Mk 1A Fleet to Add Up To 242 by 2024
The defence ministry placed the order, on 23 September, for the 118 Arjun Mk-1A main battle tanks (MBT), for the Indian Army at a cost of Rs 7,523 crore. Mk-1A is a new variant of Arjun tank, infused with 72 new features, with the Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF), Avadi, Chennai.
The new variant is designed to enhance fire power, mobility and survivability, infused with 72 new features and more indigenous content from the Mk-1 variant. The ministry said the tanks would ensure effortless mobility in all terrains, besides precise target engagement during day and night.
It has been designed and developed by the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) by incorporating numerous upgrades on Arjun MBT, the in-service main battle tank with the Indian Army.
It said the production order to Heavy Vehicles Factory will open up a large avenue in defence manufacturing for over 200 Indian vendors including MSMEs, with employment opportunities to around 8,000 people.
It said the MBT Arjun Mk-1A has been designed and developed by Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE), along with other laboratories of DRDO within two years (2010-12).
“Extensive trial evaluation was conducted in various phases covering 7000 plus kms (both in DRDO and user trials) of automotive and substantial firing of various ammunition during 2012-2015,” it said.
The army already operates 124 Arjun Mark 1 MBTs. It has stoutly resisted ordering more, arguing that the 62.5-tonne tank was too heavy to be transported over bridges and culverts near the border.
Eventually, in a tank-versus-tank face-off in the Rajasthan desert in March 2010, one squadron (14 tanks) of Arjuns was pitted against an equal number of Russian T-90 tanks, which the army wants to buy more of. Top army generals who witnessed the trial admitted the Arjun performed superbly. Whether driving cross-country over rugged sand dunes; or accurately hitting targets with its powerful main gun; the Arjun matched and outdid the T-90.
Yet, the army refused to order more Arjuns, beyond the 124 already in service. At a meeting of the MoD-led Arjun Steering Committee in 2010, the army demanded 72 capability enhancements to improve the Arjun Mark 1into what would be called the Arjun Mark 2.
Incredibly, given the army’s complaint that the Arjun Mark 1 was too heavy, these 72 enhancements would make it 6 tonnes heavier.
These included the fitment of mine ploughs (1.6 tonnes extra), explosive reactive armour (1.5 tonnes extra), suspension improvements (one tonne extra) and two more tonnes in other areas. The 62.5 tonne Arjun Mark 1 was to be translated into a 68.5 tonne Mark 2.
In June 2012, the DRDO offered the Arjun for trials with all the enhancements, except one: a cannon-launched guided missile (CLGM) that the army wanted to fire through the Arjun’s main gun. The Israeli Lahat CLGM that equipped the Arjun could strike targets two-to-five km away. However, the army insisted that the CLGM must strike targets as close as 1.2 km, even though the Arjun’s powerful main gun was adequate to destroy such targets.
By 2015, a series of trials had validated the improvements the army demanded. However, the army dilly-dallied for three years, until March 2018, when it was agreed that the next batch of Arjuns, which would be supplied without missile firing capability. They would be designated Arjun Mark 1A.
After several months of delay, Arjun Mark 1A trials were held in December 2018 and the tank found fit in all respects. The army’s trial team recommended the Arjun Mark 1A be inducted into service. Yet, it has taken almost three more years for an order to be placed.
From the time the indent is placed, it would still take HVF 36 months to start delivering the first Arjun tanks. Since the DRDO is confident it would develop and prove the CLGM by then, the 118 Arjun Mark 1A tanks ordered today will actually be delivered as Arjun Mark 2, with full CLGM capability.
