The Indian Army will arm itself with Arjun Mk-1A tanks. Yesterday, on September 24, the press service of the Ministry of Defense of India announced the signing of a contract with the Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF) for the supply of 118 Arjun Mk-1A tanks.
The cost of combat vehicles will be 7523 crore rupees (about $1 billion). The first five new tanks will be delivered within 30 months, then the annual delivery will be 30 units.
Contract signing ceremony
Image source: pib.gov.in
The first Arjun Mk-1A tank was solemnly handed over to the army in February of this year. Now the contract has been officially signed, and the HVF is starting serial assembly of combat vehicles.
"The MK-1A is equipped with excellent firepower and accuracy, all-terrain mobility and invincible multi-level protection provided by a variety of advanced technological systems. It can attack the enemy day and night, as well as in static and dynamic modes. Thanks to these capabilities, this domestic MBT is not inferior to any modern tank in its class. This tank is specially configured and designed for the conditions of India, and, therefore, it is suitable for use for effective border protection," the press service of the Ministry of Defense of India reported.
The Arjun Mark 1A tank was introduced by the DRDO organization in 2011 and is a deeply modernized version of the Arjun Mk-1 tank, which took India 37 years to develop. Despite a number of innovative solutions used in the Arjun Mark 1A, the Indian Ministry of Defense refused to order a large-scale assembly of this combat vehicle. The Ministry of Defense counted 93 shortcomings, the most significant of which was the "extra weight" of the tank. The weight of almost 68 tons makes the Arjun Mark 1A one of the heaviest in the world (while the vehicle's armor protection is relatively weak) and limits the possibilities of air transport. In addition, rivers or swampy terrain become an almost insurmountable obstacle for the Arjun Mark 1A: most bridges in India simply cannot withstand such a massive machine.
