As it became known, the command of the ground forces of the Indian army by the end of this year plans to place an order for 248 modernized tanks - Arjun Mark II. A decision on this issue has already been made at the state defense ministry. The new contract, which many call revolutionary, will allow the Defense Research and Development Organization of India not only to continue work on the development of the Arjun family, but also to begin testing new technologies for use in the "tank of the future". Work on the design of the latter is delayed only through the fault of the state's ground forces.
It came as a surprise to many that the Indian ground forces changed their attitude towards the domestic Arjun main battle tank. According to the latest information, the military ordered 248 modernized versions of the combat vehicle from the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) of India. At the same time, the high command of the ground forces said that if all field tests of the Arjun Mark II, which began this summer, are recognized as successful, the military will increase their order for tanks. The Indian Ministry of Defense has already given its consent to the purchase of new Arjun Mark IIs and has given the necessary order to the State's Defense Industry Council (OFB) to begin the necessary preparations for signing an official contract.
It is expected that an agreement for the supply of modernized tanks will be signed this year. Other parameters of the promising contract are still unknown. According to unofficial data, the total cost of purchasing the tanks will be $ 1.05 billion, while the cost of one tank is about $ 4 million. These figures have not been officially confirmed by the Indian Army, the Ministry of Defense, or the DRDO. Currently, the cost of one Arjun Mk. I tank, the previous version, is 3.5 million dollars.
The decision taken by the command of the ground forces to conclude a contract for the supply of tanks of the Arjun family was unexpected, given the fact that the military did not really like this Indian constructive development before. The creation of the Arjun Mk. I tank was started back in 1974, however, the tank was fully ready only in the early 90s of the last century, but its adoption into service was often postponed. The fact is that in the process of virtually the entire round of tests, the military found more and more flaws in the car - starting with malfunctions in the box and ending with a bad image issued by thermal imagers.
Initially, the Indian army planned to replace all outdated T-55s with new Arjuns (at the current time, the state has 550 such tanks) and T-72s (1,925 units in service), but at the beginning of the 2000s, after another failed field tests, the order size was reduced up to 2 thousand units. A couple of years later, the ground forces signed an agreement with DRDO for the supply of only 124 Arjun tanks. It was decided to make the rod stop on the T-90 made in Russia, the number of which is planned to be increased to 1657 units.
An Indian tank, weighing 58.5 tons, develops speeds of up to 72 km / h on the highway and up to 40 km / h on rough terrain. The Arjun tank is equipped with a laser guidance complex and night vision devices. The main armament of the Arjun is represented by a 120 mm rifled cannon. In addition, the tank is armed with 12, 7 and 7, 62 mm machine guns and anti-tank missiles.
The fate of the Arjun program was sealed in March 2010 when the Indian Ministry of Defense conducted comparative tests between the T-90 and the Arjun Mk. I. Official information about the test results was not published for a long time, and various Indian media were full of joyful reports that the Indian Arjun overshadowed the Russian T-90 in all respects.
Apparently, these tests really served as a pass for Arjun into the future, from the fact that in speed after their completion, the Indian ground forces placed an order for another 124 similar tanks, and DRDO announced the beginning of research work to create an improved version of it. However, there is another reason why the military decided to increase the purchase of state tanks. The fact is that a significant part of the T-55 and T-72 fleet is already quite outdated, and the licensed creation of the T-90 is delayed due to the emerging difficulties with the transfer of special production technologies to Russia.
As an additional measure required in these criteria, the Indian Ministry of Defense decided in May 2011 to upgrade all main battle tanks. Namely, T-55 tanks will receive new 105-mm cannons, chassis and fuel tanks as armament. In turn, the T-72 will be equipped with new 1000 hp engines, reinforced armor and completely new fire control and communication systems. As a result of the implementation of the program, the tanks will be integrated into an integral automatic combat control system. The T-90s will also receive new sighting and observation equipment, including night vision systems.
As a result, the Indian tank fleet will be able to "withstand" until that time, until all the T-90S and T-90M "Bhishma" ordered in Russia and a significant part of those acquired by Arjun come into service. The delivery of the T-90, according to the plans of the Ministry of Defense, is obliged to end in 2020, and the first Arjun Mk. II will be put into service in 2014.
Currently, the base of the tank fleet of India is made up of Russian-made combat vehicles. So, in service with the Indian ground forces are 550 pieces. - T-55 (according to other estimates, about 900 units), 1925 units. - T-72 and 620 pcs. - T-90. To date, the military has received 169 Arjun Mk. I tanks. At the beginning of 2010, experts from the audit company KPMG and the Union of Industrialists of India (CII) presented a report, which indicated that almost half of all military equipment in service with India is obsolete. With all this, 80% of tanks in service with the state are not equipped with night vision systems.
In the near future, the Indian ground forces want to completely write off all the T-55 and T-72 and replace them with the new Arjun Mk. II and the so-called "tanks of the future" FMBT (Futuristic Main Battle Tank). According to DRDO, with the delivery of an additional order for 248 Arjun Mk. IIs, these ambitious plans have come a little closer to reality. For example, the latest order makes it possible to avoid the closure of the Heavy Vehicles Factory in the town of Avadhi, to receive the funds so necessary to complete the modernization of the Arjun Mk. II, and to begin work on the FMBT plan.
At the end of 2010, the Indian ground forces announced their basic requirements for the FMBT, in accordance with which DRDO expected to start developing the tank from January 2011. Namely, the ground forces need a combat vehicle weighing less than 40 tons with a 125 mm cannon. The gun must be smooth-bore, this will allow it to fire anti-tank missiles with its help.
A promising main battle tank should be designed using special technology of stealth and equipped with a laser guidance system, day and night tracking and reconnaissance equipment, mine detection systems and automated combat mission control. In addition, the tank will receive a 3rd generation box, a fire control system, passive and active protection.
The performance data of the Arjun Mk. II tank:
crew - 4 people;
combat weight - 58.5 tons;
length, taking into account the barrel of the gun - 10194 mm;
clearance - 450 mm;
width - 3847 mm;
height - 2320 mm;
armament - 120 mm cannon, coaxial machine gun 7, 62 mm, anti-aircraft machine gun 12, 7 mm;
engine - MB 838 Ka-501, power 1400 h.p. at 2500 rpm;
highway speed - 72 km / h;
cruising range - 450 km;
obstacles:
wall height - 0.9 m;
ditch width - 2, 43 m;
ford depth - 1 m.
