NEW DELHI, Sept 23: The defence ministry on Thursday placed an order for 118 locally-made Arjun Mk-1A tanks worth ₹7,523 crore with Heavy Vehicles Factory at Avadi in Tamil Nadu to further sharpen the army’s combat edge.
A fortnight ago, the government had cleared projects worth ₹33,000 crore to equip the Indian Air Force with new medium transport aircraft and airborne early warning systems in a push to the government’s Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan (self-reliant India campaign).
The order came seven months after the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) – India’s apex procurement body – accorded its acceptance of necessity (AoN) for the tanks. The Arjun Mk-1A is an upgraded version of the Arjun Mk-1 main battle tank (MBT) currently in army service.
The new tank will come with 72 upgrades over the existing variant including 14 major improvements, official sources said. The upgrades significantly enhance the tank’s lethality, mobility and survivability. “The Mk-1A is equipped with accurate and superior firepower, all-terrain mobility and invincible multi-layered protection provided by an array of advanced technology systems. It can take on the enemy during day and night. By virtue of these capabilities, this indigenous MBT will be on a par with any contemporary in its class across the globe,” the defence ministry said in a statement. The execution of the order is expected to involve 200 Indian vendors and generate 8,000 jobs.
Five Mk-1A t tanks will be delivered within 30 months, followed by 30 tanks every year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi handed over a prototype of the Arjun Mk-1A tank to army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane in Chennai on February 14. The army’s existing tank fleet consists of T-90, T-72 and the Arjun Mk-1 tanks.
The improvements on the new tank include better firepower, auto target tracker, remote-controlled weapon system, explosive reactive armour, advanced laser warning and countermeasure systems, containerised ammunition bin, advanced land navigation systems and improved night vision capabilities, the sources said. The tank has been configured and designed for Indian conditions and is suitable for deployment to protect the frontiers, defence ministry officials said.
(Manas Dasgupta)
