Image of Arjun test-firing LAHAT missile
Posted on 04/13/2010 9:56:26 PM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
Army to purchase more Arjun tanks
Ajai Shukla / New Delhi April 14, 2010, 0:37 IST
New Arjuns will fire anti-tank missiles; have extra armour protection
The success of the indigenous Arjun main battle tank (MBT) in desert trials last month is generating additional army orders for a tank that is emerging as a notable research and development (R&D) success. Meanwhile, the Arjun is becoming more capable; the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), which designed the Arjun, says that all future Arjuns will incorporate major improvements, including the ability to fire missiles.
Business Standard had reported (Arjun tank outruns, outguns T-90, March 25, 2010) that the Arjun tank had conclusively outperformed the Russian T-90 — the army’s current frontline MBT — in trials conducted in early March by the Bikaner-based 180 Armoured Brigade.
The army is still evaluating that trial report to decide how many additional Arjuns it should order, over and above the existing order of 124 tanks. But, the question before the army is no longer whether to order more Arjuns; rather, it is how many to order? Highly placed Ministry of Defence (MoD) sources confirm that the army is moving away from its staunch opposition to the Arjun.
The DRDO, meanwhile, is working overtime to sweeten the deal. S Sundaresh, the DRDO’s Chief Controller for Armaments and Combat Engineering, has told Business Standard, that all Arjuns now ordered will fire anti-tank guided missiles through the tank’s main gun; provide extra protection for the tank’s crew through explosive reactive armour, or ERA; be fitted with thermal imaging panoramic sights that allow the Arjun’s commander to scan his surroundings even by night; and incorporate at least seven other improvements over the current Arjuns.
“We had test-fired the Israeli LAHAT missile through the Arjun gun as far back as in 2005”, pointed out Sundaresh. “It will take us about six months to integrate the LAHAT’s designator into the Arjun’s fire control system.”
The addition of two tonnes of ERA will increase the weight of the Arjun to just over 60 tonnes, making it one of the world’s heaviest tanks. But, the DRDO claims that its powerful 1,500-Horse Power engine easily handles the extra weight.
“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.”
An early order from the army would be crucial, says the DRDO, for continuity in the Arjun production line at the Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF) near Chennai. The current order of 124 Arjuns will occupy the production line until end-2011. For the next order of Arjuns to hit the production line then, the order would have to be placed now. That would allow 18 months for provisioning of components, such as armour sheets and sub-systems that are manufactured by ancillary suppliers. That period also caters for the purchase of foreign systems, eg the engine from MTU, Germany.
“Continuity is vital for quality control”, explain officials from HVF Avadi. “We have instituted systems for quality control in the current order of Arjuns, which is why they performed so reliably during trials. These systems will wither away if the production line shuts down for lack of orders.”
Since the Arjun’s assembly takes 12-18 months, a fresh order of Arjuns will start being delivered 30-36 months after the order is placed. Thereafter, HVF will deliver 30 Arjuns per year if it operates with just one shift of workers; 50 tanks per year with two shifts.
Image of Arjun test-firing LAHAT missile
Granted that this vehicle is a success, even against the T-90, which is saying something. But my gosh, it has an awful lot of perfectly vertical surfaces on it, especially the turret. A lot of the weapons systems this thing would be pitted against are weak enough that an angled surface could conceivably deflect a hit from an enemy completely. The presence of vertical surfaces, to me (I am not a weapons designer), would seem to have the potential for increased successful hits on this thing.
Yeah, it’s survivability depends upon it seeing the enemy first.
I think this tank is designed to stack up well against it’s primary adversaries which would all be soviet era/or modern Russian MBTs. It would likely not match up well the with M1/Leo/challengers...
Sukhoi,
Do you see potential Israeli involvement in the Arjun, apart from the LAHAT ?
How difficult would it be to give the vertical surfaces a superficial slope of 45 degrees?
Regarding the Leopard. KMW was a major consultant for the Arjun. I don’t think the Indian set out trying to produce an “economy” tank in this instance. I think they went out trying to produce a world-beater and unfortunately fell short.
I’ve heard that angled surfaces are defeated by the newer-generation missiles which can change approach at the terminal portion to counter those angles. Any truth to that?
There have been reports of Israeli assistance for sensors and the battle management system, but nothing concrete. It’s not impossible to modify a tank with sloped surfaces (the early Leopard-II series looked pretty similar to the Arjun), though I’m not sure if there will be weight issues involved. All of this depends on how many Arjuns will get built.
The Arjun still has potential for evolution like all tanks. The Abrams, Merkava and Leopard-II were all different when they started out. Only difference is that the Arjun is not backed by its primary customer.
True. Still, with everything DRDO’s involved with being solely government run, things aren’t too efficient. A while back, there was talk of allowing private industry to get more involved, but I don’t know where that went. If they privatized, they’d get better, more innovative results in a more timely manner IMHO.
Probably, but do you think the Taleban and the islamic terrorists in Pakistan are going to be able to get their hands on those kinds of systems? Only the really modern missiles can do that kind of maneuvering. The only country India is even remotely likely to go up against that has that kind of technology is China. Now granted, that is a possibility, but the only regions where such a conflict might occur are up in the Himalayas, and the Arjun just isn’t the right machine for combat in the mountains. Like the Abrams, the Arjun is a flat-land machine, designed for running battles on open, level terrain.
Come to think of it, what exactly is the strategic thinking behind this tank? India is surrounded by mountains everywhere except some of the border with Pakistan and the far east where it touches Burma. This tank would only be of real use if they expect a large-scale ground war with one of those countries, or unless they expect a mass invasion from China that pushes them into India. It’s not much use up in the mountains, due to its weight, and it’s not like India does any major force projection anywhere else.
Really, it looks like the main issue would be redesigning the front surfaces of the turret. The rest of the design looks good. The only other area I might change is the front glacis of the main hull. As shallow as that angle is, any glancing strike is going right into the turret joint.
Very accurate and insightful points. Thank you!
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