India began trials of the new upgraded local made Arjun Mk-II MBT

[xav]

India's premiere defence research agency, the Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) began trials Thursday of an upgraded, Mk-II, version of the indigenously developed Arjun main battle tank (MBT). According to defence sources, the Arjun MBT will form the backbone of the Indian Army's armoured fighting units from 2014.



"In 24 months from now, or in early 2014, the Arjun Mark-II tanks will be ready for production," senior DRDO officials had said in February this year.

Read More

[Kadrun]

..... before finishing the development of Arjun Mk-I ????

[artjomh]

Didn't the Indian Army hate the Arjun and were basically forced to adopt it by the politicians?

I guess DRDO fixed some of the issues in Mk2, but this also might be some wishful thinking on their part...

[Kunal Biswas]

Here more Info:

Chennai: The latest version of India's main battle tank, Arjun Mark II, will be tested for the first time at Pokhran in Rajasthan from June 11, a senior official has said.

Developed by the country's leading defence research and development organisation, the DRDO, the machine and its performance will be closely watched by the Army.

"We have made some recommendations on the MBT and it will be tested. The turret related tests will start from June 11 and that of chassis automotive system (lower part of the tank) will start from June 25 extending for a month. This is a DRDO exercise and the user (Army) will be observers. This is the first time Arjun Mark II is going for testing," the official told PTI.

The Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE) has designed Arjun Mark II with the 93 recommendations put forward by the various stakeholders including the Army.

Arjun Mark II can fire missiles, have an enhanced Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) with a capacity of 8.5 KW (against Mark I's 4.5 KW), Explosive Reactive Armour panels (ERA), mine plough, Automatic Target Tracking (ATT), Advanced Land Navigation System (ALNS), digital control harness, advanced commander panoramic sight among other features, the official said.

Arjun will have a better gun barrel with an Equivalent Firing Charge (strength of the barrel to sustain firing) of 500 rounds against T 72's 250 rounds.

"Mark II will be able to travel at a speed of 60 km per hour in normal terrain and 40 km per hour in harsh terrain. On completion, the MBT will weigh around 66 tonnes," the official said.

The CVRDE is co-ordinating with Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), Pune, High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL), Pune, Instruments Research & Development Establishment (IRDE), Dehradun, Centre for Fire, Explosive and Environment Safety, Delhi and Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory, Hyderabad for designing Mark II.

"After the testing, the MBT will go for a first user trial in October 2011 and production is expected to start from July 2012 after the second user trial," the official said.

"If everything goes on track, Heavy Vehicles Factory here will roll out its first batch of Mark II by the end of 2014 and a unit will cost Rs 35 crore.Mark II will have 90 per cent Indian components in its making," the official added.

At present, there are 2456 T 72s, over 300 T 90s and 110 Arjun Mark I deployed across the country.

http://www.sify.com/news/latest-vers...jrujjcbah.html




Trials begin of upgraded Indian main battle tank

New Delhi, June 9 (IANS) The trials began Thursday of an upgraded version of the indigenous Arjun main battle tank (MBT) that is expected to form the backbone of the Indian Army's armoured fighting units from 2014, a defence ministry official said. The trials come just a year after the government had accorded the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) the go ahead for developing the Mark-II version of the Arjun tank, a project that has taken the country over three decades to complete.
"The trials of the Arjun Mark-II tanks have begun at the Pokhran ranges in Rajasthan from today. The development programme is right on track and on schedule," a senior defence ministry official told IANS. The Arjun Mark-II is also expected to go through its winter trials later this year.
The defence ministry had, last May, asked the DRDO to develop the Mark-II version of the Arjun tank during a review of the premier defence research agency's performance. "In 24 months from now or in early 2014, the Arjun Mark-II tanks will be ready for production," a DRDO official had said in February.
Among the upgrades, the Mark-II tank would feature an indigenous engine that would replace the German engines of the 58-tonne Arjun Mark-I.
The Arjun Mark-II will have about a dozen changes from the first lot, being armed with missile firing capability through a laser homing device.
Though this device had been tested on the Mark-I version of the tank about five years ago, it did not form part of the final design of the initial 124 delivered to the army, and nor will it be mounted on the second lot of 124.
The device would have a range of about eight km, within which it will be able to destroy enemy tanks after homing on to the target using a laser.
Other modifications include better explosive-reactive armour for the tank to protect it from enemy missiles and rockets, improving the sighting facility to provide it a wider view of the battlefield, night vision capability and an improved communication system.
The Arjun Mark-II will have over 90 percent indigenous systems on board, except for some hydraulic and electronic systems.
"Each of the dozen upgraded systems are being tested one after the other during the trials," the official said.
The army has ordered 248 Arjun Mark-I tanks for induction into its armoured regiments. The first lot of 124 tanks, for which the orders were placed on the Avadi-based Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF) in 2004 at a cost of Rs.170 million ($4 million) each, have been handed over to the army.
The army is now operating the 124 Arjuns as part of two regiments in the western sector and last May placed an order for an additional 124 tanks, primarily to keep the HVF production line running before the Mark-II version was ready for manufacturing.
The army gained confidence in operating the Arjun tanks, despite the initial hesitation, after the first two regiments were pitted against the Russian-built T-90 MBTs early last year in comparative trials in the desert terrain.
The Arjuns had outsmarted the T-90s in all the parameters set for the trials and had prompted the army top brass to agree to inducting two more regiments.

http://bharat-rakshak.com/NEWS/newsrf.php?newsid=14857

..... before finishing the development of Arjun Mk-I ????

It is a Updated Arjun MK-1 known as MK-2..

Arjun MK-1 is operational in Army..

Didn't the Indian Army hate the Arjun and were basically forced to adopt it by the politicians?

I guess DRDO fixed some of the issues in Mk2, but this also might be some wishful thinking on their part...

Army Loves it, Its just the Media..

Arjun MK-1 Presently the best MBT in Indian Army..

[Damian90]

Army Loves it, Its just the Media..

Arjun MK-1 Presently the best MBT in Indian Army..

Kunal I hope this is a joke and You don't believe in this?

How the hell a country with zero experience in designing and building modern MBT's was abale after so many problems to design and build a tank superior to the product sold them by a country that have a huge experience with building tanks (Russian and their T-90)? Some miracle made by a unicorn?

[bhramos]

Kunal I hope this is a joke and You don't believe in this?

How the hell a country with zero experience in designing and building modern MBT's was abale after so many problems to design and build a tank superior to the product sold them by a country that have a huge experience with building tanks (Russian and their T-90)? Some miracle made by a unicorn?

I would have accepted your view, If Arjun MK-I was 100% Indigenous. but its only 60%.
It has taken help from foriegn countries......... Germany in Design, and engine.....

[Damian90]

So what? You think that if You put a German engine in to any tank then it will become superior to other designs? My god, then Chinese tanks are probably some sort of wunderwaffe with their engines based on German technology!

[Kunal Biswas]

Kunal I hope this is a joke and You don't believe in this?

How the hell a country with zero experience in designing and building modern MBT's was abale after so many problems to design and build a tank superior to the product sold them by a country that have a huge experience with building tanks (Russian and their T-90)? Some miracle made by a unicorn?

Damian, This is not a joke, The vehicle proved itself, Thats the reason we liked very much in Army..

I am not going to start how things started from beginning, It is been talked many times..

So what? You think that if You put a German engine in to any tank then it will become superior to other designs? My god, then Chinese tanks are probably some sort of wunderwaffe with their engines based on German technology!

He was never saying abt the performance but the amount of local parts used in tank, which was actually the main concerned in MK-1..

[Damian90]

Damian, This is not a joke, The vehicle proved itself, Thats the reason we liked very much in Army..

it is rather clear that tests were manipulated so the production of Your country's own tank could start, I understand it, this is normal in many situations, but please, nobody with at least some good knowledge will belive in that farce.

He was never saying abt the performance but the amount of local parts used in tank, which was actually the main concerned in MK-1..

Bhramos said:

I would have accepted your view, If Arjun MK-I was 100% Indigenous. but its only 60%.
It has taken help from foriegn countries......... Germany in Design, and engine.....

So this means that when Germans help You design a tank this means it is definetly superior to a tank from country that have much greater experience with designing and building tanks?

Certainly not, and sorry I will not belive DRDO, Arjun allready have many flaws that T-90S with welded turret don't have.

[bhramos]

So what? You think that if You put a German engine in to any tank then it will become superior to other designs? My god, then Chinese tanks are probably some sort of wunderwaffe with their engines based on German technology!

India was building tanks license production right from T-55's and decades of experiance, where ever it lacks experiance. it took the help of Foreign countries, we dont have Engine and we took the german engine, Indian Arjun is almost equal or near to Leo-1 tank, but IA loved the tank, but due to its weight, it becomes most heaviest tank in the Region, with best world class technologies either developed or brought and fitted into a Tank. and Mark-II is more Indigenous tank...

[Kunal Biswas]

it is rather clear that tests were manipulated so the production of Your country's own tank could start, I understand it, this is normal in many situations, but please, nobody with at least some good knowledge will belive in that farce.

Of-course its your view and you are most welcome....

So this means that when Germans help You design a tank this means it is definetly superior to a tank from country that have much greater experience with designing and building tanks?, Certainly not, and sorry I will not belive DRDO, Arjun allready have many flaws that T-90S with welded turret don't have.

He never said those bold part, Assuming that is easy..

And yes, as per u Arjun turret is bolt constructed..

India was building tanks license production right from T-55's and decades of experiance, where ever it lacks experiance. it took the help of Foreign countries, we dont have Engine and we took the german engine, Indian Arjun is almost equal or near to Leo-1 tank, but IA loved the tank, but due to its weight, it becomes most heaviest tank in the Region, with best world class technologies either developed or brought and fitted into a Tank. and Mark-II is more Indigenous tank...

@bhramos, Its not Leo -1 but Better than LEO-A4.

@Damian, U have lots of things to manipulate here..

[Damian90]

India was building tanks license production right from T-55's and decade of experiance, where ever it lacks experiance.

Wow, look my country also manufactured tank on licence, why the hell we don't have our own MBT design? Poland is not a poor country.

it took the help of Foreign countries, we dont have Engine and we took the german engine, Indian Arjun is almost equal or near to Leo-1 tank,

Oh so now You are claiming that thanks to foreign help India designed a... Leopard 1 counterpart that was by some miracle superior to T-90S? But wait there is more:

but IA loved the tank, but due to its weight, it becomes most heaviest tank in the Region, with best world class technologies either developed or brought and fitted into a Tank. and Mark-II is more Indigenous tank...

So we got the Leopard 1 counterpart that is better than T-90S and it is heaviest in the region! You know that weight don't mean nececary that tank is better armored or will be performing better than a lighter vehicle, the whole problem is more complex and it seem that Indian Army don't understand this.

And the argument about how indigenous the tank is is just comic!

Of-course its your view and you are most welcome....

But these are facts, just read the whole report from tests! Kunal I know that You are patriot, and this is good, but patriot should be a very critic to goverment institutions statements, because everything that is behind Arjun tank program is money, someone want to make money and they want this money to stay in country but this is not nececary good for Army.

[Kunal Biswas]

So we got the Leopard 1 counterpart that is better than T-90S and it is heaviest in the region! You know that weight don't mean nececary that tank is better armored or will be performing better than a lighter vehicle, the whole problem is more complex and it seem that Indian Army don't understand this.
And the argument about how indigenous the tank is is just comic!

But these are facts, just read the whole report from tests! Kunal I know that You are patriot, and this is good, but patriot should be a very critic to goverment institutions statements, because everything that is behind Arjun tank program is money, someone want to make money and they want this money to stay in country but this is not nececary good for Army.

Better Armour, Better firepower, Better mobility.. Its same for any Army with Armour..
Also how to use it is more important than any hardware in use..

Indigenous is very important in our country where our big Neighbor has a very effective copying industry, Our Supplys from out side is limited in war time, Made in India is more important than ever..

The Facts are which are written and submitted through Army Channel than MOD, The words from men using the tank first handed matters..

[Damian90]

Better Armour, Better firepower, Better mobility.. Its same for any Army with Armour..

The Facts are which are written and submitted through Army Channel than MOD, The words from men using the tank first handed matters..

Any proof for that, a proof, real proof, like official armor ballistic tests with photographs and photos + designations of ammo used, on what distance, what hit angle etc. Because without this they can say everything.

Indigenous is very important in our country where our big Neighbor has a very effective copying industry, Our Supplys from out side is limited in war time, Made in India is more important than ever..

It is rather more important from economic point of view and to gather know-how, but this not nececary will lead to quick development of a tank comparabale to designs made in Russia, Ukraine, Germany, UK, France, Israel, US or South Korea and Japan.

Look how long road these countries need to go through to have what they have today.

It is overoptimistic to belive that only with help of other countries Your designers will learn quickly how to properly build a tank, a good tank.

[Kunal Biswas]

Any proof for that, a proof, real proof, like official armor ballistic tests with photographs and photos + designations of ammo used, on what distance, what hit angle etc. Because without this they can say everything.

No, Their is no pics of recent test nor any Photographs on net or to Media..

Its not needed, The material is for Army to decide and finally the report is for MOD to decide..

Its Official, The knowledge is not free to share, Not even a Rifle`s ballistics or specifications..

Whatever Media produce is mostly self presumption at worst or some one`s view..

It is rather more important from economic point of view and to gather know-how, but this not nececary will lead to quick development of a tank comparabale to designs made in Russia, Ukraine, Germany, UK, France, Israel, US or South Korea and Japan.

Look how long road these countries need to go through to have what they have today.

It is overoptimistic to belive that only with help of other countries Your designers will learn quickly how to properly build a tank, a good tank.

They did, U need to research ( I.E if available ) after every Arjun`s prototype before commenting abt development program, It took time to mature and it did..

Arjun MK-1 is a good tank and we will have a better one MK-2 and far refined one FMBT..

The article itself say your words..