I wonder why the Army is going for a lesser number of tanks. But at least we know we are building decent capability against China.
Light tanks are fodder anyway.
Sikkhim is getting a new airport as well.
With these tanks India can not defend itself even against the simple anti tank mines put up by LTTE in Sirl Lanka which blew the turrets off the T-72 tanks, because of the ammunition heaped on the floor exploded with just sparks from seep through fires.
With Arjuns these rounds are safely kept in separate storage with blow off panels , SO the tank and crew has a much better chance of surviving such land mine explosions.
So I think you are just joking.
it is a tragedy that IA is packing the valiant soldiers into such obsolete platforms totally rejected by Russian Army, while heaping tons of lame excuses to stop the large scale induction of Arjun into IA.
Lying forever that most of the 40 ton classification bridges built by British can support the 50 ton T-90 and won't support 60 ton Arjun.
Infact both T-90 and Arjun will need the help of bridging equipment to cross those 40 ton class old british bridges which can be crossed without the aids of bridging equipment only by the obsolete 40 ton T-72.
The IA is already standardizing on 70 ton class bridging equipment . So both the T-90 and Arjun will use the same bridging equipment in future is a crucial fact swept under the carpet by the corrupt to core elements who are spearheading the introduction of such obsolete platforms into IA,
which will be a huge liability for decades because of their inability to store ammo safely to avoid crew killing , tank busting ammo cook-off even by a land mine explosion.
Inductions of T- 90s in to IA in high hundreds while restricting Arjun below 280 will be one of the huge scams , I hope that will be investigated by the new govt that will come into power.
We will be flogging a dead horse. Arjun was not ready when T-90 was inducted. By the time Arjun was ready, a 1000 T-90s were already operational.
T-90MS is the next iteration of T-90S like the Super MKI is to the MKI. We will obviously go for the next version. We may not go for the entire package that was showcased in Russia, but we will be taking what we can afford.
It doesn't make any sense at all to employ two different tanks. Looking at where the Arjuns are being inducted, it makes sense that none of them will see service inside enemy territory during war time. All the T-90s are in strike corps.
The new T-90MS will be used in Sikkim AFAIK. Not a place for a 60+ tonne tank. Even a vocal T-90 critic like Ajai Shukla agrees with that.
Even if we consider the 6000 crores reported in ToI is correct, T-90MS is still $14 Million cheaper than what Arjun Mk2 will cost, especially considering T-90 ammunition is more lethal.
Lastly and most importantly, there is a nationwide capability in logistics and maintenance for T-90 while Arjun has none. It is not simply a unit vs unit issue, it is about the tank being able to fit into the entire system, which the T-90 does better than Arjun. Put Arjun Mk2 into the same system as it is today, it may be considerably less lethal than even a 15 year old T-90S even if it has better specs.
While Arjun had a few shortcomings at that time , t-90 was filled with a total junk electronics which don't work in Indian hot summer conditions when it was bought even without a decent trials.Infact at the time of Induction T-90 was unfit for battle . All the facts came to light only when the mobilzation under Operation parakram triggered panic buttons in IA regarding the fouled up electronics of T-90,
Until then the inconvenient fact that T-90 was bought with no evaluation trials in Indian hot conditions was a highly guarded secret from indian taxpayers which is known only to india's enemies.
If t-90 MS can be used in Sikhim then Arjun is fully fit to be used in North East. because both will need the same bridging equipment to cross older 40 ton class bridges,
Infact with lower ground pressure per square inch Arjun is a much better option than the T-90 in North East
It is stupid to state that IA should standardize on obsolete ammo cook off T-90s while Arjun a tank developed under the GSQR of the IA which specifically insisted on safe ammo storage , with less fatigue four men crew , which resulted in the higher weight in the first place ,should be rejected because of the standardizing needs.
If Arjun is ordered in large numbers nation wide capability to support will come up. So it is a lame excuse insisting on non availability of nationwide serviceability while trying to kill the program by ordering just 240 units.
Like all contracts with Russians the true costs will be known only after decade as we are now paying through our nose to french vendors for replacing the junk electronics in T-90, and grappling with the task of integrating these new french wares with the russian ballistic and fire control systems of T-90. The insult to injury is these integration will be done the guys who built the experience on Arjun.
and with Rupee in a race to reach 100 per dollar those so and so million dollar figures quoted for T-90 will hide most of it's true high life cycle cost over the Arjun than reveal it.
