Not true. TOT means technology like the exact procedure to alloy the metals, the exact machinery to create engines, exact chemical composition and method to produce them for ERA etc. In this case, however, India got only design while technology like engine, fire control was developed by DRDO.
Here is the proof that engine for T90 & T72 was developed by India:
We can produce our own products: Defence Minister
www.thehindu.com
Earlier, India used imported engine whereas from 2018, India has developed its own engine and hence is self sufficient. Similarly, India used French thermals earlier but is developing its own thermals now, using the technology it developed for NAG ATGM & MPATGM.
No, Both Al Khalid & T90 are similar. There is no edge. However, Pakistani Al Khalid has edge over T72.
Indian tanks have 2nd gen ERA because it is indigenous. Russia refused to give TOT for its ERA and hence India used the ERA which it developed in DRDO. Pakistan uses imported ERA and hence though it is better, it can't be mass manufactured and has to be imported everytime.
India has purchased MANGO rounds but also has developed indigenous APFSDS which can penetrate 700mm armour and displayed in several weapon exhibitions. It is inferior to the 800mm penetrators of Russia but it is much cheaper to make and better than MANGO round.
Indian T90 is focusing on full indigenisation with sufficient modernisation instead of going for imported modern solutions. Also, tanks are low priority for India as any modern ammunition can easily bust tanks. Tanks are only a 2nd line of offense after air and naval offence. Tanks only are for leading ground invasion which means it does not need cutting edge upgrades. So, India does not spend on 3rd gen ERA or other fancy items. Nevertheless, Indian tanks stand at the same level as AlKhalids for all practical purposes. T72, however, is not as good but it is not the frontline tank and hence does not matter
Again, false, Indian T72 upgrades uses FCS and subsystems from Polish PT-91M Tank (Polish SKO-1T DRAWA-T fire control system/thermal imager supplied by the Polish PCO/Cenzi) . They are NOT indigenous, it’s a polish design, modified for use and production in India.
The FCS in Indian T90 is ESSA. Which is NOT an Indian FCS. It is French-Russian in origin, only license produced in India. The thermals in it are last Gen French thermals. Not indigenous, Pakistan is already producing 3rd Gen French thermals locally, the Thermals in the ESSA system are Second Gen Catherine FC.
The FCS in Arjun is not indigenous either, it’s from French SAGEM company. India has yet to use its indigenous FCS in any tank, they say it will be present in Arjun MK-1A. Pakistan has been using its indigenous FCS on AK-1 since 2014.
The ERA on Indian T90 is NOT indigenous, it’s Russian Kontakt-5 ERA made under license in India. None of the stuff you mentioned india has “made” is operational on any of its tanks except some parts ofArjun. Pakistan had Kontatk-5 since the 90s on its UDs. DRDOs “indigenous” ERA is only used on Arjun and modernized T72 and is still based on the explosive tiles of Kontakt 5, hence it is still a second Gen ERA. Also Pakistan does make its own indigenous ERA. AORAK is Pakistani ERA, which we have been making since late 2000s, AORAK 1 was second Gen and the current AORAK-2 used on Al-Zarrar, Al Khalid/Al-Khalid-1 and Type 85 tanks is third Gen ERA. It is mass produced in Pakistan. It’s better than both K-5 and DRDO ERA as they are second Gen. cost isn’t an issue for Pakistan then How is it an issue for India?
The engine in Indian T90,T72 and Arjun are NOT indigenous. Indian T90S still uses the same Russian engines It came with (India cannot change those without Russian permission). The engine in Indian modernized T72 is from Poland. And the engine in Arjun is from MTU, it’s German, the engine india has developed itself is not present on any Indian tank currently in service.
Indian locally made APFSDS on Arjun can only penetrate 300MM/0 Deg. Which was standard for ammunition in the 70s, the “700mm” round has not even been fully developed yet and will not be usable on all the older T72 due to their FCS not permitting it, which is half of the Indian fleet, and it is unlikely it will be used on T90 as well, which is why India is buying mango. Arjun is in such little numbers that if that round ever reaches service (unlikely because arjuns gun is obsolete rifled gun), it won’t make a difference. Indias standard round will stay Mango for the foreseeable future, which is bad, since it cannot penetrate Al-Khalid even without ERA, while Al-Khalid can easily penetrate T90S.
Also Al-Khalid-1 has many advantages over T90, it has better thermals, better armor, better engine, better FCS,
much better ammunition, better technology and so on. The baseline Al-Khalid is closer to the Indian T90, but is still superior in Armor, ammunition and mobility (as it uses the same stuff from AK-1). Indian T90S are far inferior to AK in those regards, let alone VT-4, and on top of that AK is indigenous and not a foreign tank.
You keep saying “India is developing this and that” but none of it has come yet, even on the Arjun. That’s called mismanagement of industry, tanks are never second line, that’s just an excuse you would use to make up for the faults.
In the India-Pakistan environment tanks are as useful as ever, to say “any modern ammunition can bust a tank” is to say “our tanks aren’t properly Defended because we won’t upgrade their armor or give them better APS systems”. It’s not that india doesn’t care about its tanks because they’re not useful, it does that because there’s incompetency in the military. What good did your Air Force and navy do to you against China and Pakistan in the recent conflicts? It was all army and it was all tanks in use, and Pakistani/Chinese tanks are much superior to Indias. You brush off “fancy 3rd Gen ERA and new ammunition” as if it makes little difference, but in an actual conflict an Indian T90 could be knocked out by an Al-Zarrar because the Al-Zarrar has the same Gen of thermals, better Gen of ERA and much better ammunition.
m.timesofindia.com
