India’s T-72 tanks are facing problems with its ammunition as it sometimes bursts in the barrel and 200 such cases have been reported making the Army wonder whether its troops will be “afraid” to fire even after seeing the enemy.
“It (the T-72 ammunition) used to burst in the barrel. If it bursts in the barrel, then the firer is afraid to fire his own gun, which is not a correct thing. If he is afraid to fire his own gun, then even if he sees the enemy he will not fire,” the Army has told a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence.
The Army informed the Government and the Parliamentary Committee that over a period of time, there have been 200 such accidents involving the ammunition and “it brings down the confidence of the firer, especially, with regard to tank ammunition.”
last year, former Army Chief Gen VK Singh had written a letter to the PM explaining to him the shortages of tank ammunition being faced by the force.