The "REAL STEEL" of India :: ARJUN Main Battle Tank
Thursday, March 24, 2016
Yet, the army’s opposition to the Arjun continued. Instead of the successful trials eliciting more orders, the Directorate General of Mechanised Forces demanded from the DRDO a long list of changes in the Arjun.
For years, the Directorate General of Mechanised Forces argued that the 62-tonne Arjun was too heavy; that it would get bogged down in desert sands, and that bridges and culverts on Indian border roads could not withstand such a heavy load. The army also complained the tank was too wide to be transported by railway.
This notion was comprehensively disproved during the comparative trials, when the Arjun proved more mobile than the lighter, 42-tonne T-90S, even on soft desert sand. A “third-party evaluation” done by Israel Military Industries (IMI), which had developed the highly regarded Merkava tank, concluded the Arjun would outrun most tanks.
The Arjun Mk-2 variant developed by DRDO's Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE) essentially grew out of the IA's recommended upgrades post the Arjun Mk-I's comparative trials with the T-90S which included among other things the incorporation of an anti-tank missile firing capability, an increase in penetrating power of ammunition used and the mounting of explosive reactive armour (ERA) panels. In order to comply with these requests besides generally updating the Mk-I design and making its assemblies more production friendly, CVRDE has made some 89 upgrades to the baseline Mk-1, including 19 major improvements such as the incorporation of an improved commander's panoramic sight, a track width mine plough, automatic target tracking, power driven air defence gun, advanced running gear system, final drive with reduction ratio, an improved slip ring, capability to fire new thermobaric ammunition, ERA, a laser warning countermeasure system, and a new auxiliary power unit (APU) generating in excess of 8 KW of power i.e double that of the Mk-1's APU.
The Arjun Mk-2 also features the capability to fire the Israeli LAHAT missile in an anti-tank role through its 120 mm main gun. However the LAHAT has turned out to be a sticking point between the IA and DRDO since besides uneven accuracy, smoke regurgitation from the LAHAT missile into the fighting compartment as it is fired through the main gun has been deemed as too hazardous by the IA. As of now DRDO has dropped the LAHAT from its Arjun Mk-2 MBT plans and is instead pursuing the Canon Launched Guided Missile (CLGM) being developed indigenously at the Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL).
The missile firing capability requirement grew out of the fact that though the Arjun Mk-I with a score of 25.77 beat the T-90S with a score of 24.50 in the firepower criteria during the 2010 comparative trials if the T-90S's missile firing capability were to be kept aside, the T-90 fared marginally better in the overall final score primarily on account of its Invar missile firing capability. The comparative trials were on four parameters viz. fire power, survivability, reliability and miscellaneous issues of the tank with weightages of 40, 35, 15 and 10 respectively. As per the trial report, MBT Arjun performed better than the T-90 tank in accuracy and consistency of firepower. However, the T-90S seems to have performed better in lethality and missile firing capability. Importantly, the IA concluded (April 2010) that "Arjun had performed creditably and it could be employed both for offensive and defensive tasks with same efficacy of T-90 tank'.
Now if the Mk-I itself could do that, then the Mk-2 given its technology, will certainly do far better. In fact in terms of both firepower and survivability the Mk-I will easily surpass Eastern Block tanks with or without taking into account a missile firing capability. As such the Arjun Mk-2 is clearly something that the IA should be using to overmatch Pakistani tanks, especially in the desert sector where the T-90S's electronics and sights have been known to function erratically. This is now sought to be remedied, by retrofitting existing T-90Ss with an air-conditioning unit being developed by DRDO. In fact other sub-systems developed by DRDO for the Arjun Mk-2 program are also expected to be featured in the T-90S including CVRDE's ERA Mk-II. A DRDO developed commander's non panoramic thermal imaging sight for the T-90S has also entered production with Bharat Electronics Limited and the Ordnance Factory Board. The T-90S will also use indigenous high accuracy fibre optic gyros developed by DRDO's Research Center Imarat (RCI) and feature fire control systems originally developed for the Arjun Mk-2.
While continuing to argue that the Arjun was too heavy, the Directorate General of Mechanised Forces’ demand for 73 modifications to the Arjun quite predictably resulted in the tank becoming even heavier. The army’s demand for Explosive Reactive Armour (ERA) to protect the crew added on one and a half tonnes. Another one and a half tonnes were added due to mine ploughs demanded by the Directorate General of Mechanised Forces, which churn up the ground ahead of the tank’s tracks, unearthing buried anti-tank mines. Numerous other modifications, including a commander’s panoramic sight, slapped on another two tonnes. From 62 tonnes, the Arjun now weighs 67 tonnes.
The Arjun Mark II is now held up by the army’s insistence that it should fire an anti-tank guided missile through its main gun, which is actually designed to fire armour piercing and high explosive shells. DRDO approached Israel Aircraft Industry for its Lahat missile, which has not proved successful. Now, a Ukrainian design bureau has been approached for its combat missile.
Demands accomplished by the DRDO - The driver has a seat which provides added protection in the eventuality of a mine blast. The front part of the chassis and the turret are fitted with an integrated explosive reactive armor (ERA) system. The all-round protection has been enhanced with improved KANCHAN armour, a modular composite armour developed by India. It has been described as being made by sandwiching composite panels between Rolled homogeneous armour (RHA). This armour is able to defeat APDS and HEAT rounds and is believed to withstand APFSDS. The Arjun Mk II is equipped with epicyclic transmission with hydrodynamic torque converter, mechanical lock up clutch and hydrodynamic retarder with 4 forward and 2 reverse gears, a computerized day/thermal fire control system and a new panoramic sighting system for the commander is mounted right side of the turret roof. The system includes a laser range finder and has hunter-killer capability.
The gunner sight is fitted with an automatic target tracker which greatly enhances the speed and accurate target engagement capability of the tank. To increase the self-protection of the Arjun Mk-II, a laser warning and countermeasure system (ALWACS) developed in collaboration with the Israeli Company Elbit Systems is mounted on each side of the turret. The four ALWACS elements are mounted at each corner of the turret to provide 360-degree coverage. The system detects and classifies laser threats and fire smoke grenades from an independent rotary launcher. The front of the chassis equipped with a track width mine plough to give the vehicle the ability to rapidly force a passage through a mined obstacle by creating a cleared path for it tracks to follow. Standard equipment of the Arjun Mk II includes also a thermal night vision sight for the driver, and advanced land navigation system which provides Inertial and GPS based navigation, NBC protection system, fume extractor system, auxiliary power unit and integrated fire detection and suppression system.
The turret and glacis are protected with Kanchan composite armour. Kanchan is made by sandwiching composite panels between Rolled Homogenous Armor (RHA) which helps in defeating APFDS and HEAT rounds. Trials were conducted in 2000 which showcased the ability of Kanchan armour to protect the tank when hit at point blank range by a T-72. It had also demonstrated the capability to defeat HESH and APFSDS rounds, which included the deadly Israeli APFSDS rounds.
A new honeycomb design of non-explosive and non-energetic reactive armour (NERA) along with nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) protection equipment, mine sweepers and one automatic fire fighting system are incorporated on the Arjun Mark II variant. Signature reduction to bring down the probabilities of the object being detected by Infrared seekers and thermal radar bands are also being incorporated.
For years, the Directorate General of Mechanised Forces has been unable to specify the design requirements of the Future Main Battle Tank (FMBT). Each successive director-general, traditionally a lieutenant general from the armoured corps, has brought his own ideas to the job, which have invariably diverged from those of his predecessor. In the circumstances, the Directorate General of Mechanised Forces has not responded to repeated DRDO requests for clear specifications.
“There has been no discussion on the FMBT, or consensus building across the armoured corps. Each Directorate General of Mechanised Forces chief consults only with a narrow group of officers around him. Without a corps-wide consensus, naturally there would be divergent views”, says a senior officer serving in the Directorate General of Mechanised Forces.
Without any idea of what kind of FMBT it wants, now the Directorate General of Mechanised Forces has now abdicated that decision entirely. In a Request for Information has sent shock waves through the defence industry, the Directorate General of Mechanised Forces asked tank manufacturers to propose the design for a “new generation, state-of-the-art combat vehicle platform” that it has dubbed the Future Ready Combat Vehicle (FRCV).
A senior retired tank officers points out: “An army that keeps abreast with tank design should not need to ask global vendors the specifications of its future tank. Vendors would, in any case, be guided by their commercial interests rather than by Indian operational requirements.”
"Arjuns did better than Russian-origin T-90S tanks in comparative trials in 2010. But the Army keeps on changing its technical requirements. If it ordered around 500 Arjuns, it would stabilize production lines. This, in turn, will allow regular upgrades and set the stage for developing the FMBT," said a scientist.
The referee in the raging battle, defence minister Manohar Parrikar, told Parliament on Tuesday that the Army's proposed FRCV project was to meet its "futuristic requirements beyond 2027". It is "not in conflict with the current MBT Arjun programme and its future orders", he added.
But the Army is adamant it will not order 118 Arjun Mark-II tanks, at a cost of Rs 5,745 crore, till they clear all operational trials.
Interestingly, In the year 2009, Colombia had shown interest in buying India's indigenous Main Battle Tank (MBT) Arjun. Last year, a senior People's Liberation Army (PLA) officer at its premier tank design institution, the Academy of Armoured Forces Engineering in Beijing, told visiting Indian journalists that the Arjun tank is "very good", and well suited for Indian conditions.
CAG report : The CAG raps Army in this report on Arjun MBT. The CAG has revealed what was restricted to the corridors of MoD and hidden behind secrecy of ‘national interest’. An order was placed for additional T-90 tanks in November 2007 even as Army kept on adding its requirements for the Arjun, said the CAG.
The CAG, in its latest report said there were eight instances in which Arjun in the comparative trial was judged against more stringent benchmarks parameters. “We noticed, eight instances where the Army placed benchmark of parameters on Arjun which were more stringent in comparison to those placed on T-90 tanks… the imposition of more stringent parameters precluded a level playing field”.
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India about the frequent changes in design leading to delay in development of MBT Arjun. The development of MBT prototype was to be completed by April 1982 but after going through several modifications in design, the prototype was cleared by the Army in 1998.
The reply does not take cognizance of the fact that even after clearing the production after acceptance of the prototype (1998), the designs continued to be re-worked for 12 years thereafter and frozen only in 2010. The most significant setback to production of MBT Arjun was the change in requirements put forth by the Army in February 2007.
See Arjun MBT compared with the Russian T-90 MBT :
It takes little imagination to conclude why the Army feels that the Arjun Mark II which is reaching a 68 ton weight does not meet its requirement for the future. Its basic features were conceived for a different era. A lighter tank made heavier by adding on armour and additional features can still be made to retain its character by getting a more powerful engine. A heavy tank may not be tolerant to be made lighter without the basic design going awry.
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This article has been written by Kaustav Kar exclusively for
www.DefenceNews.in
Location : Kolkata
Qualification : B.Tech - Electronics and Communication
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