Underlining his Government’s focus on self-reliance in the defence sector, Prime Minister Narendra Modi rode an Arjun tank during his visit to Longewala, Jaisalmer on Saturday. The Arjun main battle tank(MBT) is indigenously designed and manufactured weapon system.
The Indian army will raise two more regiments of Arjun MK1A (Mark 1 Alpha), which will have 72 improvements over the Mark 1 tank, out of which 14 are major improvements and 58 are minor. The new regiments will be inducted in the next six months.
The acceptance of necessity for the procurement of 118 Arjun MBT Mk1A is being progressed and the Defence Research and Development Organisation expect the indent in another three to four months, sources said.
Two regiments will have 59 tanks each. With panoramic vision thermal imaging feature, the commander of the tank will be in control of the situation. It also has a remote control weapon system to deter low-flying objects like helicopters. It also has a mine-plough feature which can fig as deep as one feet.
The tank can fire thermobaric ammunition and penetration-cum-blast ammunition. The Arjun was inducted into the Army in 2004. The army has, so far, inducted 124 Arjun tanks which are deployed along the border with Pakistan in Jaisalmer.
The defence sector is at the forefront when it comes to India’s push for ‘vocal for local’. The ministry recently came out with a list of 101 defence items taken out of the import list in a bid to give a major boost to the Indian industry.