DRDO Says Arjun Mark-II Will be completed by July 2011

The phase one production of Arjun Mark-II will be completed by July 2011 and phase two production with 93 new improvements will be completed by June 2012, said P Sivakumar, Director of Combat Vehicle Research and Development Establishment, a wing of the DRDO.

In Phase-I, 45 tanks will roll out with 56 upgrades, including the missile firing capability and the enhanced night vision, and in Phase-II, the remaining 79 tanks, with all the 93 improvements, will come off the assembly line. “By 2013-14, the first batch of 30 tanks will reach the ground,” Sivakumar told Express.

Addressing a seminar at Anna University, Sivakumar also mentioned the need for defence establishments to reduce the weight of combat vehicles like tanks. “Material sciences and nanotechnology play a significant role in this change. At present Arjun tanks weigh 60 tonnes. But there may be a demand to reduce the weight to 50 tonnes to improve mobility. This can be achieved to some extent by applying nanotechnology in reducing the thickness of armors while retaining their strength,” he said.

The DRDO research and innovation center at IIT-Madras Research Park will try to work and address such needs by collaborating with educational institutions, Sivakumar said.

“The center will become operational by July and we look to pool in resources from students of IIT-M and Anna University to conduct futuristic research at this centre, different from projects going on in the regular DRDO labs,” he said.

The focus of this research centre, according to Sivakumar, will be on developing the suspension technology. “India is a leader in hydropneumatic suspension technology and we are looking to broaden the scope further through this centre,” he said.

Read More

Arjun Tanks Deployed At Jaisalmer Border With Pakistan

The indigenous main battle tank Arjun was deployed at Jaisalmer border on Saturday. A programme was organised on 39th Raising Day of 75 Regiment and on that ocassion, Russian made T 55 tanks were given a farewell.

The regiment is the second unit in which Arjun tanks were inducted. This deployment is vital for defence and the tank will play a very important role. Lieutenant General A K Singh, GOC-in-C, Southern Command reviewed a parade of 75 Armoured Regiment. He lauded the professionalism of the soldiers. He expressed satisfaction that such a modern and sophisticated MBT was being produced indigenously.

The ceremony also marked the phasing out of T 55 tanks after 40 years of service. Many of the veterans present at the parade were moved by the departure of their trusted tank. The 75 Armoured Regiment has a unique history. It was raised in captured Pakistani territory in March 1972. After successfully fighting the 1971 war, three independent armoured squadrons were merged to create the regiment.

For the gallant actions by its squadrons, the Regiment was conferred the Theatre Honour Sindh'. The event also marked the 39th Raising Day of the Regiment. Over 100 retired officers and jawans attended the celebrations.

The delays and failures in Arjun's development from the 1990s to the 2000s prompted the Indian Army to order vast numbers of T-90S from Russia to meet the defence gap.

The Arjun features a 120 mm main rifle gun with indigenously developed APFSDS ammunition which has the capability to penetrate superior armor, one 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun, and a 12.7 mm machine gun. It is powered by a single MTU multi-fuel diesel engine rated at 1,400 hp, and can achieve a maximum speed of 70 km/h (43 mph) and a cross-country speed of 40 km/h (25 mph). It requires a four-man crew: commander, gunner, loader and driver. Automatic fire detection and suppression, and NBC protection systems are provided.

All-round anti-tank warhead protection by the newly developed Kanchan armour is claimed to be much higher than available in present third generation tanks.
Earlier, in March 2010, the Arjun was pitted against the T-90 in comparative trials and performed well.

Weighing 58.5 tons, the Arjun tank is significantly heavier than the Soviet-legacy tanks used at present by the Indian Army.

Read More

Army set to place order for 248 more arjun main battle tanks

The much-maligned Arjun Main Battle Tank is poised to get a fresh lease of life, with the Indian Army set to order 248 more of India's first indigenously-built tanks, a decision that will also give a much-needed shot in the arm to the country's beleaguered tank fleet.

"We are definitely expecting more orders, at least a minimum of 248 tanks of the Mark-II version. The Ordnance Factory Board has been instructed by the ministry of defence to initiate action for the procurement of the Mark-II version," P. Sivakumar, director, Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment, told the Economic Times.

The order, which could be placed in late-2011 itself, will come as a huge boost to the Arjun production line at the Heavy Vehicles Factory at Avadhi, on the outskirts of Chennai, as the same was expected to be terminated due to a lack of interest shown by the Indian Army.

So far, the Army has placed an order for 248 tanks of the Mark-I and Mark-II versions.

The Mark-II version of the Arjun MBT is currently undergoing its critical summer trials in Pokhran, Rajasthan, conducted by the country's nodal defence lab, DRDO, while the winter trials are expected to take place later in the year. The defence research establishment expects to get the new orders from the end user - the Army - once the current trials conclude.

"If the trials go well, particularly relating to missile firing, there is no doubt that further orders will be placed. There is a commitment given by the deputy chief of Army staff, if the new improvements are incorporated successfully" Sivakumar said.

The June trials have already seen the Arjun MBT Mark-II tested with a number of technical improvements, including command panoramic sight and uncooled thermal image. According to Sivakumar, a further 40 technological improvements are to be tested, including a new transmission control system and new fuel tanks.

'We are planning the first phase of the end user trials by October or November for the missile and other design improvements," he said.

The Army's decision to induct greater numbers of the Arjun MBT is a significant turnaround from its earlier reluctance to do so. However, with the military's 4,000-strong tank arsenal consisting largely of more than 2,400 obsolete T-72 tanks and transfer of technology issues with Russia relating to the T-90, has forced it to take a re-look at the Arjun.

The tank has had its fair share of detractors within the country's military establishment.

After being in development hell for more than 30 years and at a substantial cost of Rs 300-crore, the Arjun MBT programme had come under severe flak for cost overruns and its failure to meet the Indian Army's combat requirements, leading to speculation that it could never be the mainstay of the Indian Army's Armoured Corps.

But ever since comprehensively outgunning and outrunning the T-90, India's current flagship battle tank in 2010, the DRDO has been positioning the Arjun MBT as the backbone of the country's armoured fighting units.

Defended the programme, the defence establishment also laid part of the blame for the project delays on the Indian military , stating that they had to be "realistic" in their demands.

"'But while we welcome all inputs and guidelines, we also feel the need for the Services to firm up realistic requirements at the earliest, so we may properly plan our project requirements," Dr VK Saraswat, scientific advisor to the defence minister said last month.

 Read More AT:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/army-set-to-place-order-for-248-more-arjun-main-battle-tanks/articleshow/9119089.cms

Read More