![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() But the IA’s and Ministry of Defence’s (MoD’s) confused projections indicate otherwise, or as ‘an embarrassment of tank riches’ as a two-star IA officer aptly defined it.Įager to progress the governments atamnirbharta or self-sufficiency initiative, the MoD recently approved the Rs 8,350 crore procurement of another 118 Arjun Mk1A variants, the deal for which is likely to be imminently concluded with the state-owned Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) that series builds the MBTs at its Heavy Vehicle Factory (HVF) at Avadi, near Chennai. The latter RfI stated that the FRCV would serve as the IA’s principal MBT for the ensuing 40-50 years, leading to the obvious inference that the other in-service larger platforms like the T72s ,T90s and Arjuns would imminently be phased out to make way for the former. And, thereafter, on June 1 it launched the search for its fifth tank type by inviting responses by mid-September from overseas original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to its RfI for the planned acquisition of 1,770 medium weight Future Ready Combat Vehicle’s (FRCVs) by 2030 at tremendous, but undefined, cost. Presently, the IA operates 3,500-odd licence-built Russian T72M1 ‘Ajeya’ main battle tanks (MBTs) and directly imported and domestically assembled and constructed T90S ‘Bhishma’ platforms, alongside 124 indigenous Arjun Mk1 MBTs.īut on April 23 the army dispatched a request for information (RfI) to overseas and domestic vendors for the intended procurement of 350 locally manufactured light tanks for deployment in assorted terrain and varied climatic conditions, making it the IA’s fourth potential tank type. Chandigarh: The Indian Army’s (IA’s) arbitrary and haphazard equipment planning could, over the next decade, make it the only force operationally fielding five different tank types simultaneously. ![]()
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