Arjun Tank Disaster Part IV: Final words

There are several questions that arise in mind when someone reads the history and news reporting about the Arjun tank project and first one is always, who is responsible for this mess? Is it DRDO or Ministry of Defence or Indian Army? Different experts from Indian media, Indian army, DRDO and Indian government are trying to put blame every one but themselves.

Golden question is who should be making the choices that which tank should be bought? Should it be

1. Standing Committee on Defence/ Indian parliament


2. DRDO


3. Ministry of Defence


4. Indian Army

As in the end it will be the Indian army officers which are going to the battle field , they are the one who are going to ride the horse in battle not the Standing Committee on Defence or indian parliament or DRDO, so it should be Indian army’s choice which should be respected at all costs. I think that irrespective of the weight and other features, if Indian army is given a choice as to which tank they would like to ride to battle, which tank would you choose? And their answer is very clear, they have decided in favor of importing the T-90s then going for the Arjun.

It is the government’s problem that they want to secure and develop their weapons industries or they want to make the weapons supply secure by local production, so they prefer the locally made weapons. On the other hand for the armed forces of Indian, it is the secondary matter as their first priority is to protect nation and its interests from enemies on the armed front not the local industries which are offering the low quality high priced products.One must remember that a project that doesn’t meet the time requirements or technical requirements or cost per unit requirements or research and development costs is a failed project.Arjuns price tag was supposed to be US $1.6 million (2 crore rupees, to total 15.5 crore for the whole project) but now it costs something like 4.2 million $ to 5.6 million. it has failed to met its induction requirements number of times,its cost of development have already gone much above original estimates and Indian army looks towards Russia for their requirments. Remember that most of India's roads are in the 40 ton military classification range, save for national highways' 70 ton range. Arjun extends 6cm beyond the official 3cm limit on either side of a standard Indian flatbed railcar, strategic transport would be extremely difficult. This would also require that India refurbish large sections of her rail network, as well as acquiring new rolling stock . It's width and weight, Indian Rail to charge the Army over-dimensional consignment (ODC) costs, which are 150% over normal costs. The Indian Ministry of Defence allocated US$ 3.9 million (R165 million) to develop three Arjun-capable flatbed rail cars wagon by January 1999. So DRDO is wishing that IA should invest in the weapon system which will have very limited Strategic mobility?

DRDO in the end did realize that Arjun will not be able to fulfill the requirements of Indian army so they offered Experimental Tank (Ex-Tank) to the Army. Ex-Tank featured the automotive system of the Combat-improved T-72 mated with the MBT Arjun gun turret. But Indian army did not shoed enough interest in the project. According to the brochure I was given at CVRDE, here's what the Ex-Tank's salient features are:

• Improved light weight KANCHAN armour with optimised thickness to give better protection to the frontal arc


• 120mm Arjun rifled gun firing FSAPDS and HESH ammo


• Fixed type semi-combustible cartridge case ammo


• Integrated FCS based on stabilised sighting system to engage moving targets from moving tank


• Reduced reaction time and increasing first round hit probability


• TI integrated GMS for NF capability


• Fully stabilised independent Commander's Panoramic Sight for surveillance, acquisition and target engagement


• Standby Gunner's articulated sight as backup for GMS


• Ergonomically designed crew station for better fighting capability


• Double pin steel track with detachable rubber pad for enhanced tractive effort


• Ordnance design allows replacement of gun barrel without dismantling the turret


• 18 ready rounds located in turret


• Fully integrated collective NBC system to offer freedom of operation in contaminated environment


• 4.5 kW auxiliary power unit fo silent watch mode and battery charging
  Global Positioning System for accurate navigation
  
  Specifications:Crew: 4 Combat weight: 47 tons Power to Weight ratio: 15.65 kW/ton Ground pressure: 0.09 N/sq mm Suspension type: Torsion bar with hydro-gas struts Length: 9.19m Width: 3.37m Height: 2.24m Ground clearance: 0.47m Max speed: On road: 60 km/h Cross country: 40 km/h Gradability: 30° Trench crossing: 2.6m Vertical Obstacle Climbing: 0.85m Shallow fording: 1.2m Gun: 120mm rifled Depression and Elevation: -10° to + 17.5° Ammunition: 32 rounds (FSAPDS & HESH) Rate of Fire: 6-8 rounds per minute Co-Axial Machine Gun: 7.62mm Anti-aircraft Machine Gun: 12.7mm FCS: Director type Gun Control System: Electro-Hydraulic Ballistic Computer: Digital
  

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