Smart Ally

Jaison Deepak

The Arjun Main Battle Tank (MBT), the flagship of the Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE), is at a very crucial juncture which can determine its future role in the Indian Army.

The lab is looking into the in-service 124 Arjun Mark 1 fleet which has had serviceability issues. Initially, it was thought to be caused by the unavailability of imported components, especially electronics and the power pack but it was found that local supply chain discontinuity and suboptimal warehouse management were the other contributing factors too.

The Arjun Mark 2, the improved version with a series of modifications recommended by the army, is being prepared but induction would largely depend on the trials to be carried out in the coming months. The army’s interest in the Future Ready Combat Vehicle (FRCV) programme is seen with concern by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) lab that it might impact the Arjun Mark 2 programme but delays in the FRCV programme and the army trials if successful might just breathe fresh air into the programme.

CVRDE took up the Mark 2 programme to enhance to firepower, protection, vectronics and also to manage the obsolescence of the existing components and increase the indigenous content in the critical area of electronics. The upgrade consists of 93 improvements, 17 of which were major and the rest minor modifications.

Firepower and Target Acquisition

The Arjun Mark 2 features a Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) made dual axis stabilised commanders’ panoramic sight with Day/TI(