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These tanks will be used to counter Chinese deployment of a large number of similar armoured columns along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Sources in the defence and security establishment told ThePrint that the Army has finalised the general staff quality requirements and will approach the defence ministry in September for the Acceptance of Necessity (AON) — the first step that will set the project rolling.

The Army is looking at a light tank with a maximum weight of 25 tons — with a margin of 10 per cent— with the same firepower as its regular tanks, but also armed with Artificial Intelligence (AI), integration of tactical surveillance drones to provide a high degree of situational awareness and loitering munition, along with an active protection system.

An active protection system is designed to protect vehicles from anti-tank guided missiles and projectiles away from combat vehicles.  

The Army also wants the light tank to be amphibious, so it can be deployed across riverine regions and even the Pangong Tso lake in Eastern Ladakh.

The project has been named ‘Zorawar’ after Zorawar Singh Kahluria — a military general who served under Jammu’s Raja Gulab Singh —known as the ‘conquerer of Ladakh’.  

“We will approach the defence ministry for AON as early as next month. This would be an indigenous project which will be designed and manufactured in India. We hope to have the production of a prototype and beginning of trials in three years from the sanction of the project,” a source said. 

Sources further said that the proposed conversion of the Vajra-tracked self-propelled artillery into a light tank has been shelved because it won’t be able to meet the weight criteria that the Army is looking for. 

They added that the 25-ton weight is the maximum that can allow for the tanks to be airlifted in high-altitude zones.

China’s light tank deployment gave them an advantage

Sources said that the Ladakh stand-off with China has shown that armoured columns are one of the most prominent factors in defining the operational capability of the land forces. 

Army sources admitted that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had inducted a large number of technologically modern, “state of art” tanks, which were being employed operationally as a mix of medium and light tanks with high power-to-weight ratios. 

The increased threat on the northern borders is likely to remain a threat in the foreseeable future, sources further said, adding that while the Army had also deployed its T-90 and T-72 tanks — surprising the Chinese — lighter tanks would mean faster deployment and increased mobility in mountainous terrain.

The Army currently operates three different types of tanks with the latest being the Arjun Mk 1A, which weighs a massive 68.5 tons. The T-90 weighs about 46 tons and the T-72 about 45 tons.

“Tanks were primarily designed for operations in plains and desert terrain and have their own limitations when employed in High-Altitude Areas (HAAs). They face a similar handicap when employed in the marginal terrain of the Rann of Kutch,” another source told ThePrint.

“It is, therefore, an operational necessity to procure light tanks to overcome the limitations faced by medium battle tanks and equip the Indian Army for all contingencies in HAA, marginal terrain and island territories, besides its utilisation in the plains, semi-deserts, and deserts,” the source added.

Sources explained that the setbackthat the world supply chain has experienced in defence-related component supplies because of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has impacted both manufacturing and sustenance of the foreign fleet of tanks that India is currently holding. 

It’s therefore essential to design and develop the light tank indigenously for the Indian Army, they added.

The sources made it clear that India will not be going in for the Russian Sprut light tanks, but added that they are looking for something with similar capabilities. 

The Modi government had in March this year given in-principle approval for the indigenous design and development of light tanks for mountain warfare. 

This move sealed the prospect of possible induction of the Sprut tanks that the Russians had offered to India during Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s Russia visit in 2020. 

Past history of Indian light tank deployment 

The Army has in the past successfully employed light tanks as force multipliers in multiple battle engagements in the past. 

This includes the deployment of Stuart tanks of the 254 Indian Tank Brigade in the Battle of Kohima in World War II, at Naushera, Jhangar, Rajauri, and most successfully, at Zojila in the Indo-Pak War 1947-48.

The AMX-13 tanks were deployed at Chushul and Bomdila in 1962 and in Chammb in 1965.

The amphibious PT-76 light tanks were deployed successfully in 1971, with the tanks leading the race to Dacca. 

The AMX-13 and PT-76 tanks were phased out in the 1980s after the focus of the Army shifted primarily to the western borders, resulting in the conversion of PT-76 units to the T-72 profile. 

The requirement of a light tank capability, which had proved in the past to be a battle-winning factor for the Indian Army in mountainous and riverine terrain, had been voiced on numerous occasions since 1982, sources said.

“Current threat scenario and the contours of the likely future wars have thrown up new challenges for which the Indian Army has to be prepared. The equipment profile of tanks in the Indian Army must have the versatility and flexibility of medium and light platforms,” a third source said.

Sources said that a lightweight agile platform with a high power-to-weight ratio with substantial firepower, protection, surveillance, and communication capabilities is essential to provide the Army the versatility to execute operations in varying terrain against diverse threats and equipment profiles of adversaries. 

“Armoured Fighting Vehicle-Indian Light Tank (AFV-ILT) offering capability for multiple employment options along with niche technologies is, therefore, an operational imperative,” one of the sources cited above said.  

(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)

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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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