‘Hunter Killers’ Approved for the Indian Army

118 indigenous Arjun Mk-1A Main Battle Tanks will soon be added to the Indian Army fleet. The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) headed by defence minister Rajnath Singh has approved the Indian Army’s proposal to buy 118 Arjun Mark 1-A ‘Hunter Killers’.

Key Points

• The Indian Army will now soon issue the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the purchase of 118 Arjun Mk-1A Main Battle Tanks to the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
• The entire process will take at least a year before it is finalized and the contract is inked.
• This will be the 2nd biggest contract for the indigenously manufactured platforms for the Indian Armed Forces this year.
• The first such deal was signed for 83 Light Combat Aircraft `Tejas’ between the Ministry of Defence and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force (IAF).
• The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) gave the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) to the proposal worth Rs 8,380-crore for the Indian Army.
• Three AoNs for an overall cost of Rs 13,700 crore were accorded. And, these will be indigenously designed, developed, and manufactured.
• The approvals are for 118 main battle tanks and equipping the armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs) with modern protection and countermeasure systems.
• The protection systems for the army’s fleet of more than 3,000 AFVs (tanks and infantry combat vehicles) is expected to cost around Rs 5,300 crore.
• The order for the MBT `Arjun’ is expected to be placed with the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) soon. And once the deal is firmed up around five tanks are expected to be rolled out in 30 months and thereafter 30 tanks every year.

About the 118 indigenous Arjun Mk-1A Main Battle Tanks

• Arjun Mk-1A MBT is an upgraded version of the Arjun Mk-1 which being presently used by the Indian Army.
• The new version of the Arjun has 71 upgrades, including 14 major improvements.
• These upgrades will significantly the tank’s lethality, mobility, and survivability.
• The new variant of the tank will have advanced land navigation systems, better firepower, and improved night vision capabilities.
• Some other features are containerized ammunition bin and advanced laser warning and countermeasure systems.

The tanks will be manufactured at the Heavy Vehicles Factory of Ordnance Factory Board at Avadi, Chennai. This tank has been designed and developed by DRDO’s Chennai-based Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE).