Arjun Tank Disaster Part I: History

After the war of 1971 ended, the Indian army realized the limitations of their tank fleet in the unforgiving desert conditions of Rajasthan, so they initiated their own indigenous MBT design. In 1972 Indian army put together requirements for a new main battle tank that will enter service in India's army. At that time Indian industry had experience building British Vicker Mk.1 Medium Tanks under local name Vilijanta and the Soviet T-72M Main Battle Tank. In 1974 India decided to develop a new main battle tank on its own and development project was named MBT-80 (Main Battle Tank of 80-ties). The first MBT-80 proof-of-concept vehicle was laid out in 1974 by the Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE) of the Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO).

Twenty six years later the end product strongly resembles the Leopard II, though its development process was plagued with delays and its future is in doubt. Based on 1971 battlefield experiences, the MBT-80 was to have a locally-designed, rifled 120mm main gun, a diesel power plant because Indians considered the turbine engines as fuel guzzlers and a computerized fire control system with a laser range finder. One of the early 'Chetek' prototypes was unveiled to the public on Indian Republic Day, 26 January 1984.

Another public rollout followed in April 1985, after which the name Arjun (named after a mythical Hindu warrior prince1) became the official name. Five prototypes (with an ultimate goal of 20 preproduction vehicles) undergoing technical testing were scheduled for desert trials during the summer of 1985. Indian Army Chief of Staff Gen A.S. Vaidya and Dr V.S. Arunachalam (Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister) were present at the ceremony and declared that Arjun will be in in service by the end of the decade.

At the time, Arjun had a German MTU-based 1400 HP diesel (until a home-grown one was ready), with a weight of 52 tones much higher than the sketch concepts which were around 40-45 tons and a price tag of US $1.6 million (2 crore rupees, to total 15.5 crore for the whole project). The locally-developed engine, which the Indians hoped to produce 1300-1500 HP from, only delivered 500HP.In 1984 the DRDO started claiming that the transmission was Indian, not German. The Arjun used a modified Tank Fire Control System (TCFS) which was an upgrade project for the British Vicker was based on the Marconi SFCS600 useing Barr & Stroud Tank Laser Sight and IR8 Thermal Imager. The project got more support after the Pakistan's announcement to fit Royal Ordnance 105mm L7 Main Guns to their Type 69 fleet in December 1985 as well as China's assistance in developing MBT-2000 at the end of the 80's.

Meanwhile, Arjun development costs continued to increase, from October 1980 Rs. 56.55 crores to Rs 280 crores in May, 1987. The DRDO conducted the first technical trials in 1988. Indian Defence Minister Sharad Pawar on October 1991said that there were 12 prototypes Arjun MBT's 'in an advanced stage of development. General B.C. Joshi, the former Army Chief (now deceased), foresaw two Armoured Regiments of 45 Arjuns apiece, but insisted that 10 imperatives be met in 1994 before the tank could be accepted by the Army. In 1993 the first six prototype tanks were handed over to the 43rd Cavalry Regiment for troop trials at Rajasthan's Mahajan range. Accuracy trials from mid-1994 indicated an erratic first hit ratio that ranged from 20-80%. At that point, it was said that the first production Arjuns will be in service by 1995.

The Pakistani deal with the Ukraine to purchase T-80UD/T-84's announced in the fall of 1995 caused another flurry of activity in the Indian military community .Indian Army which had considered the results excellent started to question the tanks abilities. Arjun tank failed field trials in June. More trails and tests were set for August and November but Indian government decided that the US $ 100 million programme has progressed too far to be terminated.

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