The recent conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia showed what the future of warfare would be, along with the reduced operational capabilities of traditional war fighting machines.īut Robert Bateman, military historian and former US Army officer, argues that the Nagorno-Karabakh skirmishing doesn’t tell us anything about the death of armor. Globally, the trend in Western nations is to build heavier, bigger MBTs thatgive more fire power and protection to the crew. This, despite the fact that there is an increasing focus on new warfare. “But the 68 tonnes is too heavy for it to have any strategic mobility,” Col Singh says, adding that contrary to the belief that the tank is apt for deserts, it is more suited for semi-desert terrains. Singh is all praise for Arjun’s ergonomics, saying that it provides the crew most comfort and ease of operation. “It lacks operational and strategic mobility which limits its employment options besides sustenance and logistics challenges,” he told me.Ĭolonel Ajay Singh (retd), an Armoured Corps Officer, who has seen the Arjun MBT in action, tells me that the indigenous system is a beautiful machine. The Arjun MBT has an excellent 120 mm rifled gun, and a fine fire and control system, he says. Shivane (Retd) tells me that the greatest challenge for Arjun is its deployability and restricted employability in open desert terrain - all because of its weight. The joke in the defence corridors being that the Army wanted a tank that could even fly!Īlso read: Army to get 118 Arjun Mark 1-A tanks as defence ministry clears proposal for ‘Hunter Killers’Īrjun has a combination of systems but as a single entity, faces many challenges, primarily due to its weight and width.įormer Director General Mechanised Forces Lt Gen A.B.

The latest version weighs 68.5 tonnes.īut would one entirely blame the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) for this? The blame also goes to the Army, because over the years it ended up wanting more and more from the tank - from bigger guns to better armour. It was meant to weigh just 48 tonnes but eventually ended up weighing 62 tonnes.

The Arjun tank, first envisaged in 1972, was meant to replace the Russian T-72 that is still in service. It is also looking at a lighter tank for certain areas like the hills, riverines and islands. India’s Armoured Corps, which has majorly used only Russian tanks, has an operational requirement of medium-weight tanks - weighing anywhere between 40-50 tonnes.

How much modern day tank weigh