NEW DELHI: India’s indigenous programme to develop main battle tank Arjun will not be scrapped, the Ministry of Defence has clarified amidst report that Army was not happy with what the defence scientists had built.
The MoD said 77 MBT Arjuns would be delivered to the Army by March 2010 in addition to 45 already supplied. The project would go ahead as planned and there was no proposal to shut the production line, said officials.
The clarification was necessitated following reports that the Army was not willing to take more than 124 tanks. For the project to sustain itself, at least 500 tanks needs to be produced.
The Arjun tanks will undergo comparative trials with the Russian made Tu-90 later this year in October.
The Army has been involved in a running feud with defence scientists over Arjun tanks which are meant to replace old Russian T-55 and T-72 tanks. The Army has raised questions about the tanks capability.
It has claimed that the Russian T-90s are far superior then the indigenous product.
The delay in project has also been a cause of worry. The project had started in the 1980s and only handful of tanks has been produced. The first MBT Arjun rolled out only in 1995.
Questions have been raised about its size and the firing capacity. But the defence scientists argue that the tank was capable and could perform well in the extreme Indian conditions.
They were also trying to include several new features to make it more hi-tech. The new tanks would have equipment for avoiding detection and laser warning systems.
The order for 124 tanks from the Army is also likely to be completed by the end of this year.
Defence Minister A K Antony has thrown his weight behind the project and he was keen that MBT Arjun becomes an integral part of the army.
