The Arjun Tank

The Arjun (Sanskrit: अर्जुन) is a third generation main battle tank developed by India's Defence Research and Development Organization(DRDO), for the Indian Army. The tank is named for Arjun, a character in the Indian epic, Mahabharata.

The Arjun features a 120 mm main rifled gun with indigenously developed APFSDS ammunition, one 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun, and a 12.7 mm machine gun. It is powered by a single MTU multi-fuel diesel engine rated at 1,400 hp, and can achieve a maximum speed of 70 km/h (43 mph) and a cross-country speed of 40 km/h (25 mph). It has a four-man crew: commander, gunner, loader and driver. Automatic fire detection and suppression, and NBC protection systems are included. All-round anti-tank warhead protection by the newly developed Kanchan armour is claimed to be much higher than available in comparable third generation tanks.

In March 2010, the Arjun was pitted against the T-90 in comparative trials and performed well. Subsequently delays and other problems in its development from the 1990s to the 2000s prompted the Indian Army to order vast numbers of T-90S tanks from Russia to meet requirements that the Arjun had been expected to fulfill.

Army placed an order for an additional 124 Arjun Mk-I tanks on 17 May 2010 and 124 Arjun Mk-II Tanks on 9 August 2010.

The Arjun entered service with the Indian Army in 2004. The tanks were first inducted into the 43rd Armoured Regiment, Indian Army Armoured Corps, which was later built up to regiment strength in 2009, while the latest induction has been into the 75th Armoured Regiment on 12 March 2011.

The DRDO, with its Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE) as the main laboratory, was tasked to develop the hull, armour, turret, running gear and gun for the tank, with the powerpack being imported.

Although the development of the tank began in 1972 by the CVRDE, it was only in 1996 that the Indian government decided to mass-produce the tank at Indian Ordnance Factory's production facility in Avadi.

When first accepted for service in the army, the Arjun relied heavily on foreign components and technology. Initially close to 50% of the tank's components were imported, which included the engine, transmission, gun barrel, tracks, and fire control system. However, several of these have since been replaced by indigenous systems or are being supplied by Indian companies. Recent comments from Army sources indicate that the Russian T-90S will form the mainstay of its future force, despite that tank’s performance issues in hot weather.

The Arjun project experienced serious budget overruns and repeated delays that resulted in a development time of over 37 years. A complicating factor was that advances in technology and the threat environment in the intervening years led to multiple revision of requirements by the Army. While the government sanctioned 15.5 crore (US$2.7 million) for the initial design in May 1974, by 1995, DRDO had spent 300 crore (US$51.6 million) on development due to changing requirements and inflationary cost increases.

The Indian Army ordered 124 Arjuns in 2000, expected to cost US$471.2 million.

Early development versions of the Arjun were held by 43 Armoured Regiment which were shown in display in the Republic Day Parade of 2001. The first batch of 16 production version Arjun tanks were received in 2004 and they were provided as a squadron to the 43rd Armoured Regiment. The regiment was later made up to 45 tanks on 25 May 2009 making it the first Arjun regiment of the Indian Army. More than 100 tanks have been delivered to the Indian Army by June 2011.The latest regiment to be completely equipped by the Arjun tank is 75 Armoured Regiment which was the last regiment in the Indian Army to hold the T-55 tank.

Arjun Tank model

As part of improving the Arjun to the Mark-II variant, DRDO is continuing to develop new technology systems for MBT Arjun, in order to improve performance in areas like automatic target locating, tracking and destruction. The Arjun MK-II variant is being developed in coordination with and with the involvement of the Indian Army and will feature several modifications that are being sought by it.

DRDO is developing the Tank Urban Survival Kit which is a series of improvements to the Arjun intended to improve fighting ability in urban environments which includes defensive aids like laser warning, IR jammer, and aerosol smoke grenade system.

CVRDE is in the process of developing tank simulators.

DRDO is developing a Laser Warning Control System (LWCS) in cooperation with Elbit Limited of Israel to be equipped on the Arjun at regimental level trials with T-90s. The MCS is being developed by DRDO to help the tank reduce the threat of interference from all types of sensors and smart munitions of the enemy in the tank's systems. LWCS includes the defensive aids mentioned, and will help reduce the signatures of the tank in the battle field and improve its survivability. DRDO is also co-developing the and Mobile Camouflaging System (MCS) technology along with a Gurgaon-based private sector defence manufacturer Barracuda Camouflaging Limited.

The upgrade also includes a new improved 1500 hp engine. An anti-helicopter round is under development as well.

Weighing in at 58.5 tons, the Arjun tank is significantly heavier than the Soviet-legacy tanks used presently by the Indian Army, and required changes to the army's logistics establishment, including new railroad cars to transport the bigger and heavier Arjuns. The required logistical changes have been made but the cost of the whole project has increased.

Armament

The computerised fire control system aboard Arjun has been jointly developed by DRDO with the Elbit,Israel. The Fire Control System is stabilised on two axes, and with an extremely high hit probability (design criteria call for a greater than 0.9 Pk) replaces an earlier analogue one, which had problems due to its inability to function under the harsh desert conditions. The combined day sight from Bharat Electronics Ltd. and the thermal imager (formerly from Sagem, now reported to be from El-Op) constitute the gunner's primary sight. The first batch of tanks of the 124 ordered by the Army will have an all-digital Sagem FCS, whereas the second block will have the BEL unit, which will be used for all units thereafter. The commander's own stabilised panoramic sight allows him to engage targets and/or hand them over to the gunner. The Arjun has an auxiliary power unit to operate weapon systems in silent watch mode as well.

The tank incorporates GPS-based navigation systems and sophisticated frequency hopping radios. The state-of-the-art Battlefield Management System, co-developed by DRDO and Ebit Israel, allows it to network with other fighting units.The Arjun has the capability to network with other tanks, thanks to its Battle Management System. In a search and engage operation, several Arjun tanks can monitor an opponent and his moves, and try to eliminate him in a chase or ambush.

Arjun Mk-I

The turret and glacis are heavily armoured and use "Kanchan" ("gold") modular composite armour. The Kanchan armour got its name from Kanchan Bagh, Hyderabad, where the Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory (DMRL) is located. The armour is made by sandwiching composite panels between Rolled Homogenous Armor (RHA) to defeat APFDS or HEAT rounds. During the trials in 2000, the Kanchan was able to withstand a hit from aT-72 at point blank range, and was able to defeat all available HESH and APFSDS rounds, which included the Israeli APFSDS rounds. A new honeycomb design non-explosive and non-energetic reactive armour (NERA) armour is reportedly being tested on the Arjun. Nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) protection equipment mine sweeps and an automatic fire fighting system. Electromagnetic-counter mine system can also be installed an electromagnetic pulse to disable magnetic mines and disrupt electronics before the tank reaches them signature reduction suite is also available for the is designed to reduce the probabilities of an object to be detected by Infrared, Thermal, Radar-Thermal, and Radar bands.[39]electro-optical/IR "dazzlers" Laser warning receivers,aerosol grenade discharging systems and a computerised control system.the tank has been 'painted' by a weapon-guidance laser and allows the crew to slew the turret to face the threat. The infrared jammer, laser rangefinders and designators navigation (Inertia/GPS), observation systems and sensors, real-time command and beyond-vision-range target engaging.advanced Fire Control System (FCS) linked to a millimetre band radar system laser range-finder and crosswind sensoronboard millimetre band radar, IR and radiometer sensors. The millimetre band radar system mounted on the turret is capable of operating as a Missile Approach Warning System (MAWS) Visual and Infrared Screening Smoke also has a Radar Warning Receiver (RWR) and radar jammer. Four all-bearing Laser warning receivers (LWR)The new fire-control system enables the Arjun to shoot down helicopters and find and destroy armoured attack helicopters Battle Management System Battle Management System panoramic sight The commander's station is equipped with eight periscopes for 360° vision.ommander's independent thermal viewer, weapon station, position navigation equipment, and a full set of controls and displays linked by a digital data bus.improved fire control system.[18] The System Enhancement Package (SEP) added digital maps,improved cooling system to compensate for heat generated by the additional computer systems.FBCB2 capabilities,FBCB2 capabilities,New radars,EW Systems,C4ISR Systems,gun control system (GCS).[9]Integrated Battlefield Management System" (IBMS) and Active protection System.

A Mobile Camouflage System has been developed and integrated into the Arjun as part of the 'Development of Defensive Aids System' project. in collaboration with Barracuda Camouflage Limited,to reduce the vehicle signature against all known sensors and smart munitions.

An Advanced Laser Warning Countermeasure System (ALWCS) for the fire control system has been developed. This consists of a laser warning system, Infra-Red (IR) jammer and aerosol smoke grenade system. This is being developed jointly with Elbit Systems Limited of Israel. The ALWCS has been integrated on Arjun MBT and trials have been carried out.

The engine and transmission are provided by German companies MTU and Renk respectively. The water-cooled engine generates 1,400 hp and is integrated with an Indian turbocharger and epicyclic train gearbox with four forward and 2 reverse gears.A local transmission is under trials and it is envisioned to ultimately replace the Renk-supplied unit. The tracks which were being supplied by German company Diehl are now being manufactured by L&T.The cooling pack has been designed for desert operations. The Arjun has a lower ground pressure than the lighter T-72, due to its design.

The Arjun features a hydro-pneumatic suspension.This coupled with the Arjun's stabilisation and fire control system allows the tank excellent first-hit probability against moving targets while on the move. Its ride comfort is highly praised. Though on the negative side, it is a more maintenance-intensive and expensive system, even if more capable than the simpler and cheaper torsion bar system utilised on many older tanks worldwide During trials, the Arjun showcased its fording capability, by driving under six feet of water for 20 minutes.

A new 1500 hp engine is being developed that will eventually replace the present engine. An allocation of 40 crore (US$6.9 million) has been allocated for the project which is expected to be completed within five years.