehensively outperformed its current showpiece, the T-90, in war-games conducted last year. Sivakumar rubbished claims that the FMBT programme was to be shelved, and hence the delays by the Army. "It will definitely not be shelved, because there is a critical requirement," he said.

http://www.bharat-/NEWS/newsrf.php?newsid=14977

 

[Abingdonboy]

COME ON!!! IA get your $hit together!!

 

[The_Sidewinder]

No surprisr....thats why i say time and time again. Induct as many Arjuns as possible. Then IA u are free to use as many delays as possible. Or they got interested in some new russian junks?? Lol

 

[rajusri]

WTF? The wrong with IA? They are taking so long to list requirements?


DRDO started work based on previous draft PSQR




The Indian Army is still juggling concepts of precisely what it wants from its Future Main Battle Tank (FMBT), but information shared with LiveFist provides a rare broad glimpse into work very much in progress as far as qualitative requirements for the future platform go. The Army's FMBT wish-list, in no particular order follows.

The Army insists that stealth be built into the FMBT from the ground up -- including paints/materials to provide limited invisibility in IR/visible spectrum and for scrambling and avoidance of detection. The Indian Army wants the tank to have an Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) system "to obviate chances of own tanks firing at each other in battle", and a whole new reliable and secure mobile communication system capable of data transmission, audio and video conference. Protection in the form of soft-kill system requires IR detectors, laser warning, radar warning and devices to instantaneously integrate these signals and control a countermeasure suite. Such systems are threat specific so all would have to be carried on a vehicle to gain protection against more than one part of the EM threat spectrum.

The new tank necessarily needs to espouse hybrid electric vehicle technology and incorporate digital vehicle electronics (vetronics) to provide intra-vehicle and inter-vehicle communication capability that will greatly improve sit awareness and enhance operational effectiveness.

For mobility, in order to achieve ‘extraordinary’ acceleration, the Army observes that it is necessary to couple the conventional diesel engine of the proposed tank to a turbine. The ‘Hyberbar’ engine will be able to accelerate from zero to full power at 1,500 hp in 2.8 seconds, while a conventional diesel engine requires 8-12 seconds. The quest for more compact power pack has led to renewed interest in gas turbines, which needs to be explored, the Army feels.

The Army wants an active suspension system with sensors, control units, and a hydraulic power source in combination, to automatically alter the suspension characteristics to more closely match the speed of the vehicle and the terrain profile, especially in Indian terrain conditions.

The Army has always held the view that signature management was almost completely ignored in the development of the Arjun. The Army hopes that lesson has been learnt now. Current and expected future threat scenarios require signature management measures of a multi spectral type, and they require an extremely short reaction time. The Army says it requires signature management in design measures, basic camouflage, additional camouflage and temporary camouflage.

Explosive Reactive Armour Now! The Army points out that the main battlefield threats against tanks are Anti Tank Guided Missile (ATGMs), unguided anti tank rockets and grenades; shaped charge High Explosive Anti Tank (HEAT) gun rounds; Kinetic Energy (KE) gun rounds; and top-attack weapons like intelligent sub-munitions, terminally guided artillery rounds, etc. There is a need for developing Explosive Reactive Armour (ERA). Given optimised designs, integrated ERA offers tanks highly effective protection against both the penetrators of Armoured Piercing Fin Stabilised Discarding Sabot (APFSDS) projectiles and the jets of shaped charge weapons, including those with tandem warheads.

The Army says it wants a high-performance armour system on its FMBT with advanced materials incorporating the following qualities (a) Reduced penetration by most lethal weapons, (b) Elimination of parasitic mass leading to a weight reduction, (c) Excellent corrosion resistance, (d) Inherent thermal and acoustic insulation properties.

The Army has stressed that the FMBT needs Infra Red (IR) detectors, target identification systems, laser warning systems, radar warning receivers and devices to coordinate their signal and instantaneously control a countermeasures suite. These countermeasures fall into two categories: soft-kill system and hard-kill system. The soft kill sensors must discriminate true and false targets and they must discriminate between missiles or other rounds that threaten the vehicle being protected and those that will miss or are aimed at other targets.

The Army wants an Automatic Protection Systems (APS) on the FMBT. The radar should determine threat levels adequately, and the self-defence rockets should not cause high levels of collateral damage, particularly to accompanying dismounted infantry.

Of course, weapons. Conventional tube weapons are the product of a mature technology, and have now reached a high level of performance. However, on account of the gas-dynamic processes of thermally transformed powder, the muzzle velocity of projectiles is theoretically limited to approximately 2,300 m/s. Contemporary tank guns still offer a considerable growth potential, and electronic guns will be able to exceed this and become an attractive proposition. Tank-fired missiles, which carry shaped-charge warheads, were susceptible to various countermeasures, especially reactive armour. The Army says it is reasonable to expect development of high velocity KE missiles with heavy-metal, long-rod penetrators to defeat current and future tanks both within and beyond line of sight. Such extended-range missiles would enable armoured vehicles to engage targets beyond the direct fire zone. The high/medium-energy level (100 kJ) vehicle-mounted laser is expected to be a lethality option against rockets, air vehicles, light ground vehicles, antennas of armoured vehicles and electro-optical sensors. Hard-kill system to provide full-spectrum defence against top attack weapons, ATGMs, guided missiles and gun-launched KE and HEAT rounds.

Fire Control System (FCS): Ground sensors, non-line-of-sight launch system and the network capability will enhance soldiers’ understanding of their situation in dynamic battlefield conditions by promoting a common perspective of enemy and friendly locations on digital maps and provide timely actionable intelligence.

Very importantly, the Army has stressed that there is a need to manufacture modern simulators using lasers, micro-processors and magnetic tapes, thereby creating near actual combat conditions during training. Development of driving, gunnery and tactical simulators.

Livefist: EXCLUSIVE: India's Future Main Battle Tank (FMBT)

 

[angeldemon_007]

I hope IA now rethink about FMBT. It should be based on Arjun rather than an altogether different platform.

 

[MrIndianSikh]

IA did this with Arjun whenever the DRDO had a prototype or a plan in motion the army changed the requirements at the last second in order to cause delays on purpose they did the same with NAg missile even though Nag is ready the NAMICA has to undergo several modifications because the army changed the specifications again its quite a shame that of the 3 forces only the navy takes pride in using indigenous weaponry and equipment they need to throw out corrupt officers in the army and replace them with ones who actually take pride in using indigenous technology and weaponry

 

[aakash_2410]

That's the flippin problem! EVERY SINGLE PROJECT runs late! HAL Tejas - late, Arjun - late, Kaveri - late and now this!

We come up with some best designs/ideas but by the time we come up with them they seem ordinary. :/

 

[faithfulguy]

That's the flippin problem! EVERY SINGLE PROJECT runs late! HAL Tejas - late, Arjun - late, Kaveri - late and now this!

We come up with some best designs/ideas but by the time we come up with them they seem ordinary. :/

And the requirement will shift multiple times. I think India should stick with Arjun and come up with newer generations of arjun what its doing with mark II. It should think about mark III and mark IV instead of trying to create something totally new. This is how the US is making advances with tanks. So should India.

 

[Omega007]

1200 FMBTs to be inducted as per IA plan-is that mean army wants 1000+ Arjuns????

 

[Omega007]

And the requirement will shift multiple times. I think India should stick with Arjun and come up with newer generations of arjun what its doing with mark II. It should think about mark III and mark IV instead of trying to create something totally new. This is how the US is making advances with tanks. So should India.

Can't agree more.Every nation use to build theier capability in that same manner.Even DRDO had told this idea to IA.But that DGMF Vishal Bharadwaj just rejected it in the basis that Arjun was 'obsolete' and so there is no point to stick to it.
God help indian army.

 

[rajusri]

That's the flippin problem! EVERY SINGLE PROJECT runs late! HAL Tejas - late, Arjun - late, Kaveri - late and now this!

We come up with some best designs/ideas but by the time we come up with them they seem ordinary. :/

All critical defence project around the world are more or less late.

 

[DarK-LorD]

Instead of FMBT we should invest in the successor of Merkava 4.

 

[Jon Snow]

we should buy the russian plans of the t 95 and develop it from where the russians left it off..... the indian army seems to love russian tanks, give them another futuristic one

 

[Omega007]

we should buy the russian plans of the t 95 and develop it from where the russians left it off..... the indian army seems to love russian tanks, give them another futuristic one

Why buying an all new model when a superior indigenous design already exists.It will also cut short the time and cost of development.

 

[Jon Snow]

Why buying an all new model when a superior indigenous design already exists.It will also cut short the time and cost of development.

the t 95 was close to completion- a prototype was ready, work had been going on for years....if we start work on it again in 2012, the tank will be ready by 2017.... There is no way you'd have even seen a prototype of the indigenous fmbt by then.