Indian Army’s claims over Arjun Tank was expected
By P. Chacko Joseph | April 17th, 2008 | 8 commentsIndian Army has a new claim against the Arjun Tank. It claims that the engine of the Arjun Tank has failed four times. Before I get into the details further, its necessary that the background of this new claim has to be told.
Last year, Combat Vehicle Research Development Establishment (CVRDE, a unit of Defence Research and Development Organisation) was ready for a comparative trial between Indian Army’s imported T-90S and the license produced T-72 versus the home grown Arjun Tank as asked by army. The Indian Army officials realizing that the national media is scrutinizing the tanks performance, pulled out of the trials and went for a “accelerated usage cum reliability trial” (AUCRT).
The trials are for over 5 months and 5000 kms from November 2007. Out of this 2000 kms have been run in the below 40 degree centigrade (winter) conditions. Rest 3000 kms will be done in the above 40 degree centigrade conditions.
The AUCRT trials are army’s internal trials and hence is out of scrutiny of the media and the third parties. Right from the beginning of the (even before) trials, it was forgone conclusions about the color the Indian Army would give to the Arjun Tanks performance during the trials. Now since the trials were Army’s readiness for inducting Arjun tank, but, being the user, it has the right to comment about the performance of the tank in trials. As was expected this particular loophole seems to have been exploited by some officials. Here is a simple logic, if the Arjun Tank engine has a problem, simply replace it in 40 minutes flat and move on. Rectify the faulty engine and keep it as a stand by. Its very very simple. What actually happened was the transmission had a problem (something related to the ball bearings), which was rectified. The transmission is imported from the finest transmission maker in the world. Mind you, the tank did not stop for the reason, it got a different engine in 40 minutes and moved on. If the same transmission failure had happened in the imported T-90S tank of T-72 tank, it would have been grounded till the repairs were affected. So, Arjun Tank engine failure does not has same meaning as T-90S or T-72 engine failures. This is another loophole that is been used to exaggerate the engine issues of Arjun Tank.
Now the claim it failed 4 times has be be really proved by the concerned Indian Army officials. Four engines changes with just 1000 kms (by each tank) being run is bit too much for a knowledgeable person to digest.
The solution lies in third party auditing. Its high time we the tax payers know the truth.
indian army is the best defence force in the world.
There is no doubt that the Indian Armed forces are the best in the world. That they are not as well equipped as a world-class force should be , is a matter of immense disgrace. That since 1947, the Political leadership (PL) & the Babudom(B’s) has not supported them is a matter of terrible ignominy. Focus on international opinions of our PL’s has taken precedence over national issues of which, the arming of our Armed Forces is a fundamental necessity. To illustrate our PL’s & B’s complete disdain of reality, there was an impression created post independence, that we didn’t need a Navy, as China and Pakistan did not have such powerful Navies. The wretched Leader who so pronounced, is gone along with the B’s who so volubly supported him then, while today, China has a blue water navy & Pakistan more working Subs than India.
Effective for area denial!! All colonialists colonized with the Navy. The Army came through the Navy. Even today, Force Projections are made with the Navy. That is not to undermine nor overlook the role of the Army or the Airforce. The Political leadership (PL) and the Babus (B’s) have played the game of one versus the other e.g. Army vs the Airforce, in the case of the Army wanting an aircore for dedicated ground support duties. Ground support airpower for the Army, should be with the Army. The Airforce looks after the protection of strategic airspace. Tactical vs Strategic etc etc.
Our PL’s & B’s have always (since 1947, with deplorable lack of foresight) sought to evaluate our rearmament and weapons systems requirements / upgrades in comparision with Pakistan & China’s programmes. Why should we not have the best? If properly motivated, our scientists can produce the best. Many of our scientific establishments must have a free hand to research and should not be reporting to political appointees. When a particular researched prototype weapon system fails and continues to fail to meet the requirements of the Armed Forces, it deserves serious investigation by independent bodies. Who gains if we have to ‘Buy’ rather than ‘Make’? The foreign Arms Mfg.; Representative Agents / Facilitators in India; their political backers as applicable (PL’s & B’s whoever is involved). Remember, the Indian Armed Forces are also, both Indian and human. Audit by a third party is good but the third party must not be PL’s or B’s. They could be techiees from Universities selected on a rotational basis. However, as they say, even God cannot function if the ‘functionaries’ are ‘commoditized’!! We should continue to produce Arjun Tanks and use them until we get better at it. The Russians took a lot of ‘production’ to ‘learn’ and are still learning – T-95 (BE). The T-95 is the result of approx 85 years of ‘learning’. We seem to have Arjun’d our way in, in 20 years. I’m sure it took 20 years only because of PL’s and B’s inspired roadblocks. We need large quantity of reasonably good quality. Who complained when we got the Vickers tank (Vijayanta)? It was a tin box, completely DA (dumb ass), compared to what the Chinese or the Pakistanis had – (T-55′s & Pattons respectively). But it was a British model (which they never used), and whose influence had not yet waned. Has it occurred to anyone why our ‘missile’ development is progressing steadily, albeit slowly. Simply because we cannot buy SSM’s or IRBM’s (unlike Pakistan with Chinese & N.Korean active support and the US turning the proverbial nelson’s eye) & therefore there is not so much interference from PL’s & B’s. Sorry, I seem to have digressed, but intentionally so, to better appreciate the context in which our weapon systems development seems stagnant.
Dipack beta !! cool down. China does not have a blue water navy and 90% of so called pakistani navy was destroyed in 1971 war. Before typing about something, do your research, otherwise, just sit at home and watch bollywood movies !!
china does not even have an aircraft carrier, so there is no way it can operate faraway from its mainland.
Yes, Arjun tank is opposed by corrupt army officers (senior) and retired officers too, but government of India got to change its labour laws and give manufacturing rights to private players. I mean, let us be honest here, the guys working for government manufacturing plants, hardly work. Even if they do, then it will be half assed job.
1. Government must make defense production private
2. Government should also over ride, any decision against national interest taken by vested interests in the Army.
We definitely need to be self reliant in production of weapon systems. Imports need to be cut down gradually as we gain expertise in manufacturing various high end products.The manufacturing base in our country is weak and no doubt, this hampers progress by the DRDO. Having said that, I am all for the three services demanding very high standards from the DRDO. Let the DRDO produce really first class equipment to be accepted by the users. No one should get away with the idea that sub standard stuff can be pushed through with political pressure and under the guise of demonstrating national pride.We are talking about national security here and it cannot be compromised. We should not try to brow beat and force the defence services into accepting sub standard equipment simply because they are made in India. It is not the scientists or the engineers who will use that equipment in war. In fact these people will be hundreds and thousands of kms away. Let the DRDO gain the confidence of the users by producing quility stuff first and not grumble about non-acceptance. That is how these things are done the world over.
Arjun was never a failed project but made one by one excuses
story started as india felt that it need of its own tank as t-55 and british tank had overheat problem in desert So project was start but drdo didnot calibrated with army and army top offical take note of it and took their revenge when in 1984 tank was given to army for trail and army rejected the tank each time by put the tank in such a condition that no tank in the world survive (In above 55 degree temperature no engine in world run more than 8 hrs and arjun lasted for 5 hrs) but when drdo in 2005 change its policy by inviting media(headline today and ndtv) for trail then army took new excuses that it to wide and heavy (Till now 2007 they army was sleeping) .But drdo came came with solution by taking T-72 chassis and arjun turret now army say that it needs a futuristic tank(and T-90 is bought for showcasing)
[...] 1000 kms (by each tank) being run is bit too much for a knowledgeable person to digest. source : Indian Army’s claims over Arjun Tank was expected – Frontier India – News, Analysis, Opinion More… During the AUCRT in Pokhran, there was NO problem with either of the two engines. The [...]
Guys lets wake up!The Arjun tank is not the best. Its just an average tank. The reason? look at its design. It has a boxy shaped turret. This is may give a large internal volume, adding to comfort, however it is more prone to penetration by HEAT missiles. Look at the t-90. It has a round ‘clam shell’ shaped turret which is angled and hence relatively makes missiles bounce off the surface. The t-90 is relatively smaller in size owing to 3 crew members rather than conventional 4. Large size of arjun makes it more prone to visibility by enemy. Also right from WW1, the Russians have been the masters of tank designs. Their tanks totally created fear among many countries.Their tanks took part in world’s largest tank battle in history against German panzers and the former came victorious. The Russian t-90 is proven in battlefield in Chechenya where it took 7 multiple hits from RPGs and survived. Just because Arjun can outrun, it doesn’t mean it is better than T-90. There are many other parameters also. Also one can’t compare the Arjun with T-72. The reason? It is a 3rd generation tank with less features whereas Arjun is designed to be 4th gen. The modern version of T-72 i.e. T-90 is 4th generation and has a legacy