Image source: topwar.ru
The Indian army intends to acquire a large fleet of light tanks designed primarily for operations in difficult terrain, for example, in Tibet, some areas of which are disputed by China. Initially, many Indian and foreign observers believed that the final choice would be made in favor of the Russian self-propelled artillery installation 2S25 "Octopus-SDM1". However, there is information that New Delhi is going to get its own product in this niche instead of a Russian car.
At DEFEXPO 2022, the Indian Defense Research Development Organization (DRDO, an approximate analogue of Rostec) presented a model of the Zorawar light tank, which can become a target solution for the Indian army in the matter of acquiring this type of equipment.
Image source: topwar.ru
Previously, a number of locally developed options have already been proposed, in particular, a product based on a locally produced K9 Vajra-T self-propelled gun and an installation on an Indian chassis of the Israeli Sabrah tower. In the case of the Zorawar, a model of a light tank armed with a 105 mm C3105 cannon from the Belgian company Cockerill is presented. At the same time, the combat module has a number of changes from the basic version: an ATGM launcher (Spike or Akeron-MP) and a remotely controlled large-caliber machine gun have been added to the right side of the tower; the gunner's sight has been moved back and protected by retractable armor.
As planned, the prototype of the Zorawar light tank will be presented at the end of 2023.
