Arjun Main Battle Tank (MBT)

[venkat]

its stabilized gun control system or stabilized fire control system, where Gyro's are used to measure the tank yaw and pitch and accordingly control the gun actuator to remain locked even during motion through rough terrain!!!

 

[sayareakd]

any one has any idea as to what that vertical pipe like structure with black top on the top of Arjun tank is for ???

 

[p2prada]

You are talking bs here man.Arjun mk1 has already outclassed the T90S by far in both firepower
and armor.There is no doubt about it.I have seen for long that you are a diehard russian fan or should I say a fanboy.Without the Kontact5 the T90 can't even withstand a single RPG7 and Kanchan mk1 withstood hits from even Kornet ATGMs.Even multiple Israelly 125 mm FSAPDS T rounds and the indian mk2 rounds fired from T90 at point blanck range could not defeat the Kanchan armor.That should answer your question.

And please don't talk about the firepower of the 2A46 gun that fires only 550 mm long penetrtors which have a mere weight of 7 kg.On the other hand the ARDE L52 fires 950mm longrod rounds with a weight of 10.8 kg and are fitted with hardened ballistic caps.Both guns have same mussel velocity of 1720 meter/sec.So now you decide which one is better,but to understand you need to know about physics.
In fact if both gun use tungsten rounds the ARDE L52 beats the Rheinmetal L44 smoothbore handsdown which has a mussel velocity of just 1550 meter/sec.
Beside most people think that the Arjun's guns are less powerful because it is rifled.The spin from rifling bleeds some of the kinetic energy into rotating motion.But ARDE scientists overcame this problem by a simple but brilliant innovation-they used barings into the sabot,so that while travelling through the barrel the sabots starts to spin but the rod remains linear.So Arjun has got a rifled gun that is just as powerful as a smoothbore one of same length but in addition can also fire HESH rounds that are must against concrete pil boxes and that smoothbore guns can't fire.
REGARDS....

We have discussed that umpteen number of times on the T-90 thread. Check it out. Everybody knows I am not a fan of either the Arjun Mk1 or the LCA mk1.

The T-90 packs more punch and can handle more punishment. The 2A46M5 being a 52Cal gun, it's muzzle velocity almost equals the L-55 and Russian shells carry a larger amount of blasting charge. Even the Americans are considering upgrading their old gun to the L-55.

Rifled gun is obsolete. There is a new and more powerful gun being developed for the Mk2, no idea if it is rifled or smooth, and the FCS will be calibrated to fire the Lahat. The Mk1 production model has a weaker gun and cannot fire the Lahat.

The so called long rod penetrators do not exist in Indian inventory. Check OFB for indigenous ammo. There is no proof of us having purchased European or American penetrators of that size and capability. The biggest non American penetrators are less than 9Kg. We would be lucky if we manage a 7Kg penetrator of our own. We are at 5Kg as of today.

HESH rounds are best left to artillery. Tanks with smoothbore can use HEAT rounds which are more effective. Considering all countries except for UK uses HEAT instead of HESH, there is the obsolescence factor included. The only advantage to Rifled gun is accuracy. But modern FCS has removed the need for rifling.


@Kunal

The induction of the Arjun will happen only in the Southern Command. Logic dictates they are the only ones to field the tank because of the already existing infrastructure. The numbers are too less for it to be meaningfully disbursed among all our commands. No army can have 200 tanks here and 200 tanks elsewhere. Keeping them all together will also help reduce costs of maintaining the tank along with training of the crew.

Generally speaking, ie, not meant for you. I have already made this point before. The IA will not create a new supply chain for another set of tanks all the way into Pakistan. It would be crippling, especially in case of emergencies where one tank regiment is annihilated and needs reserves. If T-90 is scrapped for Arjun and another 1000 are ordered, then it would make obvious sense to use Arjun as our spearhead rather then the T-types. But we know that as of today, no matter how good the Arjun becomes, the T-90 will still be the primary MBT of the IA.

Another point that I have made umpteen number of times. The Army knows BEST. If the Army has decided the T-90 is the primary MBT then so be it. If the Arjun is a secondary tank and if the army has decided it, then that's how it is going to be. I don't support DRDO and OFB. I support the Army and Air Force. This has nothing to do with which tank is superior, it has to do a lot with which tank fits the bill. The IA could be offered the Leopard A2 and Merkava Mk4, if they still chose T-90, then it is a decision everybody has to respect.

All my points have only focused on the strengths offered by T-90 as compared to Arjun. Till date, the T-90 still tops the list.

Then again look at what PTI has to say about costs of the Mk2;
Lens on News

"If everything goes on track, Heavy Vehicles Factory here will roll out its first batch of Mark II by the end of 2014 and a unit will cost Rs 35 crore. Mark II will have 90 per cent Indian components in its making," the official added.

At the same time the senior officials on the T-90 say it will continue costing the same at 11 Crores per unit. So, is 3 times the cost justifiable for a capability which is only slightly better even if it is proven to be better? What if the new version of the T-90 is much better in overall survivability and lethality at a slightly higher cost? So, like I said, Army knows best.

 

[Param]

any one has any idea as to what that vertical pipe like structure with black top on the top of Arjun tank is for ???

Exhaust Pipe?

 

[p2prada]

Anyway, without going OT, here is some interesting article from Knol.

Arjun MBT - a knol by Vijainder K Thakur

As of April 2011, Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF) Avadi had delivered 101 tanks to the Army.

Top New Features in Arjun Mk-II
Ability to fire anti-tank guided missiles through the tank's main gun.
Extra protection for the tank's crew through explosive reactive armor, or ERA
Thermal imaging panoramic sights that allows the Arjun's commander to scan his surroundings even by night.
An automatic target tracking (ATT) system which will add to the accuracy when firing on a moving target.
Advanced air defence gun system for firing at attack helicopters.
Enhanced Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) with a capacity of 8.5 KW (against Mark I's 4.5 KW).
Mine Plough.
Advanced Land Navigation System (ALNS)
Digital control harness.
Improved gun barrel with an Equivalent Firing Charge (strength of the barrel to sustain firing) of 500 rounds against T 72's 250 rounds.
Indigenous engine will replace the German engine of the 58-tonne Arjun Mark-I.(none of that nonsense from Prasun)


In phase I, 45 tanks will roll out with 56 upgrades, including the missile firing capability and the commander's panoramic sight with night vision. Phase I production of Arjun Mark-II will be completed by July 2011

In phase II, the remaining 79 tanks, with all the 93 improvements, will come off the assembly line. "By 2013-14, the first batch of around 30 tanks will go out," Dr. Sivakumar said. Phase 2 production will be completed by June 2012.

"After the testing, the MBT will go for a first user trial in October 2011 and production is expected to start from July 2012 after the second user trial," the official said.

"We had test-fired the Israeli LAHAT missile through the Arjun gun as far back as in 2005," said Sundaresh. "It will take us about six months to integrate the LAHAT's designator into the Arjun's fire control system."

"The ERA will protect the Arjun's crews from enemy missiles. Initially we will fit the same Russian ERA that protects the T-90 and the T-72. But, we will also develop our own indigenous ERA."

The HVF can deliver upto 50 tanks in a year.

According to unconfirmed reports Arjun Mk-II will be equipped with a Laser Warning Systems developed by Elbit of Israel.

According to unconfirmed reports Arjun Mk-II will also be fitted with the Iron Fist APS (Active Protection System) developed by srael Military Industries (IMI). (interesting)

Very interesting points from the long article. My question would be whether some of these upgrades can be retrofitted on the T-types as well? It would be really good to have this system on all tanks and IFVs, iron fist or trophy would do.

 

[sayareakd]

btw how many have seen Arjun and T90 upclose ???

 

[Godless-Kafir]

We have discussed this earlier. The Arjun Mk2 is meant to equalize or exceed the T-90 in armour and firepower depending on the version of T-90 we are talking about. The Mk1 did not.

Didnt the Arjun Mk-1 out perform the T-90 in comparative trails and an neutral auditor also said it was a good tank! Then what is wrong now?

 

[p2prada]

Didnt the Arjun Mk-1 out perform the T-90 in comparative trails and an neutral auditor also said it was a good tank! Then what is wrong now?

Only in mobility and accuracy. When it comes to firepower and armour the T-90 still comes on top. 2
T-90 is cheaper and we have the infrastructure to manufacture twice the number as compared to Arjun.

 

[thakur_ritesh]

guys, you all are mature people with level heads. debate on merits and not like kids, if you fellows cant debate a thing do not respond to the post with off topic rants and spoil the whole discussion.

as much some people have a right to appreciate the good that is happening with home grown products, so much others have a right to question various aspects of it, so let the debate go on with strong counter points from which everyone stands to learn.

 

[Godless-Kafir]

Only in mobility and accuracy. When it comes to firepower and armour the T-90 still comes on top. 2
T-90 is cheaper and we have the infrastructure to manufacture twice the number as compared to Arjun.

In a battle Mobility and Accuracy matter more than Armour because you need to hit the enemy not receive hits! Wont that make it more capable than T-90.

Also Arjuns heavier which means it has more Armour, it does not have Reactive armour but so do Challenger and Abrams, that does not make them lesser in Armour than T-90?

The Tanks is marginally more expensive but it offers better mobility in level with western tanks. In our 4,000 strong feelt there is room for both Arjun and T-90.

Arjun MK2 is a different story so lets not go there for the movement. Lets talk with Developing world standards.

 

[sayareakd]

just check the armour of the two, you will know where you want to be at the time of war.

just check the competition at the same place

 

[san]

Only in mobility and accuracy. When it comes to firepower and armour the T-90 still comes on top. 2
T-90 is cheaper and we have the infrastructure to manufacture twice the number as compared to Arjun.

Could not get how the armour of the T-90 is better than Arjun. T-90 is cheaper and it doesnot mean that we shall allow our solders to burn inside the tanks. Till now 10 T-90 was produced by Avadi with kit from Russia. That is our infrastructure to produce T-90

 

[Storm shadow]

just check the armour of the two, you will know where you want to be at the time of war.

just check the competition at the same place

So,where you would like to be in??By the way,the crew told that they would like to be in Arjuns in the time of war.

 

[p2prada]

Could not get how the armour of the T-90 is better than Arjun. T-90 is cheaper and it doesnot mean that we shall allow our solders to burn inside the tanks. Till now 10 T-90 was produced by Avadi with kit from Russia. That is our infrastructure to produce T-90

There is a serious misconception regarding the T-90s armour. Western analysts believe the T-90 that was designed in the 1990s had the same level of armour as the Leopard A4.

To compare, let's look at the Leopard.

Main Battle Tank - Leopard 2
If you scroll down you will see the Leo has a rating of 590-690mm for the turret with Glacis at 600mm.

As for Arjun the figures are;

Tank Protection Levels
500-570mm for turret and 410mm at the Glacis.

As for T-90
T-72B(M)/T-90 Armor Estimate
We have 540 to 740mm on the Turret and 690mm at the Glacis.

This is how it is. The T-90 has a lesser weight only because it is a much smaller tank and also does not have an internal blast compartment to store ammo which easily shaves of 8 tons as on western MBTs. Remove the blast compartment and even the larger M1A2 will have a weight of ~50 tons.

As for what's actually happening with the T-90 program in India, we don't really know. Perhaps the IA is still negotiation with Russia over the new T-90M upgrade. There is talk of adding the Kaktus or Relikt ERA on the T-90 which is meant to far surpass the already surpassed Arjun Mk1's armour. Kaktus or Relikt is meant to double or triple the already 220-240mm Kaktus 5 ERA. This will push the armour on T-90 to 1000mm plus like it is on the Leopard A6.

However there is no doubt the American shells far surpass the German shells or even Russian. The Russians say only the A3 version and higher of the American DU rounds can penetrate the T-90S or T-90M at 1500m.

Then let's see how good the T-90 is against enemy fire;
T-80U and T-90 Trials 20.10.99

Out of all the shells, ATGMs and RPGs fired at a Kontakt 5 equipped T-90 only the RPG-29 was able to penetrate the T-90. The ATGMs and APFSDS ammo failed on all counts.

As for RPG-29, let's see why it is so deadly;

MoD kept failure of best tank quiet - Telegraph

The Challenger 2 is reputed to be one of the most sophisticated tanks in the world and those used in Iraq by the British Army are built with Dorchester armour, the composition of which is top secret. The tank is also fitted with explosive reactive armour (ERA) at its front that should deflect any weapon fired at its hull.

the Challenger was damaged when a Russian-made rocket-propelled grenade, known as an RPG-29, defeated the ERA and penetrated the driver's cabin.

So, the RPG-29 penetrated the front armour of the Challenger II and the ERA over it. Quite gruesome isn't it that a Russian made weapon can penetrate the armour of god like tanks so easily. The Arjun is a lesser capable cousin of the Challenger II BTW. Now I don't even want to know what would happen to the Mk1 which has no ERA equipped.

Surprise Surprise;
Operation in Sadr City Is an Iraqi Success, So Far - New York Times

In one instance not previously disclosed, an American M1 tank was damaged by an RPG-29, an advanced anti-tank weapon.

Even the beyond god like M1A2 with it's Depleted Uranium armour was penetrated. There goes the theory up in smoke.

The T-90 is a deadly beast in all forms. The only problem with Russian tanks is inferior shells due to a restricted autoloader, and Arjun isn't any different since we don't have access to the so called superior shells from NATO. However, we aren't fighting an enemy using NATO shells either, so no sleep is lost over it.

BTW, the autoloader on T-90S has been modified to fire the newer long rods from Russia. There is a chance we may get the 2A86 as well, which is a 55 Cal gun, the same as the L55 on Leopard. The T-90M is going to be a different beast altogether.

 

[p2prada]

So,where you would like to be in??By the way,the crew told that they would like to be in Arjuns in the time of war.

The crew that is currently driving the Arjun moved from the T-72. T-72 is acknowledged to have a poorer armour. Then again, the crew will base this on crew comfort, which is another advantage on Arjun. I would rather drive a BMW than a Lorry, even though I know the Lorry can crush the BMW in a second.

In a battle Mobility and Accuracy matter more than Armour because you need to hit the enemy not receive hits! Wont that make it more capable than T-90.

The Rifled gun has superior accuracy. But bring the Arjun against a Challenger and all accuracy claims go to naught. The Arjun can fire briefcase targets from 2Km, but Challenger can fire a backpack size target from 4Kms away. Experience tank crews will do it from 6 Kms away. Even after all that, there is a reason why the T-90 crew is still feared.

The accuracy of the T-90 is not as good as the Arjun. This could be due to a variety of reasons. The biggest being the FCS may not be properly calibrated to fire accurately. So, they are perhaps working to change that on the T-90M.

Also, there is no guarantee the Fire on Move is actually useful in battle. If you look at Iraq war, the M1A2's stood still before firing. With the T-90s missile firing capability, the lack of shell accuracy can be curtailed by using only missile against opponents in moving battles. Fire on Move is like bringing a fighter into a dog fight, ie, by getting close to the opponent. Standing still while firing is something like BVR, where you can pick targets 8Kms away using modern TIs and bring the opponent down using missiles. Considering the T-90 fires Refleks while the Arjun Mk1 is not capable of firing Lahats, we know who will win the day for us.

Also Arjuns heavier which means it has more Armour, it does not have Reactive armour but so do Challenger and Abrams, that does not make them lesser in Armour than T-90?

The Challenger II and Abrams are being equipped with ERA for urban battles. The T-90 has excellent armour protection that is better than Arjun. This has been explained in my previous post.

The Tanks is marginally more expensive but it offers better mobility in level with western tanks. In our 4,000 strong feelt there is room for both Arjun and T-90.

The T-90S costs 11 Crores. The Arjun Mk1 costs 17 Crores. This difference is not marginal. The T-90 also carries the latest French TIs while the Mk1 carries previous generation Israeli TIs. The T-90S has missile firing capability unlike the Arjun Mk1. The T-90M cost is unknown, but it won't be as expensive as the Mk2 at 35 Crores.

Arjun MK2 is a different story so lets not go there for the movement. Lets talk with Developing world standards.

Considering you believe in a "Developing World Standards" the T-90 is actually a "developed world standard."

The T-90 is being flayed only because people compare it to the T-72 and think it is the same. The difference between a T-72 and a T-90 is just like the difference between a Su-27 and a Su-30MKI. People fail to grasp that. Another reason would be because the Arjun Mk1 is a failed tank and their fragile egos do not allow them to wake up to reality. The Mk2 is a good tank, no doubt, but Army will not buy a new tank when there is only 9 years left for a FMBT, a tank that is being built upto their specifications.

The Arjun requires a doctrinal change in tactics and strategy along with logistics. Considering the Cold Start is being exercised using only T-90s for over 10 years, there is no room for Arjun in that doctrine.

If the US Army has decided on only upgrading their old Abrams rather than induct the new 40 tons tank that they developed due to budgetery issues, there is no doubt Indian Army will feel the same about going for 2 different tanks at the same time. The logistics footprint for T-72 and T-90 is the same. Considering maintaining a supply chain is the hardest to do on enemy territory, the army will not go ahead and build a whole new supply chain for 500 tanks compared to 3500 T-types. The Arjuns will be relegated to a defensive posture in Rajasthan and Gujarat.

 

[Storm shadow]

Ok p2prada you gave a source regarding the armor is the most unreliable source.The armor thickness of a tank is the most closely guarded secret.So how can an individual author know that.
With out the Kontact5 the T90 can't even withstand a RPG7.On the otherhand Kanchan armor withstood hits from both the KonkursM ATGM and Kornet atgms without ERA.Besides in 2005 during trial the armor was found to be capable of withstanding both the 125 mm IMI shot and 125 ARDE mk2 shot from 2A46M at point blanck range.So there goes your theory of weak armor in Arjun.Besides the Arjun mk2 will be equipped with new slanted armor with NERA-ERA combo.
Now coming at the rounds.Just look at the rounds's length,it's 994 mm!one of the longest and heaviest T round in the world.As I said earlier,simple use of barings can solve the problem of rifled barrels.Besides V.K.Saraswat stated that ARDE has developed a new mk2 round with a heavier rod and much stronger propelant.But yeah,the 2A86 is much better for sure.

 

[p2prada]

Ok p2prada you gave a source regarding the armor is the most unreliable source.The armor thickness of a tank is the most closely guarded secret.So how can an individual author know that.
With out the Kontact5 the T90 can't even withstand a RPG7.On the otherhand Kanchan armor withstood hits from both the KonkursM ATGM and Kornet atgms without ERA.Besides in 2005 during trial the armor was found to be capable of withstanding both the 125 mm IMI shot and 125 ARDE mk2 shot from 2A46M at point blanck range.So there goes your theory of weak armor in Arjun.Besides the Arjun mk2 will be equipped with new slanted armor with NERA-ERA combo.
Now coming at the rounds.Just look at the rounds's length,it's 994 mm!one of the longest and heaviest T round in the world.As I said earlier,simple use of barings can solve the problem of rifled barrels.Besides V.K.Saraswat stated that ARDE has developed a new mk2 round with a heavier rod and much stronger propelant.But yeah,the 2A86 is much better for sure.

The armour details are guarded. But most analysts still say the T-90 has a Leo A4 level of armour.

Also, from fofanov;

ATGLs
T-90: RPG-29 produced a total of 3 penetrations.
No other RPG rounds could penetrate even the stripped target.

If RPG-7 has not penetrated T-90 even when stripped off K-5, then I don't believe it can when equipped with K5.

No matter how well the Arjun Mk2 armour has improved, the proposed T-90M will still have superior armour. We will also be using Kanchan on the T-90s that we are going to build at Avadi. Over the Kanchan will be the Relikt or the Kaktus. From Knol we know that the ERA being developed for the Arjun Mk2 will be in the K-5 category while the Relikt and Kaktus are obviously superior.

As for 2A46M, that is the much weaker T-72 gun. The 2A46M2 and 2A45M5 are much superior in muzzle velocity, barrel life as well as pressure. The 2A46M can only fire an APFSDS 250 times while the 2A46M2 can fire the same round 1500 times. The 2A46M5 gives improved accuracy but it is more or less the same.

The Merkava is equipped with a 120mm gun, so how can it fire a 125mm round.

Finally, I would like proof of us having a long rod round that has surpassed even the M829A3. Funny as the claim is, I would be happy if we achieved something such as this.

As of today, the only weapons that can penetrate the T-90S is the RPG-29 with a 750mm rod, the M829A3 with 920mm rod or the ATGMs with top attack capability like Lahat.

 

[Storm shadow]

p2,just go through the HAPP website.There you should get all the details of 125 mm IMI rounds,125 mm ARDE mk2 rounds and the 120mm ARDE mk1 rounds.The OFB website has not been updated for a decade or so.
I don't know how did that author get that armor detail. In 1985 the 1st prototype of Kanchan armor was made of a 1.5'' ceramic alumina tiles sandwithed between high hardened tungsten steel and limited quantity of glass fibers.The combined thickness of the two plates was 120mm or 5'' but their armor thickness was equivalent to 400 mm of rha against FSAPDS T rounds.So definately the complete armor had more thickness than atleast 600 mm against ke rounds.This block had defeated the 2A46M rounds from few hundred meter and also the 106 mm heat rounds from rcl guns.Arjuns don't use this armor anymore.Besides,as you said and I also know that india is using Kanchan armor in the T90Ms itself reveals that original russian armor of T90M is inferior.Otherwyse IA would not have been agreed.Besides according to the latest report Arjun mk2 will be 64 ton tank,so much more heavier armor than mk1 is for sure.Coupled with ERA-NERA combo the armor will be one of the strongest for sure.
It's not right that current ARDE L52 can't fire the LAHAT,in 2004 LAHAT was fired from that gun.Besides it's not weak either,because there is very few tank guns that can withstand a bore pressure of 860 mpa.Even the Israelies were very much impressed by overall design of Arjuns but they praised the Kanchan and ofcourse the gun the most.They even told that ARDE had found the gun 'accidentaly'.

 

[p2prada]

p2,just go through the HAPP website.There you should get all the details of 125 mm IMI rounds,125 mm ARDE mk2 rounds and the 120mm ARDE mk1 rounds.The OFB website has not been updated for a decade or so.
I don't know how did that author get that armor detail. In 1985 the 1st prototype of Kanchan armor was made of a 1.5'' ceramic alumina tiles sandwithed between high hardened tungsten steel and limited quantity of glass fibers.The combined thickness of the two plates was 120mm or 5'' but their armor thickness was equivalent to 400 mm of rha against FSAPDS T rounds.So definately the complete armor had more thickness than atleast 600 mm against ke rounds.This block had defeated the 2A46M rounds from few hundred meter and also the 106 mm heat rounds from rcl guns.Arjuns don't use this armor anymore.Besides,as you said and I also know that india is using Kanchan armor in the T90Ms itself reveals that original russian armor of T90M is inferior.Otherwyse IA would not have been agreed.Besides according to the latest report Arjun mk2 will be 64 ton tank,so much more heavier armor than mk1 is for sure.Coupled with ERA-NERA combo the armor will be one of the strongest for sure.
It's not right that current ARDE L52 can't fire the LAHAT,in 2004 LAHAT was fired from that gun.Besides it's not weak either,because there is very few tank guns that can withstand a bore pressure of 860 mpa.Even the Israelies were very much impressed by overall design of Arjuns but they praised the Kanchan and ofcourse the gun the most.They even told that ARDE had found the gun 'accidentaly'.

The MK1 has not been calibrated to fire the Lahat. It is a diferent story that the Lahat was fired in a test, but as long as the operational ones are not calibrated then it is no point.

Also we are using Kanchan on T-90, not because the Russians supplied inferior armour. They were unwilling to sign the ToT for the composite armour which was needed for indigenous manufacture. Now we don't know if the Russians are unwilling due to laws, or merely unwilling to hand over tech or if we have even negotiated for it properly.

No matter how good the Arjun has become, one of the most important points that does not allow it a place in the army is because the Arjun is late. The Mk1 showed promise only in 2008 while it was a disaster in 1998. A lot of Arjun parts are European imports and the T-90 was selected at the time when we were under sanctions. Even if Arjun was accepted, we are not going to see an indigenous engine until this year. Do you really think Germany would have supplied tracks and engines along with French transmission during sanctions. Never. Remember this decision was made after 1998 and sealed in 2001. The army isn't even interested in the Arjun. So, what can anybody do about it? Be sure that all these are calculated decisions. The Army has gone for indigenous equipment whenever it has the need for it and not to satisfy DRDO's requirements.

The people who are saying that everything has been upto Army's satisfaction and that they have to induct Arjun for national prestige and ego, do you think that is justified? We follow a different doctrine defined by T-types. This has taken years for us to master. Now do you want the Army to change the way they fight a war for a few years until 2020 and then change doctrine again after 2020 when the FMBT is ready. It is impossible. Arjun is a tank while the T-90 is a weapons system. It has been integrated in our command and control system and will be replaced by another tank which will follow a similar doctrine. The FMBT will be a T-90 class tank with 4th generation technologies. This is simply a very important reason on why the Arjun induction is merely a token induction to keep the industry and the people happy. So, let's leave it at that. Whatever we have learnt from Arjun, we can adopt it in making a better tank by 2020, one which the army cannot refuse.

We have plans of building a new tank which will make the existing tanks look like lemons. We are planning on building a whole new generation of tanks building up on technology developed for Arjun. The F-22 of the tank world. Isn't that enough even for DRDO? New hybrid armour, lighter and more powerful hyperbar engine, self healing systems, automation, EMR and IR stealth, EW, laser based APS, satellite navigation and communication, better guns etc. You want this tank or just another tank following a design principle from the 70s.

 

[Storm shadow]

Hey p2prada,it seems that you are not atall a fanboy.I am extremely sorry dude.But I think it was not the gun but the fcs was not caliberated to fire the LAHAT as the laser target designator was not intigrated.Besides the IMI 125 FSAPDS T rounds are among the finest 125 mm ke rounds that Kanchan defeated fired from T90 as the rounds are not used in indian T 72M1.Besides israeli are known for their weapons and when they praised the Kanchan armor and ARDE L52 guns so much,then it surely has got something.I don't believe russians were unwilling to supply the T90 armor panels.I mean if they can give us complete tot of Al31FP and Bars radars and even the FGFA so why on earth they would denye the armor tech.If kanchan was not better IA would have never used them in their frontline tanks.
Besides Arjun mk2 will have 94% indigenous parts as stated by DRDO.
As you are a very informed member I want to ask you a question.The recent article stated that IA has plans to induct 1200 FMBT.So there will be 1800 T90M and 1200 FMBT,that's 3000 tanks.But army's recomended tank force is 4200 tanks.So how they gonna fill the huge gap of 1000 tanks??And what is a self healing system by the way??
THANX in advance.