India Army Armoured Vehicles

Zapper

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They should've made the exterior design a bit more futuristic. Atleast the casing around the main gun...something like the Lynx KF-31

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Zapper

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Isa Khan

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The Indian army has issued a new RFI (Request For Information) to acquire 350 light tanks weighing less than 25 tons. This request comes after the clash with the Chinese army near the disputed Pangong Lake in Ladakh and the Tibet Autonomous Region, and near the border between Sikkim and the Tibet Autonomous Region. According to the Request For Information (RFI), the Indian army would like to have a light tank featuring a multiple, modular and upgradable weapon system with the capability to destroy and offer countermeasures to varied threats.

The new light tank should also feature multiple weapons for anti-aircraft and ground role with different caliber assisted with remote control weapon station. For ammunition, the tank should employ modern advance multipurpose ‘smart munitions’ with a gun able to fire anti-tank guided missiles. The tank should have an auxiliary power unit, preheated, environment control unit and anti-drone capability, UAV jammers, net-enabled.

Currently, the Indian army operates Russian-made main battle tank T-90S called Bhishma and T-72M1 nicknamed Ajeya. Modern heavy tanks are not designed to be deployed in mountainous regions with narrow roads and crossing points not able to support a combat vehicle with a weight of 50 tons.

China has developed the Type 15 a lightweight tank that has a maximum weight of 36 tons and offers the mobility and the firepower of a standard Main Battle Tank (MBT). In fact, the Type 15 also called VT5 is armed with one 105 mm rifled gun with a thermal sleeve and fume extractor which has a maximum firing range of 3,000 m. The gun is able to fire anti-tank missiles fitted with a tandem HEAT (High Explosive Anti-Tank) warhead able to destroy armored or tanks protected with reactive armor (ERA). The missile has a maximum firing range of 5,000 m.

Currently, three companies have developed the concept of light tanks using tracked chassis including BAE Systems, General Dynamics, and Elbit Systems. U.S. Army has launched the MPF (Mobile Protected Firepower) program to have a new light tank for the airborne troops. Two prototypes of light tanks have already delivered to the US military for testing.

General Dynamics has developed a new light tank that weighs less than 30 tons. The light tank can be armed with a 120 or a 105 mm cannon and will have armor similar to a standard MBT. In October 2015 during the AUSA defense exhibition in Washington D.C., BAE Systems has unveiled a new concept of a light tank called Expeditionary Light Tank that could be airdropped from a C-130 aircraft. The company’s solution was based on the purpose-built M8 Armored Gun System, modernized with mature technologies from the CV90 family of infantry fighting vehicles and the Bradley Fighting Vehicle.

Recently, the Philippines has awarded the contract for the Philippine Army's Light Tank and Wheeled Armored Personnel Carrier Acquisition Projects to the Israeli company Elbit Systems. The new light tank for the Philippines is the Sabra which is based on the ASCOD 2 tracked chassis. In Europe, the Turkish company FNSS has designed the Kaplan fitted with a two-man turret armed with a standard NATO 105mm rifled gun which can fire both AP (Armor Piercing) and HE (High Explosive) ammunitions. The South Korean company Hanwha has also developed a light tank concept of light based on the K-21 IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle) fitted with a two-man turret CT-CV 105HP designed by the Belgian company John Cockerill.

 

Cabatli_TR

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According to Indian military sources, the FRCV will replace the T-72M1 Ajeya MBTs, but T-90S and Arjun MBTs will remain in service.

According to the military balance 2020, the Indian army operates around 3,565 MBTs including 122 Arjun, 2,418 T-72M/M1 Ajeya, 1,025 T-90S, and 1,100 tanks of various models in store.

The T-72M1 Ajeya is a Soviet-made upgraded version of T-72 MBT produced under license in India since 1978. The tank is an export variant of the Russian T-72 which is armed with one 125 mm 2A46M cannon using a carousel automatic loading system with 24 rounds ready to fire.

As well as firing standard 125 mm ammunition such as Armor-Piercing Fin Stabilized Discarding Sabot - Tracer (APFSDS-T) and high-explosive fragmentation, it can also fire a laser-guided High Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) missile at a maximum range of 5,000 m. The latest version of the missile has a tandem HEAT warhead to defeat targets with explosive reactive armor.

 

Nilgiri

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Here we go again:


According to a Request for Information (RFI) published by the Indian MoD (Ministry of Defense) on June 1, 2021, India would like to procure 1,700 Future Ready Combat Vehicles (FRCVs) that would replace the old Russian designed T-72M/M1 Ajeya MBTs (Main Battle Tanks).

According to the technical requirements published by the Indian MoD (Ministry of Defense), the Future Ready Combat Vehicle (FRCV) must have the capabilities to operate in a wide range of terrains in road and off-road conditions such as high altitude areas, plains as well as deserts.

The main armament of the FRCV will be able to destroy different types of land targets including MBTs (Main Battle Tanks), armored vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles, and helicopters. The new vehicle must be fitted with a remotely operated weapon station and anti-aircraft combat equipment to counter UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles).

Standard onboard equipment of the FRCV must include new modern technologies as artificial intelligence, stealth features and can operate in a network-centric and electronic warfare environment.

According to Indian military sources, the FRCV will replace the T-72M1 Ajeya MBTs, but T-90S and Arjun MBTs will remain in service.

According to the military balance 2020, the Indian army operates around 3,565 MBTs including 122 Arjun, 2,418 T-72M/M1 Ajeya, 1,025 T-90S, and 1,100 tanks of various models in store.

The T-72M1 Ajeya is a Soviet-made upgraded version of T-72 MBT produced under license in India since 1978. The tank is an export variant of the Russian T-72 which is armed with one 125 mm 2A46M cannon using a carousel automatic loading system with 24 rounds ready to fire.

As well as firing standard 125 mm ammunition such as Armor-Piercing Fin Stabilized Discarding Sabot - Tracer (APFSDS-T) and high-explosive fragmentation, it can also fire a laser-guided High Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) missile at a maximum range of 5,000 m. The latest version of the missile has a tandem HEAT warhead to defeat targets with explosive reactive armor.

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EDIT: RFI document attached
 

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Zapper

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I wonder which tank currently in production fits the bill or they actually expecting to develop a whole new tank altogether which'd take forever
 

Zapper

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Very very bad decision,hope it gets scrapped
The first RFP for FICV/FRCV came out in 2017 which was scrapped and now re-issued again. This is very likely to get scrapped and we'd end up license producing more T-90s
 

Gary

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There's no doubt that Ajeya's are old, but is it a priority? The money to buy 1700 future tank could be diverted into other more critical requirements, especially now that India to face a larger , more sophisticated enemy in the Himalayas and Indian ocean.
 

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There's no doubt that Ajeya's are old, but is it a priority? The money to buy 1700 future tank could be diverted into other more critical requirements, especially now that India to face a larger , more sophisticated enemy in the Himalayas and Indian ocean.
Army's acquisition council is filled with lobbyists and that's why the unrealistic RFI.
This is a move to kill the DRDO NGMBT program.
 

Nilgiri

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Very very bad decision,hope it gets scrapped

Honestly, another absolute comedy of bad decision making over decades that have now compounded.

From 80s - 2010s (and still going) there was not one iota of appreciation by defence-babudom on there needing to be production side commited at some point and have core competency in stating (to RnD) what the absolute red lines are for the basic parameters/requirements.....rather than making this all vague and grey as to who is to fault (the requirement setting, the definition or the project mgmt inertia?) when concern of "too big"/heavy etc arises.

There is huge amount of things you need to do on production side dev and feedback by at some point picking "good enough", scaling it and then take it to next evolutions as you need later. But we are stuck never having these loops even action at any large scale....to keep some seated babus content in cushy position.

It angers me how the genuinely great work at say DMRL has been squandered by the perfect-princess-attitude (seemingly oriented in mind to import anyway and keep kickbacks/paper jobs easier) in other parts of armoured vehicle program.

AMX-40 isnt good enough? Fine..... but you could have also picked it, get it produced, take it forward (make it better)...get somewhere in end for time and resource spent.

Same thing with Arjun....if you pick the route, you got to have end goal in mind to produce (and define the requirements clearly in bold red lettering to paste in all workplaces .....rather than use as some excuse of "concern" later).

What a waste this has all been. Fixing/bypassing this stuff is slow and arduous process and wont be uniform.

So RFP re-issue is just ongoing symptom of the underlying rot that has set in here.....same batch of babus operating on same set of norms to keep same paper flow going. They have next to no idea about the actual engineering and workflow cost at hand.
 

crixus

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Its gonna meet the same fate as Carbine RFE :
After every 5 years they put a fresh request


The best should be the ATAGS route, DRDO + private sector collaboration and they will deliver the product in timely manner

They can follow the route of Brahmos and Barak 8, engage with either South Korea or Israel. Develop a product with India centric requirements and if possible hold the IP .
If the Private sector either L&T or Mahindra defence get this opportunity then the next tank will be India with very less foreign contents
 

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Nilgiri

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Interesting throwback article (from 1980) to see some of the genesis of the issues downstream now:

 

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