Arjun tanks ‘beat’ T-90s, Army to get 124 more

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The government said on Monday the Army would acquire 124 more DRDO-designed Arjun main battle tanks, in addition to the 124 for which the order had been placed 10 years ago.

The Arjun, it said, had put in a “superb performance” in comparative trials with the Russian-origin T-90 “Bhishma” tanks this year. Of the 124 tanks initially ordered, 75 have so far been inducted by the Army.
It has already raised one Arjun tank regiment, and is in the process of raising another one. The tanks are built at the Heavy Vehicles Factory at Avadi near Chennai. The Arjun tanks have come a long way since the Army told a parliamentary committee two years ago that they had performed poorly in winter trials. Many modifications were made subsequently at Avadi, after which the trials with T-90 tanks were planned in March 2010. The Arjun tank project was sanctioned back in 1974, and was severely criticised for delays and cost overruns — from Rs 15.5 crores in 1974 to Rs 306 crores in 2005.
The defence ministry said in a statement that the Arjun tank, “after many years of trial and tribulation, has proved its worth by its superb performance under various circumstances such as driving cross-country over rugged sand dunes, detecting, observing and quickly engaging targets, accurately hitting targets with pinpoint accuracy. Its superior firepower is based on accurate and quick target acquisition capability during day and night in all types of weather and the shortest possible reaction time during combat engagements.”