It is amazing how ignorant some of the senior members are in PDF when it comes to making defence equipment operational. Either they have no technical expertise or they are just living in denial.Since I have witnessed the arjun issues directly and worked on it, I will percolate some sense into this highly nonsensical discussion by technically deficient members.
Is there a problem with arjuns serviceability? Yes. Is it unusual for a newely inducted equipment? No, it is unusual if issues dont exist.
What are the elements required for servicing a tank?
1.User handbooks.
2.Technical manuals
3.Special Maintenance Tools(SMT)
4.Special Test Equipment(STE)
5.Illustrated List Of Spares(ISPL)
6.Manufacturer Requested List Of Spares (MRLS)
The MRLS contains
1.Fast moving spares used in everday maintenance and operation(Fuel,Oil,Lubricants,Rubber parts,Seals etc)
2.Periodic repair or event(failures,decreased performance) based repair spares.(Line Replacable Units or "black boxes")
3.Mid Life Overhaul Spares.Slow moving spares like Engines,Transmission etc.
What are the problems for newly inducted equipment?
1.Improper use of equipment due to inadequate Techncial Manual/User Manual/ISPL.
2.SMT/STE may be deficient by failures or inadequate performance.
3.Improper training of user or maintenance personnel.
4.The biggest problem is the estimation of the consumption of spares while operating the equipment over time.
Initially when the numbers in operation are small, there is a low inventory,quality control issues still exist, but as the fleet operates and expands and the operational logs provide a pattern in which the spares are consumed and thus mathematical equations are prepared to make future estimations on inventory.
This is a normal thing which every new equipment undergoes but it is highlighted here because the Arjun story is a favorite story of the media and some technically deficient or intellectually dishonest members are trying create a ruckus here.
I challenge pakistani memeber to refute this with Al Khalid data or any other tank data.