With Haphazard Equipment Planning, Indian Army Could Be Using Five Different Tank Types Soon
Operating multiple tank types inflicts not only an exorbitant financial burden in their acquisition, but also a massive cost incurred in deploying.
Editorial Staff
With Haphazard Equipment Planning, Indian Army Could Be Using Five Different Tank Types Soon Chandigarh : The Indian Army’s (IA’s) arbitrary and haphazard equipment planning could, over the next decade, make it the only force operationally fielding five different tank types simultaneously. Presently, the IA operates 3,500-odd licence-built Russian T72M1 ‘Ajeya’ main battle tanks (MBTs) and directly imported and domestically assembled and constructed T90S ‘Bhishma’ platforms, alongside 124 indigenous Arjun Mk1 MBTs. But on April 23 the army dispatched a request for information (RfI) to overseas and domestic vendors for the intended procurement of 350 locally manufactured light tanks for deployment in assorted terrain and varied climatic conditions, making it the IA’s fourth potential tank type. And, thereafter, on June 1 it launched the search for its fifth tank type by inviting responses by mid-September from overseas original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to its RfI for the planned acquisition of 1,770 medium weight Future Ready Combat Vehicle’s (FRCVs) by 2030 at tremendous, …
