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Tuesday, October 13, 2009

India To Kickstart Local Production Of T-90 Tanks


India and Russia have signed a deal worth $1.2 billion wherein India will procure additional 347 numbers of T-90 Main Battle Tanks (MBT) from Russia and initiate the process of license production of another 1000 T-90 S tanks in India. The license production of the T-90 tanks is slated to be undertaken by the state-owned ordnance factory boards.

As per the earlier Indo-Russian agreement, India has already acquired 310 numbers of T-90 main battle tanks which included direct delivery of fully formed tank numbering 124 tanks and kits for 186 more for assembly at Avadhi. In 2004, the first locally assembled T-90 was rolled out and the rest of the order was completed.

Indian Army officials indicated that purchase of T-90S tanks has been resorted under the latest contract to meet the depleting tank force. Currently, more tanks are becoming obsolete and replacements have not taken place at the same rate. Around fifty per cent of the 3500 variety of Indian Army tanks will be scrapped in the next five to seven years and the Indian Army had been requesting the Indian Defence Ministry to purchase additional tanks. As for the homegrown Arjun battle tank, the Indian Army is not fully satisfied with the state-owned Defence and Research Development Organization (DRDO) and it intends not to place further orders. In fact, India is now planning on a futuristic main batlle tank (FMBT).

According to the latest agreement, the state-owned ordnance factories will begin the license production of another 1000 T-90 S tanks for the Indian Army in separate phases. The first phase will be the production of around 300 tanks at ordnance factories at Medak in Andhra Pradesh and at the Avadhi Heavy Vehicles factory in Tamil Nadu. This will be completed by 2011. In the second phase, another 700 T-90S tanks will be produced by the state-owned ordnance factories at Avadhi and Medak and the production will be completed by 2020.

1 comments:

....Indegnous Tanks...

What is India afraid of.They should pick of the shelf tank from the American and Europians..

May be some Abrahams from America some Lepords from Germany..some Challengers from Britian...And after all Markava from ther cousin Israil..Tank is a dead Item..They can get long Term Financing..from all of the Tank producing nations.

Russians have a lot of Indian Rupee left from old days when India used to buy Arms from U.S.S R on idilogical special price and pay the U.S.S.R in Indo Rupee.

India is still using T55/105 from the good old days.

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