Defence ministry places order worth ₹7,523 crore for 118 Arjun Mk-1A tanks

Within two years, the MBT Arjun Mk-1A was designed & developed by the Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment and other DRDO facilities.

Officials familiar with the development claimed the new tank will have 72 enhancements over the present version, including 14 substantial advancements. The improvements improve the tank’s lethality, mobility, and survivability substantially.

Within 30 months, five Mk-1A t tanks will be supplied, followed by 30 tanks per year. On February 14, Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented General Manoj Mukund Naravane with a prototype of the Arjun Mk-1A tank in Chennai. T-90, T-72, and Arjun Mk-1 tanks make up the army’s current tank fleet.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said on Thursday that it has placed an order with the Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF), Avadi, Chennai, for the delivery of 118 Arjun Mk-1A Main Battle Tanks for the Indian Army.

The deal, worth Rs 7,523 crore, would strengthen the government’s “Make in India” initiative in the defence industry, according to the ministry, and is a major step toward Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s goal of “Aatmanirbhar Bharat.”

“An multitude of advanced technology systems give the Mk-1A with precise and superior firepower, all-terrain mobility, and unbeatable multi-layered defence. It can fight the enemy at any time of day or night. This indigenous MBT would be on par with any contemporary in its class throughout the world as a result of these capabilities,” the defence ministry said in a statement. The purchase is scheduled to be fulfilled by 200 Indian vendors, resulting in the creation of 8,000 employment.

The tank was designed and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation’s Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE) in Chennai. The Mk-1A tanks will be built at the Heavy Vehicles Factory of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) at Avadi, Tamil Nadu, outside of Chennai.

The OFB, which owns 41 ordnance factories, will be divided into seven government-owned businesses that will manufacture ammunition and explosives, vehicles, weapons and equipment, troop comfort items, opto-electronics gear, parachutes, and other auxiliary products.

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