India has begun work on its next generation tank. Called the FMBT (Future Main Battle Tank), it aims to replace the latest Indian-designed Arjun tank.
This worries many Indian taxpayers and the military, as the government has just ordered an additional 124 units of Arjun tanks. Competitive tests between the Indian Arjun and the Russian T-90 brought an unexpected victory to Arjun. The Indian army was forced to carry out comparative field tests under pressure from pro-Arjun politicians. They competed with the local Arjun tank, which was previously considered unpromising and the Russian T-90, which is currently considered as the main tank of the Indian army. Fourteen units of each tank were used, and the results were highly classified. But the journalists did not have any problems to receive unofficial reports that Arjun was better than the T-90 to pass mobility, endurance and fire tests.
This was unusual as, until now, Arjun was considered expensive and a failure. Development of the Arjun began in the 1980s and continued until 2006, with the Army receiving only five of them for evaluation purposes. The ratings were not good. Initially, the Arjun was supposed to replace thousands of Russian tanks, but after many delays, the army reluctantly adopted 128 Arjun (adopted by the 140 armored brigade).
New test results have led to renewed pressure on the army to buy more Arjun tanks. This was a victory for the bureaucrats of the Ministry of Defense, engaged in the development and purchase of weapons over the generals. The bureaucrats took the lead with a score of 1: 0. But the fight continues. Presumably, the test results can be explained by the fact that Arjun really fixed all the problems related to electronics. In this case, with a fire control system. But the Arjun also had engine problems, and the fact that its size and weight make it difficult to use in a modern tank.
Regarding the FMBT, it is planned that it will weigh up to 50 tons, and the rest will be at the level of Arjun and other modern tanks. FMBT is expected to replace old Russian tanks.
Meanwhile, last year, the Indian plant delivered the first 10 (out of a thousand) T-90 tanks for the Indian army. Tanks of Russian design are manufactured in India under license. Many of the components are Indian made and some of the electronic components are imported from Western suppliers. An Indian-made T-90 costs about $ 3 million each. India has already bought 700 Russian-made T-90 tanks, worth $ 3.5 million each. FMBT is expected to cost over $ 5 million each. The high price is due to the widespread use of high technologies. It includes an active missile defense system to defeat anti-tank missiles, a much more powerful engine, a lot of electronics and a sealed crew compartment with protection against bacteriological, chemical weapons and radiation. All of these things are pretty tricky to design.
Four years ago, India adopted the Russian T-90 as its new main battle tank. By 2020, India will have 2,000 upgraded T-72s, over 1,500 T-90s, and several hundred other tanks (including several Arjuns). It will be the most powerful armored force in Eurasia if China does not overtake it by modernizing its armored forces. The border between China and India is high in the Himalayan mountains, which is not a favorable place for the use of tanks. The Panzer Forces of India are intended to be used primarily against Pakistan.
The T-90 is a very advanced evolution of the T-72. The T-90 was originally designed as a backup design. The successor to the T-72 was to be the T-80. But, as in the history of the T-62 and T-64 before that, the production of the T-80 did not go exactly as planned. So the T-72 received significant turret improvements, a more powerful engine and all sorts of additions, resulting in the T-90. It weighed 47 tons, with practically the same dimensions as the T-72. In the same wrapper, we got the best content. With well trained crews, this tank can be a deadly weapon. Arjun weighs 59 tons and is much larger in size.
The FMBT is likely to be closer in size to the T-90. Indian armored vehicles specialists, both military and civilian, hope that the FMBT will be based on the T-90 rather than the Arjun. But the most important aspect of the FMBT project is the DRDO (Defense Development Organization), which Arjun also developed. There is a fear that the DRDO experts have learned nothing from their large number of mistakes in the development of Arjun. Reporters are investigating how honest the field trials between the T-90 and Arjun were. In any country, the issue of military technology is always connected with politics, and in India this problem is very serious.
Hopefully FMBT will not become DRDO's next disaster.
