As part of the campaign to equip the army with indigenous weapons, 118 Arjun Mark-1A tanks will soon be a part of the army. Yes, the proposal for the purchase of these indigenous tanks has been approved. The Defense Acquisition Council, chaired by Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, on Tuesday approved procurement proposals worth more than Rs 14 thousand crore, including 118 `Swadeshi Arjun Mark-1A tanks. An order of Rs 8379 crore for the Arjun Mark-1A tank is to be placed at Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) Heavy Vehicle Factory, Avadi (Tamil Nadu).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi handed over the first Arjun Mark-1A tank to Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Narwane at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai on 14 February. Let us tell you that apart from these tanks, 820 armored vehicles are to be purchased for the Indian Army, which will cost 5300 crores.
DRDO designed
The Arjun tank has been designed by Combat Vehicle Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE) of DRDO. The tank will be constructed at the Heavy Vehicle Factory of Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), Avadi (Tamil Nadu). The first batch of five MBTs will be handed over to the Army within 30 months of the signing of the contract with the government. The Arjun battle tank is completely indigenously built, which was first inducted into the Indian Army in 2004. At present, the army has two regiments of Arjun tanks, which are deployed on the Indo-Pakistan border in Jaisalmer. The upgraded version of the Arjun tank that he rode is the MK-1A when Prime Minister Modi visited the Longewala border in Jaisalmer (Rajasthan) with Pakistan to celebrate Diwali in November.
The Defense Acquisition Committee (DAC) of the Ministry of Defense approved an order of Rs 6,600 crore for 118 Arjun MK-1A tanks in 2014 but the project was in limbo as the army focused on ordering Russian T-90 tanks. Was focused. After this, in 2019, the army also placed an order of about 14 thousand crores for 464 T-90 to Russia. The Arjun Mark-2, developed in 2012, was named Arjun Mark-1A in 2018. The army gained a wide range of experiences while using the Arjuna tank. Based on these, the army demanded a total of 72 types of reforms for its improved version. The DRDO designed the Hunter Killer Tank incorporating the Army’s suggestions. In March 2020, it successfully met the trials conducted at Pokaran, after which the order to purchase the tank was also prepared but the army demanded some further improvements in the tank.
14 new features included
After this, DRDO built 4 tanks incorporating around 14 new features into the tank. Subsequently, the Indian Army and DRDO jointly tested the fully indigenous advanced battle tank Arjun Mark-1A at the Pokaran field firing range last month. During this time, military experts were also present in DRDO to prepare it. The upgraded version Arjun Mark-1A had completed all tests in 2020 but was awaiting approval from the government. Formal order for production only when Prime Minister Narendra Modi handed over the first Arjun Mark-1A main battle tank (MBT) in the presence of DRDO President Dr. G Satish Reddy to Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Narwane at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai on 14 February The way of giving was cleared.
DRDO has done 72 upgrades
After the upgrade, DRDO claims that after so many improvements this tank is perfect in itself and in no way inferior to any of the best tanks in the world. The Arjun MK-1A has a total of 72 upgrades, compared to the previous model Arjun Mark-1 tank, which includes 14 significant and 58 subtle improvements. A senior DRDO official said that a total of 118 new tanks will be built now. The Indian Army is now going to build two more regiments of this tank which will be inducted into the army in the next six months. Each regiment will have 59 Arjun tanks. The Mark-1A tank has better firepower, maneuverability and safety than the 124 ‘Arjuns’ who were inducted into the army 16 years ago.
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