Currently, the Indian army has nearly 3,500 tanks and several thousand infantry fighting vehicles of various brands. Most of this equipment, as well as special vehicles created on its basis, were built at local enterprises that have been producing armored vehicles for more than a decade.
Indian tank building was created in the early sixties, when an agreement was reached between the British company "Vickers" and the Indian government to build a tank factory in Avadi, which is located near Madras. The plant went into operation in 1966 and provided the release for the Indian army of tanks "Vijayanta" ("Winner") - the Indian version of the English "Vickers" MK 1. Initially, machines were assembled in Avadi from parts and assemblies delivered from England. Later, after the Indian specialists acquired the necessary experience, the independent production of tanks was established. By the end of the 80s, the Indian industry had delivered about 2,200 of these machines, which to this day are serving as part of 26 tank regiments out of 58 available in the ground forces. The Centurion tanks that survived at that time were removed from service and decommissioned. 70 Vijayanta tanks were delivered to Kuwait in the early 70s.
"Vijayanta" has a classic layout: the control compartment is in the front, the fighting compartment is in the center and the engine compartment is in the stern. The hull and turret of the tank are welded, made of rolled homogeneous armor steel. The driver's seat is located in the front of the body and is offset from the longitudinal axis of the car to the right - the traditional for England and India arrangement of drivers, where left-hand traffic is accepted. The rest of the crew are located in the turret: the commander and gunner are to the right of the cannon, the loader is to the left.
Tank of Vijayant
The main weapon of the Vijayanta tank is the British 105-mm rifled gun L7A1, which uses unitary rounds with armor-piercing sub-caliber and high-explosive fragmentation shells with plastic explosives. The muzzle velocity of the APCR projectile is 1470 m / s. This gun was used on almost all types of Western tanks, until the introduction of 120mm rifled and smoothbore guns in Great Britain and Germany. Together with the cannon, a 7.62 mm machine gun is paired, and a 12.7 mm machine gun mounted on the turret roof is used to determine the range.
In the mid-sixties, "Vijayanta" (like the English "Vickers" MK 1) was one of the few foreign tanks that had weapon stabilization in two planes, provided by an electric stabilizer.
Currently, the Center for Tank Electronics in Madras is producing a new fire control system (FCS) Mk 1A (AL 4420) for the Vijayanta tank. This LMS has an improved sight-to-gun connection designed to minimize backlash between the sight and the gun. There is also a system for controlling the bending of the gun barrel to ensure that the misalignment of the axes of the barrel bore and the sight caused by the thermal deformation of the gun is eliminated. A more complex Mk 1B (AL 4421) MSA was also developed, which additionally includes a British-made laser sight-rangefinder and a ballistic computer, which increase the probability of hitting the target with the first shot.
In mid-1993, Indian sources said that since the Arjun tank project was delayed, the modernization program for part of the Vijayanta fleet was continued, which was originally proposed in the early 1980s under the name Bison. In accordance with it, it was planned to retrofit about 1,100 vehicles. The modernization includes the installation of a diesel engine of the T-72 M1 tank, a new FCS, additional armor, passive night vision equipment, including a thermal imaging sight, and a navigation system.
The Yugoslav SUV-T55A was used as an MSA, which was developed to modernize the Soviet T-54 / T-55 / T-62 tanks. Its production is organized in India by Bharat Electronics, which is supposed to provide up to 600 systems.
The armor on the upgraded Vijayanta is the modern Kanchan combination armor designed for the Arjun tank.
Although the Vijayanta is essentially a British Vickers Mk 1, its characteristics are somewhat different from its prototype. Ammunition includes 44 rounds, 600 rounds for a large-caliber machine gun and 3000 rounds for a coaxial 7.62-mm machine gun.
Around the same time that the Indian tank industry was mastering the production of the Vijayanta tank, the army of this country was receiving T-54 and T-55 from the Soviet Union, which proved themselves well during the 1971 war with Pakistan. To ensure the long service life of these vehicles, a tank repair plant was built in the town of Kirkhi. More than 700 T-54 and T-55 units are still in the ranks of the Indian armored forces.
Indian designers were also developing their own tank, which they started back in the 70s, but not everything worked out right away. Therefore, in order to maintain its tank fleet at a modern level, the Indian government decided to buy a batch of T-72M1 from the USSR. Initially, India intended to order only a small number of tanks (about 200 units), awaiting the start of production at its own factory of the Arjun tank developed by local designers. However, due to its high cost and lack of reliability, it was decided to organize licensed production of the T-72M1 in Avadi, and the installation batch of machines left the factory gates in 1987.
The first 175 tanks were produced from kits supplied by the Soviet Union, which helped develop Indian heavy industry. The ultimate goal was for India to produce tanks, making the most of its own resources, bringing in the future the share of Indian components in the tank to 97%.
Production of T-72M1, known in India as "Ajeya", started out with about 70 machines a year. The last Ajeya left the factory in March 1994. In total, the Indian army has about 1,100 of these machines. Other sources indicate that the full fleet of Indian T-72M1s is about 2,000 vehicles.
In 1997, reports emerged that more than 30 Ajeya's 125mm cannon barrels had exploded during firing practice, and efforts were made to determine the cause of the problem, which was never identified. Most likely, the bursts of the barrels occurred from the ingress of soil into the barrel bore, or the guns have exhausted their resource. In other cases, one would only guess how many Western media outlets would have prodded such an embarrassment.
Recently, the activity of many foreign companies has intensified, offering their services for the implementation of the modernization of the fleet of vehicles of the T-72 type. Moreover, these services are offered not only by companies from countries where these vehicles were produced under license (Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic), but also by those countries that have a very vague idea about this tank: Texas Instruments from the USA, SABCA from Belgium, Officiene Galileo from Italy, Elbit from Israel, LIW from South Africa and Thomson-CSF from France.
As a confirmation of these words, I will make one digression. In 1998, at the Tridex'98 exhibition in Abu Dhabi (UAE), one of the American companies, like many others, demonstrated a computerized tank gunner simulator. I managed to practice a little on it and even show good results, despite the unusualness and inconvenience of all controls of the gunner's workplace. The representative of the developer company complimented me, they say, Mr. professional. In turn, I asked him for which tank this simulator was. The answer simply stunned me - it turns out it was a T-72M tank gunner's simulator, although neither the control panel, nor the sight reticle, and in general, not a single button was closely similar to "seventy-two" ones. I had no choice but to ask if the developers of this simulator had ever seen the T-72. After reading the military rank and the country I represent on my badge, the company representative realized that they were in trouble, so he very politely asked me to move away from the simulator.
The planned modernization of at least part of the Indian T-72M1 tank fleet was codenamed "Operation Rhino" in the west. In accordance with this program, it was planned to install new OMS, a power plant, dynamic protection, navigation and laser warning systems, a frequency hopping radio station and a collective defense system against weapons of mass destruction.
Colonel-General Sergei Maev, Head of the Main Armored Directorate of the RF Ministry of Defense, spoke well about the results of such "modernizations" carried out by Western companies of our tanks in his interview to the magazine "ARMS. Russian Defense Technologies": "When creating both the T-72 and the BMP-1, the potential was laid to improve the technical and combat properties of these machines. Therefore, there is such a great interest in our technology from foreign companies. Another thing is that many of these companies are turning military equipment into military goods. Carrying out modernization, they do not pursue the interests of improving the combat properties of machines. but they try to sell them as quickly and profitably as possible, making a profit on this. What will happen next, the seller is not interested. The one who buys this product does not represent all the consequences of such a transaction "(ARMS. Russian defense technologies. 2 (9) 2002, p. 5.).
The Indian tank industry has mastered the production of a number of special combat support vehicles on the T-72M1 chassis. So, for example, by order of the Indian army, a 155-mm self-propelled gun with a T-6 turret, manufactured by the South African company LIW Division of Denel, was built. However, this car did not go into production.
The BLT T-72 tank bridgelayer was created on the locally produced T-72M1 chassis. The machine has a 20 m long scissor bridge that folds out in front of the machine.
In early 1997, Russia offered India to install the Arena-E active protection system on the T-72M1, as a possible alternative to Pakistan's recent acquisition of T-80UD tanks from Ukraine. They are in some respects superior to the T-72M1, which until recently were the most advanced tanks in service with the Indian army. However, the Indian government made a different decision: to buy modern Russian T-90S tanks from Russia and subsequently master their licensed production in their country. Currently, India has already delivered 40 such machines, and all of them were sent to the Indian-Pakistani border. Another 40 T-90S are being prepared for shipment in April this year.
T-72M1 Indian Armed Forces
Having gained sufficient experience in the production of licensed armored vehicles, Indian engineers continued to work on creating their own armored vehicles, including main battle tank "Arjun" … The Indian army developed a tactical and technical assignment for the development of a new tank back in 1972. It was intended to replace the Vijayanta tanks, and the Scientific Research Institute of Combat Vehicles began working on a new project in 1974. By the time the first Arjun prototype was presented in April 1984, the project has already spent Rs 300 million (approximately US $ 6 million).
As always, many foreign companies have joined in the implementation of the new project, including the German Krauss-Maffei (MTU engine), Renk (automatic transmission), Diehl (tracks) and the Dutch Oldelft.
The main problems when creating a new car arose with the engine. It was originally planned to install a gas turbine engine with a capacity of 1500 hp, but later it was decided to use a newly developed 12-cylinder air-cooled diesel engine with a variable compression ratio of the same power. However, the first engine models developed only 500 hp. Its further improvement made it possible to increase this figure to 1000 hp. when installing turbocharger.
The suspension of the tank is hydropneumatic. Aluminum alloy track links with rubber-to-metal hinge and asphalt shoes. The track tensioner has built-in overload protection.
Initially, six prototypes of the Arjun tank were built, equipped with a German MTU MB838 Ka-501 diesel engine with a capacity of 1,400 hp. with automatic transmission Renk. None of them were reportedly armored, but had steel hulls and turrets.
Serial vehicles are planned to be produced with the new Kanchan combined armor, developed by the Indian Defense Metallurgical Laboratory. It will be produced by Mishra Dhatu Nigam. Thermal sighting equipment was developed by DRDO.
In 1983-1989. India is reported to have imported 42 engines for a total of US $ 15 million to build prototypes. By the end of 1987, 10 experimental tanks "Arjun", or MBT 90, as they were sometimes called, were built under the designation Mark I. Of these, six vehicles were transferred to the Indian army for military trials, and the remaining four were left for work. for their further improvement at the Research Institute of Combat Vehicles (CVRDE).
Arjun main battle tank
The FCS of the Arjun tank, consisting of a laser rangefinder, a ballistic computer, a thermal imaging sight, a stabilized panoramic sight of the tank commander, an additional telescopic sight and electronic units, guarantees a high probability of hitting the first shot. According to CVRDE estimates, the third-generation FCS, in combination with a 120-mm rifled cannon (also developed in India) and an electronically controlled sight, allows the gunner to detect, identify, track and successfully hit moving targets when firing on the move.
The gunner's main sight combines day, thermal and laser rangefinder channels and a single stabilized head for all three channels. The general mirror of the sight head is stabilized in two planes. The day sight has two fixed magnifications. The thermal imaging sight provides the ability to detect targets by the gunner and tank commander in complete darkness and smoke.
The commander's panoramic sight allows him to conduct all-round observation of the battlefield without turning his head and taking his eyes off the sight and without rotating the turret. The sight's field of view is stabilized in two planes using a gyroscope mounted on the head mirror platform. The sight has two magnifications.
The ballistic computer determines the initial settings for firing in accordance with the information provided by the many automatic sensors installed in the vehicle and from manual data entry. It generates electrical signals proportional to the elevation and azimuth required for shooting.
Tank EX
To increase the firing accuracy, the MSA is equipped with a coincidence window, which allows firing the gun only when it is in a certain position in accordance with the signals of the ballistic computer (on Russian tanks, an electronic shot permission unit is used for this).
The vehicle is armed with a 120-mm rifled cannon, for which the Indian Research Institute of Explosives in the city of Pune developed unitary shots with a partially burning cartridge case with armor-piercing sub-caliber, cumulative, armor-piercing with plastic explosives and smoke projectiles. A high-energy powder charge, developed by the same institute, allows projectiles to have a high muzzle velocity and thereby, providing them with high armor penetration. In addition to the previously mentioned ammunition, a special anti-helicopter projectile is now being developed. The tool is made of special steel made using electroslag remelting technology and equipped with a heat-insulating casing and an ejector. A 7.62 mm machine gun is paired with it. 12.7 mm anti-aircraft machine gun is designed to combat low-flying targets.
The turret guidance drives and the prototype cannons are electric, and were supplied by FWM from Germany. Currently, Arjun tanks are equipped with electro-hydraulic drives. On both sides of the tower, nine-barreled smoke grenade launchers are installed, with five barrels on top and four on the bottom.
Serial tanks "Arjun" will have an engine that develops a power of 1400 hp, combined with a semi-automatic planetary transmission with four forward and two reverse gears, developed by local engineers. Braking of the machine is carried out by high-speed hydraulic disc brakes.
The tank has a system of collective protection against weapons of mass destruction, developed and created by the Atomic Research Center in Bhabha (BARC). To increase the survivability of the vehicle on the battlefield, there is an automatic fire extinguishing system. Ammunition is stored in watertight containers to reduce the possibility of fire.
BMP-2 Indian Armed Forces
In March 1993, it was reported that Arjun had successfully completed testing. During a demonstration in the Rajistan desert in western India, two prototypes of the vehicle hit stationary and moving targets at ranges from 800 to 2100 m, overcame various obstacles, climbs with a steepness of 60% and maneuvered through obstacles. Prototypes were built at the Heavy Vehicle Factory in Avadi, but there is confidence that the private sector will be more involved in tank production in the future.
In mid-1998, it was announced that the total number of Arjun tanks built was 32 units. This includes 12 prototypes, two torsion bar suspension tanks, one test tank, one ARV and one "Arjun" Mk II tank. The latter was shown at the Defexpo India 2002 arms exhibition held in Delhi in February this year. In the future, it is planned to produce on the chassis of a BREM tank, an engineering vehicle, a tank bridgelayer, an anti-aircraft missile or anti-aircraft artillery complex, a self-propelled artillery installation of field artillery.
The latest development of the Indian Research Institute of Combat Vehicles is the EX tank. This vehicle is an example of combining the chassis of the Ajeya tank (and in fact the T-72M1) with the armament complex of the Arjun tank. Another option, when a new turret was installed on the seventy-two chassis. Thus, the tank lost its automatic loader, increased in size, but received a thermal sight. Most likely, this machine will be offered for sale, and here it is appropriate to once again recall the words of Colonel-General S. Mayev about various options for the foreign modernization of our equipment, given in this article.
In addition to tanks in India, under license are being built infantry fighting vehicles BMP-2 called "Sarath" at the State Artillery and Technical Plant in the city of Medak. The first vehicle, assembled from components supplied from the Soviet Union, was handed over to the Indian army in August 1987. Since then, the number of locally produced infantry fighting vehicles in the Indian army has increased from year to year and by 1999 amounted to approximately 90% of the total fleet of these vehicles.
The Sarath machine, like the BMP-2, is armed with a 30-mm 2A42 automatic cannon with a double feed, a 7.62-mm PKT coaxial machine gun and a Konkurs ATGM launcher (AT-5 Spandrel) mounted on the turret roof with a maximum firing range 4000 m.
Since the start of production of the BMP-2 in India, many improvements have been made to the vehicle, including the installation of a new radio station and modernization of the weapon stabilizer (AL4423), as well as other minor improvements.
The State Artillery and Technical Plant in Medak is responsible for the manufacture of the hull and turret, the final assembly and testing of the vehicle, as well as for the manufacture of the suspension, engine, 30-mm and 7.62-mm ammunition, ammunition supply system, fuel system, launcher ATGM and missile control systems.
Other companies involved in the BMP construction program include: the Trisha Artillery Plant - production of a 30mm cannon; the MTPF plant in Ambarnas produces turret and gun guidance drives, as well as some parts of the ATGM launcher; the Jabalpur Cannon Carrier Factory manufactures cannon mounting kits and smoke grenade launchers; OLF plant in Deharadun deals with day and night observation devices and sighting; BEML KGF supplies transmission and control drives; BELTEX in Madras - weapon stabilizer and electrical equipment; BDL in Medak - missiles and ATGM launchers.
According to some estimates, by the beginning of 1999, the total production of BMP-2 in India was approximately 1200 units. In addition to them, the Indian army has approximately 700 (according to other sources - 350) BMP-1, supplied from the Soviet Union earlier.
Using the experience gained in the construction of infantry fighting vehicles, Indian designers, as in the case of the T-72M1 tank, began to develop their own armored vehicles on its chassis. One such vehicle is the AAV armored ambulance. Currently, it is in serial production and is a modified version of the BMP-2 to perform the functions of an ambulance while retaining the tower, but with removed weapons. The vehicle is designed for quick and effective evacuation of the wounded from the battlefield with the provision of emergency medical care. It has excellent mobility in all terrain conditions and has the ability to overcome various obstacles and water obstacles by swimming. Like the BMP, it is equipped with a system of collective protection against weapons of mass destruction.
The vehicle can be quickly converted to carry four stretcher wounded, or two stretcher wounded and four seated, or eight seated wounded. It has a crew of four, including a driver, commander and two medics. The total weight of the car is 12200 kg.
Medical equipment includes stretchers, containers of blood or plasma, blood transfusion equipment, oxygen equipment, containers of ice and hot or cold drinking water, splints and plaster cast, medication kits, pillows and pillowcases, instrument trays, urine collection bag and vessel.
By order of the Indian engineering troops, an engineering reconnaissance vehicle ERV was created. The vehicle has a BMP-2 hull and turret, but apart from smoke grenade launchers, all weapons have been removed. ERV retained the ability to swim. Movement through the water is provided by rewinding the tracks.
The machine is equipped with all the necessary equipment for receiving intelligence information, recording it and transmitting it to the command post, making it possible to have the necessary information about the nature of obstacles and water obstacles. Using its equipment, ERV can provide headquarters with detailed information about the height and slope of river banks, the bearing capacity of the soil and the profile of the bottom of water obstacles.
The equipment installed on the ERV includes gyroscopic and satellite navigation systems, a radio compass, a course plotter with a tablet, a soil density meter, an electronic theodolite, a log, an echo sounder, a laser rangefinder, a pointer installation device and a trench tool.
An automatic pointing device is installed on the left side of the vehicle body closer to the stern and allows the ERV to quickly mark a route for vehicles in the rear. When the pointer moves, it is in a horizontal position, if necessary, they are installed in a vertical position. Pointers are fired into the ground using an electro-pneumatic system from a magazine with a capacity of 50 pointers. Each pointer is a metal rod 1, 2 m and 10 mm in diameter, with a flag attached to it.
All equipment on the ERV is connected via a serial interface to an IBM compatible computer. The standard equipment of the machine includes a roof-mounted air conditioning system, a system of protection against weapons of mass destruction, two evacuation pumps and a gyrocompass. Originally developed for military purposes, the ERV is now being considered for civilian use as well.
The AAD armored amphibious bulldozer was also developed in accordance with the requirements of the Indian Corps of Engineers. It is a BMP-2 chassis with a turret removed and a large number of additional equipment that allows it to perform new specific tasks. The machine has a crew of two, consisting of a driver and an operator, located back to back, which provides redundant control of the machine. The equipment includes a hydraulic bucket at the stern of the machine with a capacity of 1.5 m3, a winch with a pulling force of 8 tf, a knife mine sweep mounted in the front and an anchor with a rocket engine, similar to that installed on a British engineering tractor that has been in service with the Indian army for several years. The rocket-powered anchor is used for self-recovery and has a maximum launch range of 50 to 100 m depending on conditions. The car has a maximum highway speed of 60 km / h and 7 km / h afloat. It is equipped with a system of collective defense against weapons of mass destruction.
The BMP-2 chassis is also widely used in Indian air defense. On its basis, the "Akash" and "Trishul" air defense systems were created. For them, the chassis was somewhat elongated and has seven road wheels on each side. Rotating launchers with three surface-to-air missiles are installed on the roof of the vehicles. A multifunctional 3-coordinate radar used with the Akash air defense system is also made on the same base.
In the near future, it is planned to start production of the Namica combat vehicle with the Nag ATGM (Cobra), developed by the Indian company DRDO. On the launchers of the BM "Namica" there will be 4 ATGMs ready for launch, and additional ammunition is placed inside. The missiles are reloaded from inside the vehicle, protected by armor.
ATGM Nag refers to the third-generation systems that implement the principle of "fire and forget". The launch weight of the rocket is 42 kg, the firing range is more than 4000 m. The tandem cumulative warhead is capable of hitting main battle tanks equipped with reactive armor.
An attempt was made to establish the production of a light tank with a 90-mm cannon on the chassis of the "Sarath" infantry fighting vehicle. It is a BMP-2 hull with a TS-90 twin turret manufactured by the French company Giat, with a 90-mm cannon and a 7.62-mm coaxial machine gun.
This vehicle was designed to replace the Soviet-made PT-76 light tanks in service with the Indian army. Only two prototypes were produced, after which their production ceased.
The chassis of the "Sarath" infantry fighting vehicle was also used to create an 81-mm self-propelled mortar. Fire from it is conducted from inside the car. The angles of the mortar pointing vertically are from 40 to 85 degrees, horizontally - 24 degrees in each direction. The set of the machine also includes a base plate for the mortar for its use in a remote version. The ammunition load is 108 rounds. The self-propelled mortar armament includes an 84-mm Karl Gustaf anti-tank grenade launcher with 12 rounds and a 7.62-mm MAG Tk-71 machine gun with 2350 rounds of ammunition. The crew of the car is 5 people.
In conclusion, we can say that at present India has become another country that produces its own developments of armored vehicles, while having a powerful potential.
