The Indian army received the Arjun Mk 1A tank, which is a development of the not - so-successful Arjun Mk 1. The weight of the combat vehicle is 68 tons, which makes it one of the heaviest tanks in the world.
India has long sought to organize mass production of a modern tank of its own design, which could replace (or at least supplement) the Russian MBT. As the Hindustan Times recently reported, the country is closer than ever to the goal: its army received the first Arjun Mk 1A.
"The tank, made in Tamil Nadu, will be used on our northern borders to ensure the security of the nation. This demonstrates the united spirit of India — Bharat Ekta Darshan, " Prime Minister Narendra Modi said. — We will continue to work to make our Armed Forces one of the most modern in the world. At the same time, the focus on turning India into an atmanirbhar (self-sufficient country) in the defense sector is developing at full speed."
Arjun Mk 1A
Image source: business-standard.com
The combat vehicle was a development of the Arjun Mk 1, which began to be produced in 2006 and was built in the amount of 124 units. Initially, they wanted to release it in a series of more than 2000 units, but then they gave preference to the proven Russian T-90. The reason was the unreliability of the chassis of the Indian car, as well as a number of other difficulties.
Arjun Mk 1A
Image source: business-standard.com
As a result, we decided to create a modernized version. Arjun Mk 1A received 71 improvements over earlier versions: 14 of them are called "significant". On the new machine, the shells in the ammunition pack are placed in individual protected containers, and the 120-mm rifled gun was modified for the use of new types of ammunition. The Arjun Mk 1A received Indian-made dynamic protection and improved composite armor. Other improvements include the CPS Mk II commander's panoramic sight and an improved gunner's sight with the introduction of an automatic target tracking system.
Arjun Mk 1A
Image source: business-standard.com
At the same time, the weight of the Arjun has increased significantly and now amounts to 68 tons, which makes the Mk 1A one of the heaviest tanks in the world. It is noteworthy that, according to the previously presented data, it is also "the most expensive". Based on the calculations of the contract price for 118 production vehicles, experts have determined that one such tank costs more than ten million dollars — more expensive than the famous (mainly, again, its high cost) South Korean K2 "Black Panther".
Arjun Mk.I
Image source: wikipedia
Recall that in January it became known that China for the first time used the new VT4 tank in battle. And a few years ago, the Middle Kingdom adopted a new "mountain" tank.
