The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) of the defence ministry accorded the approval for Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for 24 Capital Acquisition Proposals.

Ministry of Defence said in a series of tweets, “These proposals include six for Indian Army, six for IAF, 10 for Indian Navy and two proposals for Indian Coast Guard for a total value of Rs 84,328 crores. It is pertinent to mention that 21 proposals, worth Rs 82,127 crores (97.4%), are approved for procurement from indigenous sources.”

The defence ministry said this unprecedented initiative of the DAC will not only modernize the Indian Armed Forces but also provide a substantial boost to the Indian Defence Industry towards the goal of Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

“AoNs accorded will equip the Indian Army with platforms and equipment such as Futuristic Infantry Combat Vehicles, Light Tanks and Mounted Gun System providing a quantum jump to Indian Army’s operational preparedness. Proposals approved also include procurement of Ballistic Helmets, with enhanced protection level, for our soldiers,” said the ministry.

The ministry said that the approvals accorded for the procurement of Naval Anti-Ship Missiles, Multi-Purpose Vessels and High Endurance Autonomous Vehicles will further enhance maritime strength giving a boost to the Indian Navy’s capabilities.

“The Indian Air Force will be further strengthened with enhanced lethal capabilities by induction of a new range of missile system, Long Range Guided Bombs, Range Augmentation Kit for conventional bombs and advanced surveillance systems. The procurement of Next Generation Offshore Patrol Vessels for the Indian Coast Guard will enhance surveillance capability in the coastal areas to new heights,” said the ministry.

The induction and procurement of these weapons will give India an edge against China and Pakistan in the rough terrain.

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Under the Make-1 category, the industry will undertake the project and be funded by the government in a stark departure from the direct purchase route.

The need for a light tank was realized at the height of the standoff with the Chinese PLA in Ladakh that began in May 2020, where India had to move the heavier T-72 Ajeya tanks (45 tons) and the T-90 (46 tons).

Although effective against all Chinese tanks and crewed by experienced and well-trained Indian Cavalry, they still caused movement and logistical issues in the high-altitude air and inhospitable terrain at 17,500 feet. The treacherous mountain passes made transport a bane, adding to the logistical strain of maintaining 50,000 troops.

Things got worse in the winter of 2020 when the Indian Army had to sustain the high posture through the cold for the first time in 4 decades. Troops from both armies leave forward positions since the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is much calmer than the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan.

Moreover, China’s logistical advantage owing to the extensive border infrastructure coming deep from within Tibet and Sichuan, allows it to replenish losses and keep units supported with spares. These operational difficulties associated with using heavy tanks in mountain warfare have pushed India’s light tank program.

In the last two years, Beijing has positioned the most recent ZTL-11 wheeled armored personnel carriers, CSK series assault vehicles, and ZTQ 15 (Type 15) third-generation modern light tanks weighs roughly 33-36 tons along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh.

DRDO-L&T Partnership

DRDO & Larsen and Toubro (L&T) are working together fore the development of the light tank. The tank that is currently under fabrication, is based on the chassis of DRDO’s Next Generation Main Battle Tank (NGMBT) and the successful rollout of the first prototype could happen in 2023.

This will also strengthen the DRDO’s proposal  to develop the Next Generation Main Battle Tank (NGMBT) to meet the Indian Army’s requirement for 1,770 Next Generation Main Battle Tank (NGMBT) under Future Ready Combat Vehicles (FRCV) program.

Project Zorawar

Talks have already started that the NGMBT will be manufactured through a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) under a public-private partnership (PPP) model which has been adopted for the development of the 5.5 generation AMCA and Indian Multi-Role Helicopter (IMRH).

L&T has revealed that it is a development partner in the ‘Zorawar Project’ aimed at building light tanks for the Indian Army, with the first prototype expected to be unveiled in late 2023.

While the company is involved in the platform’s development, L&T is not assured a role in the tank’s production phase. Under the Indian process, development and manufacturing contracts could not be combined.

The project is overseen by the Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment(CVRDE) of the DRDO.

The Indian Army is looking for a light tank with a 25-ton weight limit and the same firepower as its traditional tanks. In addition, the military wants them to be equipped with loitering weapons, artificial intelligence (AI), tactical drone integration for surveillance to offer situational awareness, and an active defense system.

Quest to Acquire Light Tank

The development of light tanks for the Indian Army was announced by the Modi government on March 3, 2022. This move was made under the Make-I category of the 2020 Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP).

The Indian Army sensed a compelling need to put light tanks into service to counter China and establish operational superiority in high-altitude areas like Ladakh. After the border conflict with China in the summer of 2020, India initially considered purchasing the Russian light tank Sprut SDM1.

A Request for Information (RFI) for 350 light tanks in the 25-ton weight category was released by the Directorate General of Mechanized Forces in April 2021 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence (MoD). However, the country has now decided to develop its own light tank rather than import them.

The production and upkeep of India’s imported fleet of tanks had been impeded by the interruption in the world supply chain for defense-related components brought on by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. India must therefore create a light tank for the Indian Army domestically.

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In a major push towards ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in defence sector, the defence ministry accorded in-principle approval to fund four projects by Indian industry. It includes design and development of light tank for the Indian Army and airborne stand-off jammer for the Indian Air Force. The industry will be provided financial support for prototype development of these projects.

Defence ministry has offered these four projects (one for army and three for IAF) to the Indian Industry for design and development under Make-I category of Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020.

This is for the first time since the launch of industry-friendly DAP-2020 that Indian industry has been involved in development of big ticket platforms such as Light tank and Communication Equipment with Indian security protocols.

Three  projects for Indian Air were accorded ‘Approval In-Principle (AIP)’ by Collegiate Committee of MoD including communication equipment with Indian security protocols (routers, switches, encryptors, VoIP phones and their software) and Airborne Electro Optical pod with Ground Based System.

“The indigenous development of these projects in the country will help harness the design capabilities of Indian defence industry and position India as a design leader in these technologies,” said defence ministry.

In the defence budget, 70 per cent funds have been kept for domestic procurement in 2022-23. Underlying the importance of Make-in-India in defence sector, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had told Indian industry that surprise element during war can only be attained if customized and unique weapons are developed in one’s own country.

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China tested its light tank, Xinqingtan, which is equipped with a 105mm main gun and a 1,000-horse-power engine. The Xinqingtan was tested in July 2017 in the Tibet region bordering India.

India also built up forces along the border, airlifting main battle tanks (MBTs) and armoured personnel carrier to Ladakh using C-17s of the Indian Air Force (IAF).

While the Army has tested MBTs in high-altitude areas in Ladakh and Sikkim, and has evolved mechanisms over the years to use them in such conditions, experts believe light tanks, given their superior mobility and manoeuvrability due to lower weight, are better suited for the conditions in Ladakh.

Chinese Light Tank

The Chinese new ZTQ 105 light tank, also named Type 15 or ZTQ-15 in the Chinese army, is a lightweight battle tank designed and manufactured by NORINCO (China North Industries Corporation). The VT5 was unveiled to the public during the Zhuhai AirShow China in November 2016. According to NORINCO engineers, the VT5 was developed for the export market. The VT5 has a weight from 33 to 36 tons depending on the armor fitted to the tank. With this weight, the tank offers more mobility than a standard main battle tank offering the same level of firepower. The power-to-weight ratio is between 27 and 30 hp/ton depending on the armor package. This tank can be used in mountain areas and operate in terrains that are inaccessible to standard main battle tanks weighing around 50 tons.

ALSO READ China refuses to pull back at Pangong Tso; India deploys tanks near LAC

Options Open

India has very few options to choose from, and it is not clear which tanks the Indian Army is looking at for emergency procurement.

Russia’s air-transportable Sprut SDM1 light tank, which has commonalities with the T72 and T90s Russian-origin tanks in Indian service, is one option.

For procuring the light tanks off-the-self from a foreign vendor, India’s options would be limited, as only a few nations today produce a light tank. The United States has recently embarked on a Mobile Protected Firepower Program through BAE Systems for a light tank, which is now at a prototype stage. Russia has an air-liftable Sprut SDM1 light tank offered to international customers by Rosoboronexport that has commonalities with the T-72 and T-90 that are a major part of India’s armoured forces inventory.

Air-lifting of Tanks

In the 1990s, the IAF had airlifted 30 T-72 tanks from Agra to Leh for deployment in eastern Ladakh. This region has seen multiple Chinese transgression over the last two decades.

In the 1990s, however, local army commanders thought the tanks were of little use. They were dismantled and flown back to the mainland using Il-76 aircraft of the IAF’s 25 Squadron.

ALSO READ IAF Airlifts Dozens of Tanks To Ladakh

This was reversed in 2014, when the IAF’s C-17 aircraft, capable of carrying 40-70 tonne up to a distance of 4,200 to 9,000 km in a single hop, took off from the Chandigarh Air Base with dismantled tanks.

The move was part of a plan to beef up the presence of mechanised forces in high altitude areas, both in the eastern and western sectors of the LAC.

Maintaining tanks at 12,000 feet is not easy. The army faces a number of challenges, including rarefied air and below freezing point temperatures. Among other things, it uses special fuel and lubricants, and the engines are revved up every night, sometimes twice, to keep them in a working condition.

Operations in High Altitude Areas

India had actually used tanks against China in the region. During the 1962 war with China, the IAF had airlifted tanks to Chushul in south-eastern Ladakh right under the nose of the enemy. Antonov An-12 transport aircraft of IAF’s 44 Squadron, inducted just months ago in 1961, had moved six AMX-13 tanks of the 20 Lancers to Chushul.

In the event of a war, tanks will be used to defend the flat top approaches, from Tibet towards Leh, such as those near Chushul and Demchok. The flat terrain in this region, strategists say, allows the use of mechanised forces.

Over the years, China has built a network of motorable roads in the region, which in turn is linked to the G219 Highway (connecting Lhatse and Xinjiang) passing through occupied Aksai Chin, making it easier for the People’s Liberation Army to patrol the region and pour in troops from the mainland. Tanks can intercept the highway in Aksai Chin in case of hostilities.

Historical Use

Indian, British and U.S. troops used light tanks in their fight against the Japanese in Northeastern India and Burma during World War 2, the light tank being the U.S.-made M3/M3A1 Stuart delivered in the framework of the extraordinary Lend-Lease Act signed in 1941. They also used M3 Grant medium tanks and, later, M4 Sherman medium tanks, also supplied by the U.S. In 1948 these same Shermans pushed back Pakistan forces in the Zojila pass. Against China in 1962, the army used French-made AMX-13 light tanks in the battle of Gurung Hill near Pangong Tso and also deployed them in Bomdila and Dirang in Arunachal Pradesh. In the 1971 Bangladesh campaign, French AMX-13 and Soviet PT-76 amphibious tanks played a stellar role in the battle of Garibpur.

In 2009, the army’s interest in light tanks was renewed with the sanction of two armoured brigades for high altitude operations alongside the mountain strike corps. The army issued a request for information (RFI) in 2009, but eventually T-72 tanks were deemed adequate and the RFI was abandoned.

DRDO’s Efforts

In the 1980s, the DRDO integrated the chassis of the Soviet BMP-1 infantry combat vehicle with a 105mm gun, but the army was not interested. Next, the DRDO mounted a French GIAT TS-90 turret and a 105mm gun on the BMP chassis, which the Ordnance Factory Board was building in Odisha. Again the army was indifferent and the project was shelved.

DRDO has encouraged the MoD to grant it the light-tank development project. To eliminate the costly and time-consuming import of light tanks, the Defence R&D Organisation (DRDO) has developed plans for building an indigenous light tank for use in mountains and in jungle terrain.

DRDO has short-listed two options for developing an indigenous light tank within 18 months.

The first option involves creating a 34-35 tonne tank by fitting a 105mm Cockerill gun turret onto a K-9 Vajra hull, powered by a 1,000 horsepower MTU engine optimised for high altitudes. DRDO sources say this hybrid tank could go into production within 18 months.

The DRDO’s second option retains the K-9 Vajra hull and MTU engine, but matched with the gun turret of the T-90S tank that the army already uses. This 38-tonne tank would also require 18 months for going into production.

Larsen & Toubro is assembling the K-9 Vajra under licence from South Korea and will deliver its current order by next year. If the K-9 Vajra chassis is to form the basis for an Indian light tank, it would have to extend that licence.

The DRDO is confident that either of these hybrid tanks would be better options than what the MoD is considering buying: the Russian Sprut SDM1.

Comments

Light tanks enjoy enhanced strategic, operational and tactical mobility for rapid deployment in inaccessible areas and where medium tanks movement is impeded. The requirement of rapidly deployable, protected and mobile fire power, which can result in precision engagement in the mountains in view of terrain and technology advantage enjoyed by China, has always remained high in the desirability matrix.

The light tanks can be nimble and manoeuvre quite easily in the Ladakh plains, though it is located at 18,000 feet above sea level, and the acquisition and deployment of these fighting machines will bolster India’s defences against the irresponsible Chinese.

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