The Jaipur-based cavalry regiment is being converted into a regular armoured regiment on the basis of a recommendation made by the Lt Gen DB Shekatkar Committee in a report on sharpening the army’s combat edge and trimming its revenue expenditure.

Three independent squadrons of which are extensions of Central India Horse, 7th Light Cavalry and 63 Cavalry, are being amalgamated under the headquarters of the 61st Cavalry to form the new tank unit.

Two horse squadrons of 61 Cavalry in Delhi will continue to be looked after by Commandant of 61 Cavalry, especially their equestrian training.

The regiment’s 300-odd horses (200 in Jaipur and around 100 with a squadron of 61st Cavalry in Delhi) will become part of a new equestrian node, he said.

61 Cavalry, steeped in tradition and sporting history, has not taken part in any operation during the past 25 years. Its main occupation was to breed and maintain horses for ceremonial purposes and equestrian sports. In the field of sports, however, the regiment accounts for one Padma Shri, 10 Arjuna Awards, 11 Asian Games medals and a raft of representations at the Polo World Cup and international equestrian competitions. It has been a part of the annual Republic Day parade for several decades.

The President’s Bodyguard, also a horse-mounted unit, has a well-defined role to perform ceremonial duties for the country’s President.

Rich History

The conversion of Indian cavalry regiments to armoured regiments began on 14 April 1938, with The Scinde Horse parading its horses for the last time. 82 years later the last horse cavalry regiment is converting to T-72 tanks.

A number of other horsed cavalry regiments which were remnants of the States Forces maintained by the erstwhile princely rulers were amalgamated to form 61 Cavalry in 1953. These were the Gwalior Lancers, Jodhpur/Kachhawa Horse, Mysore Lancers and ‘B’ Squadron, 2nd Patiala Lancers.

The Mysore Lancers and Jodhpur Lancers had fought together as part of the 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade in Egypt, Sinai and Palestine during the First World War.

On 23rd September 1918 the two regiments joined forces through a brilliant manoeuvre to capture the strategic port of Haifa after a great charge on Turkish positions in the face of withering artillery and machine-gun fire. This was a rare instance of cavalry taking a fortified town at the gallop.

The striking Teen Murti Memorial in New Delhi, incidentally, was constructed during the British Raj to commemorate the heroic role played by the Hyderabad, Jodhpur and Mysore Lancers during the legendary Battle of Haifa.

The Poona Horse was selected to remain horsed while the rest of the cavalry was mechanised. Just after the start of World War II, the Poona Horse was also mechanised. In 1942, the regiment was ordered to the middle east to join the British Eighth Army. In the closing stages of the First Battle of El Alamein, the Poona Horse was the guard force for General Claude Auchinleck, the commander of the 8th Army at the tactical headquarters. Thereafter, they were ordered back to Iraq as part of the British Tenth Army. In September 1944 the Regiment was sent to Cyprus on garrison duties and were still there in May 1945 when Germany surrendered. The Regiment returned to India in October 1945 and were issued their first tanks, the Stuart MK IV. Later it was equipped with upgunned Sherman tanks and Centurion tanks.

Criticism

Those who have been critical of the conversion say that it is a short-sighted step that will destroy a glorious historical tradition. The purists contend this will “demolish the special character and historical legacy” of the 61 Cavalry.

Many senior cavalry veterans feel that 61 Cavalry was much more than just a regiment. It was a symbol of cavalry traditions, heritage, culture, and legacy and, therefore, needed to continue as such.

Comments

The 12-lakh strong Army currently has around 1,100 Russian-origin T-90S main-battle tanks as well as 124 indigenous ‘Arjun’ and 2,400 older T-72 tanks in its over 65 armoured regiments. Each armoured regiment typically has three squadrons of 14 tanks each under it.

With additional T-90S and Arjun tanks in the pipeline, the Army wants to raise new armoured regiments.

The post 61 Cavalry to Shed Horses and Get Tanks appeared first on IMR.

The proposed GOCO model would allow the contractors to use army’s infrastructure and manpower to carry out repair and overhaul work. Under it, the contractor would be responsible for the daily operations of the workshops, sourcing of spares and meeting targets, while the ownership of the workshops would remain with the army.

The contractors will carry out overhaul of tank T-72 and T-90, repair of tank T-72 and T-90 Class B rotables including engines and base repair of major and minor assemblies of tank T­72 and T-90.

The bidder was expected to have relevant experience to carry out similar projects including projects done in the defence sector involving services, manufacturing, overhauling, repair, maintenance modifications/upgrades or supply chain in last seven years.

Only private entities were eligible to respond by 1 June. Defence public sector undertakings (DPSUs) and Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) were not eligible to participate in this project.

Overview of Project GOCO

ABWs are an important part of the industrial base of Indian Defence forces. Eight ABWs were established during the Second World War to carry out repairs and overhaul of weapons, vehicles and equipment to keep the Indian Army operationally ready. These ABWs play important role in reset and regeneration of combat capability of Army.

ABWs carry out base repairs and overhaul of weapons, vehicles and equipment to keep the Indian Army operationally ready both during peace and war. They also undertake manufacture and indigenization of spares. In a bid to enhance the combat potential of the Armed Forces, a Committee of Experts (CoE) under the Chairmanship of Lt Gen DB Shekatkar (Retd), was constituted in 2016 to identify and recommend methods to meet the objective of an agile but effective military to meet current and future threats that the country faces.

Based on the recommendations of this Committee, a decision has been taken by the defence ministry to outsource the functioning of the ABWs to private sector players towards operating the workshop in the Government Owned Corporate Operated model. 505 ABW, Delhi Cantt is to be the first ABW to be put on the GOCO Model.

Overview of the 505 ABW

505 Army Base Workshop has historically overhauled and carried out base repairs of tanks as well as engines and major/minor assemblies of tanks. It currently overhauls 70 x T-72 tanks annually and its associated engine, assemblies etc. 505 ABW is scheduled to start all these activities for tank T­90 from FY 2020-21. Spares required for the overhaul activity are currently sourced from Ordnance Factories, DPSUs, ex Trade and from OEMs (ex Import). 

Consultants Report

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which in January 2020 was selected as a consultant and attract private players for the project, has submitted a report to the army.

PwC has given several examples of countries like the US operating similar models with high-tech infrastructure and suggested that these could be replicated here as well, officials said. PwC also gave examples of assembly lines run by Indian private companies and suggested that the workshops could be revamped on similar lines. However, army officials told the consultancy firm that it would not be possible to have a similar setup like the US because of the limited budget and that there was no requirement of establishing additional infrastructure, as the existing machinery was enough to meet the requirements.

For and Against the Model

Officials who are opposed to the move have claimed that it could increase the cost and that private companies in India did not have the skills to carry out this work. The model will also deplete the army’s capabilities built over years to overhaul equipment. Private firms are pushing for bringing in their own manpower, citing requirements of a younger and technically more qualified workforce. Officials also fear private operators to poach serving officers to manage the facilities. If the GOCO model is implemented, the private contractors will replace all infrastructure. The cost of the additional infrastructure will be added to the annual production cost.

Those supporting the model, however, say privatisation was important. They army then does not have to run workshops in remote areas and that was a way of reducing administrative flab. A question being raised from within the army was whether private firms were capable of providing critical spares for equipment such as tanks. A reason why the GOCO model was being implemented was because questions had been raised about the army’s capability to repair and overhaul its equipment in time. While the army was capable of meeting targets, the delay was caused by the Heavy Vehicle Factory of the Ordnance Factory Board in Avadi, Tamil Nadu, not providing adequate spares on time.

Comments

IMR spoke extensively to Maj Gen Ravi Khetarpal who commanded a Base Workshop in Bangalore and was Chairman & Managing Director of Bharat Dynamics Ltd. These comments are based on his considered views.

ABWs were raised over the years primarily to meet the Army’s requirement of base overhaul of major weapon systems and equipment and were distributed geographically to also meet the socio-economic obligations of the Government.

They were (and are) headed by very experienced senior EME officers who have been progressively trained in leadership and management techniques in MCEME and Army schools of instruction. With over 25 years service in the field army, the urgency and necessity of ensuring reliable  weapon systems is well known to them.

The civilian workforce is motivated and highly skilled. However, no mention has been made of their management, handling or rightsizing.  Outdated labour laws have always been a drawback in their management and will remain so even in a GOCO environment, unless revised.

The primary focus of every Commandant of ABW has been to ensure laid down annual targets are met. However, the major drawback, over the past seven decades, has perpetually been the non-availability of major overhaul spares, which have not been forthcoming in a timely and streamlined manner either from the OEMs, mainly from abroad, or the OFB factories and DPSUs. This single factor has been responsible for the delays in delivering the weapon systems on time. Under GOCO, how corporations are going to streamline spares and inventory management and ensure that spares come as “complete overhaul kits”, especially from the foreign OEMs, DPSUs and the OFB, over which they have no control, will be worth noting. It would be better to only corporatize inventory management, rather than tampering with the organisational system of ABWs which has well stood the test of time.

Commandants of ABWs have had to function with limited financial powers, budgets and red-tape. Consequently, purchase of non-available spares, modernisation and upgradation of infrastructure, plant and machinery suffered, but not due to lack of enthusiasm or ideas. Catching up now by GOCOs will result in a huge financial burden which will eventually have to be reimbursed by the MoD. Incremental development of infrastructure based on detailed project reports (DPR) already planned, may smoothen the financial hit. Commandants of ABWs need to have their financial powers enhanced with freedom to buy “off the shelf” including central procurement items, to reduce red-tape and consequent delays. Base Repair Depots (BRD) of the Indian Air Force (IAF) are an example.

Corporations will follow the “Cost Plus” model of financial accounting. They will be paid the complete cost of overhaul and spares plus a 15-20% profit to ensure attractive bottom lines. Assets of ABWs, built up over the years, may also be acquired by them at a pittance. Further, there is no mention of downsizing/rightsizing of manpower and, if proposed, the unions will not permit it, as is known from previous experience. Therefore, in reality, this model will eventually be cost-accretive, instead of resulting in a savings to the State.

Indigenisation of critical spares has been a major success story of the ABWs, especially for urgent operational commitments like for snow scooters in Siachen, track links for T-72 tanks, or for miscellaneous requirements of Northern Command, where the OEMs were playing truant or quoting unacceptable prices or timeframes to supply. These will likely take a backseat with GOCOs as the numbers required are very small and may not be cost-effective to manufacture. With the “Make in India” backdrop, indigenisation should also be of prime importance, but does not find a mention in the RFI.

By replacing existing EME manpower with younger civilian manpower by GOCOs, over time, efficacy of EME all ranks to overhaul equipment will deteriorate. The impact of this will be felt in the field army, as EME personnel gain valuable experience and knowledge during their 3-4 year tenure in an ABW as part of their grooming, which they pass on to their colleagues once back in the field.

In sum, rather than GOCO-ing all ABWs, it would be better to corporatise only the spares and inventory management part. With greater financial powers and independence and a guarantee of timely overhaul spares as complete kits, ABWs are fully capable of delivering quality overhauled weapon systems on time and in meeting any additional operationally urgent requirements of the field army.

The post Private Industry to Bid For MRO of Tanks appeared first on IMR.

OFB ranked 37th among the world’s top 100 arms producers in 2017, according to SIPRI, a Stockholm-based think tank. Its products include a wide range except for the aviation sector.

The Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF) was established in 1965 for the production of Vijayanta tank. It has been manufacturing main battle tanks (MBT) for over 55 years and has an assembly line for the licensed manufacture of T-72 and T-90 tanks under transfer of technology (ToT) from Russia. It also manufactures the Arjun Mk-1 designed by the Combat Vehicles Research & Development Establishment (CVRDE) of the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO). HVF’s annual value of products issued is over Rs 2600 crore. Since 1966, HVF has manufactured over 4600 tanks.

Tank Manufacturing is a Complex Art

Manufacturing of tanks is not only a science but also an art. The tank has to perform under rugged terrain condition and, hence, the design has to be failsafe. The tank requires multi technologies for design and manufacture – hence, synergy amongst stakeholders is important.

The demand fluctuates and is driven by the availability of government funds. Sometimes the order quantities are small and economy of scale cannot be maintained. The development cycle is long. Attaining expertise is possible only through repeated orders.

Maturity and integrity of industry is essential for manufacturing of quality tanks. The tank has to be sustained and maintained with supply of spares for the next 30 years.

Duplication of unique infrastructure at original equipment manufacturers/ vendors may lead to underutilization of national resources and uneconomical production. The machines are unique and expensive – hence, investment by many vendors needs critical examination.

Tank Building Challenges

Tank building involves 75 major assemblies (codes) consisting of over 20,000 components. It involves an association of 17 Ordnance Factories, five Proof Ranges, 4 public sector undertakings, over 250 private Indian industries, five laboratories of DRDO, five Authorities Holding Sealed Particulars (AHSP) of Directorate General of Quality Assurance (DGQA) and ToT provider. 

The lead time is 30 months for an established production line. All along there is performance evaluation of major systems in the respective factories and proof ranges. There is also performance evaluation at select intermediate stages and at the final stage by respective AHSP (DGQA).

At the time of delivery to the user, a joint receipt inspection by a nominated Army unit is carried out to check for rugged quality and reliability in war

The HVF has to vary out in-service upgrades and improvisations for Indian terrain conditions, ensure supply of spares for life time and after sales service in the field. This is possible only with continuous institutionalized interaction with users in the field and depots.

Manufacture of Hull and Turret

Manufacture of hull and turret requires highly skilled armour welders, heavy fabrications, material handling, large sized heavy duty critical machines, huge fixtures and manipulators.

Some critical components are required like turret castings, NBC pads, Textolites, etc. Some of these components require high precision of 25 micron and positional tolerance of 25 to 50 micron.

Machining conditions are touch due to rapid heat ablation (RHA), heat affected zones and handling of hazardous materials like sealant for fitment of NBC pads. Interestingly Kanchan armour is required to be filled with foam to keep it intact for MBT Arjun turrets.

Manufacture of Gear Box

The tank gear box is an integrated system of gear shifting, clutching, steering and braking mechanism. Five planetary gear trains are arranged in a line and integrated one to another. Special gears of higher bearing load capacity are required with high accuracy.

The system is integrated with hydraulics and Planetary system after multiple heat treatment operations. Non-standard bearings, ceramic clutch plates and special rubber items are used with longer storage and shelf life.

Springs material as per Russian (GOST) specification is not available in the Indian market.

Hard chromium plating with porous chromium surface is used as bearing surface. This porous chromium operation is a patented operation developed by Russians, specially for this high thrust load application.

In sum, high precision machines and highly skilled manpower is required for manufacturing the components and assembly of gear box.

Manufacture of Suspension System

Major components of the suspension system are manufactured in-house. With major assemblies being manufactured by other ordnance factories. Some of the major assemblies are procured from trade. Some of the major assemblies are yet to be indigenized and are being imported.

Integration of Multiple Technologies

Integration of the main and secondary armaments poses certain challenges. All of these armaments have their own characteristics. A tank is equipped with Main Gun (125mm) firing different types of ammunition (HE, HEAT, APFSDS), 7.62 mm machine gun and 12.7mm machine gun.

Amongst the numerous systems and assemblies that need to be integrated are mechanical and hydraulics components, the power pack, transmission system, suspension, drive mechanisms, electronics and electrical systems, fire control system, automatic gun laying system, stabilizer, all control units, engine start mechanisms, opto-electronics and sighting devices, pneumatic systems, NBC system and fire fighting systems.

Challenges of Supply Chain

There are more than 20,000 components being supplied by 400+ vendors. That itself poses logistics challenges of supply time lines and quality control to synchronize with assembly targets. Some items have low and unattractive quantities plus cyclic business constraints. Quality control has to be exercised with multiple vendors. Each new vendor affects reliability of tank performance. Sometimes the exact Indian equivalent of material required is not available. There are financial constraints due to high quality and long gestation period for MSME vendors. Gaps in orders creates difficulties of keeping vendor interest alive. Development of new vendor involves very long duration and very expensive performance and field trials

Most of electronic and electrical systems are built using Russian power relays and logic relays – these are difficult to procure of current vintage. Change over to digital solid state electronics using black box concept will need initiatives by industry. There are also challenge to commit for R&D and investment for limited numbers.

The Future Tank

The proposed futuristic tank can reach the goal post of success only if the development project is led by the user and supported by the DRDO and OFB with partnership of private industry. The work centres with defined responsibility of each stakeholder can be identified. A policy of long term orders and continual upgrades in phased manner will encourage gradual technological advancements in country.

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Five Axis Plano Miller at Heavy Vehicle Factory Avadi.

Side Gear Box With Final Drive and Pump

Engine (left) of the T90 Bhisma tank is manufactured by Engine Factory Avadi and the Intermediate Gearbox (right) is manufactured by another ordnance factory

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Some of the Major Assemblies Manufactured In-house

Turret Traverse Mechanism

Turret  Race Ring Assembly

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Some of the Components Not Yet Indigenised and Imported

Automatic Unit P13

Gyro Compass GPK-59

PKUZ-1A

Pre Heater

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T90 Bhisma Tank Sights

Commander Sight

1A43 FCS  For Gunner

TI-ESSA Thermal Sight

PZU-7 Anti-Aircraft Sight

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Infrastructure at Heavy Vehicle Factory, Avadi

•             4 guide way lathe for barrel turning

•             Barrel straightening

•             Recoil manufacturing SPMs (taper grooves)

•             CNC plasma cutting and Laser cutting

•             Armour steel casting and welding

•             Torsion bar making

•             Heavy duty gear shaping

•             5 axis plano miller (10m X 5m) for machining 15 MT hull

•             Robotic welding

•             Vacuum coating for anti-reflection and band specific

•             Mil grade electronic assembly and manufacturing

•             Anti-static and clean room of class 100 (max 100 particles of 0.5 micron in 1 cub mtr)

•             Tank testing track (2 km length)

•             Proof ranges

•             Special Manufacturing Technologies

•             Cold swaging of barrel

•             Helical bevel gear manufacturing

•             Optical polishing up to accuracy of wave length/20

•             Metallic and dielectric multi-layer coating (up to 99 layers)

•             Laser rod manufacturing (for LRF)

•             Protective glass manufacturing up to parallelism of 20 s

•             Manufacture of ESR steel

•             Heat treatment of barrels (10 metres long)

•             Fracture toughness test equipment

•             Radial forging of barrels

•             Autofrettaging of barrels

•             Rifling of barrels

•             Deep hole drilling up to 10 metres

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Some of the Items Sourced From Trade

Driver Instrument Panel

Distribution Box

Aviation Compressor

Tadiran radio set

Roadwheel assembly

Rack radiator assembly

Track Assembly

Periscopes

GPS

1KW Genset

Haydraulic booster

The post Combat Vehicles : Challenges in the Production of Battle Tanks appeared first on IMR.