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http://www.rxpgnews.com/india/Indian-Army-unsure-about-Arjun-tanks-role_26222.shtml
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Testing_times_for_Arjun_tanks/articleshow/1994640.cms
Indian Army unsure about Arjun tank's role
By Vishnu Makhijani, IANS, [RxPG] Pallu -, May 2 - The Indian Army seems unimpressed with the indigenously developed Arjun main battle tank - that has been 34 years in the making - and is unsure about the role in which it can be deployed.
These are the conclusions that can be drawn by the remarks of the army chief, Gen. J.J. Singh, during a war game conducted in Rajasthan's Thar Desert at which limited numbers of the Arjun were seen in action.
'We have to make sure the troops are not exposed to any disadvantage,' Singh replied cryptically when asked about Arjun's performance during the five-day Exercise Ashwamedh April 29-May 3. A squadron of 14 Arjuns was deployed during the drill.
Singh was speaking to reporters here on the penultimate day of the exercise Wednesday. Pallu is located some 400 km from Rajasthan capital Jaipur.
'If improvements are required in the system, it will be pointed out -,' the army chief maintained.
'We will draw lessons from the exercise on which area they - can be best exploited,' he added.
While not officially going on record, the army is known to be extremely unhappy with the Arjun, having listed 14 defects that need to be rectified.
These include a deficient fire control system, inaccuracy of its guns, low speeds in tactical areas - principally deserts - and its inability to operate in temperatures over 50 degrees Celsius.
At a review meeting with the DRDO last month, Defence Minister A.K. Antony is known to have asked the organisation to get its act together to rectify these defects or the government might have to take another look at the entire programme.
Parliament's Standing Committee on Defence has, in two reports earlier this year, remarked adversely on the slow pace of Arjun's development and asked the DRDO to quicken the process.
The Indian Army laid down its qualitative requirement - for the Arjun in 1972. In 1982, the DRDO had announced that the prototype was ready for field trials. However, the tank was publicly unveiled for the first time only in 1995.
Arjun was originally meant to be a 40-tonne tank with a 105 mm gun. It has now grown to a 50-tonne vehicle with a 120 mm gun.
The tank was meant to supplement and eventually replace the Soviet-era T-72 MBT that was first inducted in the early 1980s. However, delays in the Arjun project, and Pakistan's decision to purchase the T-80 from Ukraine, prompted India to order 310 T-90s, an upgraded version of the T-72, in 2001.
Of these, 186 were built at the Heavy Vehicles Factory at Avadi in Tamil Nadu. An agreement was also signed for the licensed production of another 1,000 T-90s.
With the Arjun development delayed still further, India last year signed a fresh contract with Russia to buy another 330 T-90s.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Testing_times_for_Arjun_tanks/articleshow/1994640.cms
Testing times for 'age-old' Arjun tanks
PALLU (THAR DESERT): Even as it practises for swift, high-tech blitzkrieg wars of the future, which will require "rapid and multiple armoured thrusts" across the border, the Army is once again confronted with the grim reality of the ponderous âArjunâ tanks.
Weighing as much as 60 tonnes, the indigenous Arjun main-battle tanks are still to get the thumbs-up from the Army on parameters of operational mobility, combat-worthiness and adequate "ruggedisation" to withstand peak temperatures.
Consequently, the Armyâs "pro-active war strategy" revolves around the new concept of self-contained and highly-mobile "battle groups", with Russian-origin T-90s âBhishmaâ tanks and upgraded T-72 M1 âAjeyaâ tanks constituting their core.
The aim is to ensure India retains the conventional edge on the western front with Pakistan, which too is strengthening its forces with 320 T-80UD tanks bought from Ukraine, âAl Khalidâ tanks developed with China and upgradation of its T-59 tanks.
But while the Army fine-tunes its war doctrine during the ongoing massive âAshwamedhâ wargames in the blistering deserts of Rajasthan, with around 25,000 troops and hundreds of T-90s, T-72 tanks and BMP-2 infantry combat vehicles, itâs testing the mettle of Arjun tanks once again.
Army chief General J J Singh, however, was quite clear that his force "would not compromise on the standards" since "lives of our soldiers are at stake". The Arjuns are being fielded in the wargames to "draw lessons" on how they can be "best exploited". Their performance will be analysed and, if required, further improvements will be suggested, added Gen Singh.
The Arjun, after all, is one of Indiaâs longest-running defence projects and the government hopes to export it to African countries in the future. Sanctioned way back in May 1974, over Rs 350 crore has already been sunk into Arjunâs development, well beyond the initial Rs 15.50-crore project cost.
The Army, on its part, has placed an indent for manufacture of 124 Arjuns. As per its plans, it will face future battles with a force of around 3,500 tanks. This will include an upgraded T-72 fleet, which forms the backbone of the countryâs armoured might with around 1,700 tanks at present.
To add to the 310 T-90s tanks already contracted from Russia earlier, India ordered another 347 of these tanks recently. Moreover, work on the indigenous manufacture of as many as 1,000 more T-90s tanks is already underway. Amid all these plans, the thrust during the ongoing exercise is on faster mobilisation of the "battle groups", with elements of armour, artillery, air defence, infantry and others, backed by air support, to seize and maintain surprise against enemy forces.
The Army obviously has learnt lessons from the slow mobilisation of the strike formations in the run-up to Operation Parakram after the December 2001 terrorist attack on Parliament.
"We train and fight to win. We have inducted many force-multipliers and high-tech equipment in recent times and the exercise aim is to put the troops through the paces in a setting as close to actual war as possible," said Gen Singh.
