By : indiaenews


The Indian Army will by 2009 receive the full complement of 124 Arjun main battle tanks it contracted for and designed and developed by country's defence scientists, parliament was informed Wednesday.

'Five tanks have already been handed over to the army in 2005 and nine more tanks are ready for delivery. The remaining quantity is expected to be delivered by 2009,' Defence Minister A.K. Antony said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

The army had placed its Rs.17.60 billion order for the tanks in March 2000. The tank is being manufactured at the Heavy Vehicle Factory at Avadi near Tamil Nadu capital Chennai.

'All issues related to the production of Arjun have been resolved and the production is getting stabilized,' Antony said, adding: 'At present there is no proposal to take the cooperation of private sector as a joint venture.'

At the same time, the private sector is involved in the project as a supplier of various components and assemblies, the minister pointed out.

The Indian Army, however, seems to be unhappy with the tank, as was evident from remarks made last week by the army chief, Gen. J.J. Singh, during a war game at which Arjun was fielded for the first time.

'We have to make sure the troops are not exposed to any disadvantage,' Singh replied cryptically when asked about Arjun's performance during the five-day exercise codenamed Ashwamedh from April 29 to May 3. A squadron of 14 Arjuns was deployed during the drill.

'If improvements are required in the system, it will be pointed out (to the developers Defence Research and Development Organisation-DRDO),' the army chief maintained.

'We will draw lessons from the exercise on which area they (the Arjuns) can be best exploited,' he added.

While not officially going on record, the army is known to have listed 14 defects that need to be rectified.

These include a deficient fire control system, inaccuracy of its guns, low speeds in tactical areas - principally deserts - and its inability to operate in temperatures over 50 degrees Celsius.

At a review meeting with the DRDO last month, Defence Minister A.K. Antony is known to have asked the organisation to get its act together to rectify these defects or the government might have to take another look at the entire programme.

Parliament's Standing Committee on Defence has, in two reports earlier this year, remarked adversely on the slow pace of Arjun's development and asked the DRDO to quicken the process.

The Indian Army laid down its qualitative requirement (QR) for the Arjun in 1972. In 1982, the DRDO had announced that the prototype was ready for field trials. However, the tank was publicly unveiled for the first time only in 1995.

Arjun was originally meant to be a 40-tonne tank with a 105 mm gun. It has now grown to a 50-tonne vehicle with a 120 mm gun.

The tank was meant to supplement and eventually replace the Soviet-era T-72 MBT that was first inducted in the early 1980s. However, delays in the Arjun project, and Pakistan's decision to purchase the T-80 from Ukraine, prompted India to order 310 T-90s, an upgraded version of the T-72, in 2001.

Of these, 186 were built at the Heavy Vehicles Factory at Avadi. An agreement was also signed for the licensed production of another 1,000 T-90s.

With the Arjun development delayed still further, India last year signed a fresh contract with Russia to buy another 330 T-90s.