An Arjun Mk 1A Main Battle Tank | Photo: Ministry of Defence
The defence ministry has announced an order for 118 Arjun Main Battle Tanks (MBT) for the Indian Army placed on Thursday.
The order is worth INR 7,523 crore (estimated USD 1.01 billion) for the new Mk 1A variant of the MBT.
Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF), Avadi, Chennai received the production order, which will ‘opens up a large avenue in defence manufacturing for over 200 Indian vendors including MSMEs, with employment opportunities to around 8,000 people’, according to a defence ministry statement.
“The state–of-the-art MBT Mk-1A is a new variant of Arjun Tank designed to enhance fire power, mobility and survivability. Infused with 72 new features and more indigenous content from the Mk-1 variant, the tank would ensure effortless mobility in all terrains, besides precise target engagement during day and night. It has been designed and developed by Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) by incorporating numerous upgrades on Arjun MBT, the in-service main battle tank with the Indian Army,” said the defence ministry.
The Arjun Mk-1A MBT has been designed & developed by Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE) and other DRDO laboratories of DRDO ‘within two years (2010-12)’, per the statement, and fielded for user trials in June 2012.
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