India showcased its frontline military assets, including Brahmos and Akash missiles, at the Republic Day parade. The event also celebrated Operation Sindoor and featured a new 'Battle Array Format' for the Indian Army.
The tank, designed, developed, and manufactured by the Defence Research and Development Organisation's Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment and made in Tamil Nadu, will be used to protect northern borders.
On Tuesday, June 28, 2022, the Defence Research and Development Organisation and the Indian Army successfully test-fired the Made In India developed laser-guided Anti-Tank Guided Missile from the Main Battle Tank Arjun at the KK ranges in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district.
In its 29th report, which was tabled in Parliament earlier this week, Parliament's Standing Committee on Defence writes that it is 'startled' to be told that the tank had performed poorly in winter trials, and that it was miles away from meeting the army's requirements.
Around 100 artistes heralded the parade, on the theme 'Vividata Mein Ekta (Unity in Diversity) that featured a grand presentation of musical instruments, demonstrating the nation's unity and rich cultural diversity.
The defence ministry on Thursday sealed a contract to procure 118 main battle tanks Arjun for the Indian Army at a cost of Rs 7,523 crore, in a major move to boost its combat capabilities.
14 Arjun tanks crossed swords with the 100s of Russian-supplied T-90 and T-72 tanks in the final phase of the month-long exercises 'Ashwamedha'.
'If you go by the capital expenditure, this is a good defence budget. But we will have to see if the government can keep defence spending at 2 per cent or higher in 2027-2028.'
The Defence Reasearch and Development Organsiation has, in an attempt to give India's lawmakers 'a first-hand account of huge work undertaken by the agency', begun rolling in weapon systems manufactured by it outside the Parliament.
The exercise showcased India's military prowess and integrated multi-domain operations of the three services and the "shock and awe" impact that the armed forces seek to achieve in an operational situation with manoeuvre and fighting capabilities.
Senior Colonel Liu Degang said the Arjun tank is "very good" and suits Indian conditions.
New Arjuns will fire anti-tank missiles; have extra armour protection
It said the ATGM has been developed with a capability to launch from multiple platforms and is currently undergoing technical evaluation trials from 120 mm rifled gun of MBT Arjun.
The defence ministry said the missiles destroyed the targets with precision at two different ranges.
Of the total 124, CVRDE had already delivered 29 MBTs in two instalments till March this year. Rest of the Arjun tanks would be delivered by March 2010, Pillai said.
First batch of five indigenously built battle tanks rolls out of factory near Chennai
Last month, Bhatt said Kalashnikov AK-203 rifles for Indian armed forces were under manufacturing and testing stage at an Indo-Russian joint venture at Korwa in Uttar Pradesh.
The tanks with new systems will be imported from Russia at an estimated cost of Rs 3,900 crore and are likely to be inducted over the next two years, army officials said.
Sources said of the 13,700 crore, Rs 8,300 crore will be for procuring 118 Arjun (Mk-1A).
The Indian military was the show-stealer at the grand Republic Day parade in New Delhi on Sunday.
India's Republic Day parade featured a tri-services tableau showcasing the country's increasing focus on enhancing synergy among its armed forces. The tableau, themed "Shashakt aur Surakshit Bharat" (strong and secure India), displayed a battlefield scenario with indigenous military equipment, including the Arjun main battle tank, Tejas MKII fighter aircraft, and the destroyer INS Visakhapatnam. The display highlighted the Ministry of Defence's commitment to boosting tri-services synergy and jointness in preparation for future conflicts.
The laser-guided anti-tank guided missile is likely to significantly enhance the fire-power capability of the Indian Army particularly along the frontiers with Pakistan and China, the officials said.
'The heat shield technology for re-entry vehicles was first mastered in DRDO for the Agni missile.' 'This is why the Americans were so opposed to Agni in the 1980s, unlike other missiles -- it was a re-entry vehicle.'
Tactical systems such as main battle tank Arjun, light combat aircraft Tejas, a family of radars, electronic warfare systems, sonars, torpedoes, armaments and missiles have been successfully developed in the country and many of them are being delivered to the armed forces. The recent success of the DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) in the launch of interceptor missile and Agni-III has taken our country into the elite club of a few developed nations.
'Make-in-India played a key role in India's effective action against terrorism during Operation Sindoor.'
For some inexplicable reason, the army prefers to use Russian armour; Arjun is deployed in only two of its 63 armoured regiments.
India's rich cultural diversity, military prowess, economic progress and the strides it has taken in sectors, such as science and technology, were on full display at the 76th Republic-Day celebrations on Kartavya Path on Sunday, in the presence of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto.
The synergised demonstration of indigenous defence capabilities during 'Bharat Shakti' is a "testimony to its commitment towards modernisation through indigenisation," the sources said.
The Positive Indigenisation List includes Rs 715 crore worth of high-end materials and spares, the import of which will be permitted only until a date specified for each. After each one's import deadline elapses, it will have to be procured from the Indian industry.
DRDO's failures over the decades have contributed significantly to India becoming the world's biggest weapons importer, points out Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
India has over 4,000 medium tanks, but not a single light tank. It remains to be seen whether the Ladakh face-off with China galvanises a change, observes Ajai Shukla.
He is eminent technologist M Natrajan, project director of the country's indigenous main battle tank Arjun.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said his government has always taken care of the welfare of Sri Lankan Tamils and 'consistently' flagged the issue of their rights with the leaders in the island nation.
'The US will not want to tangle with China landwards.' 'Nor will the US confront the Chinese navy seawards on India's account.'
'There is no such thing as ultimate survivability.'
'It's all comparative -- who outperforms, who uses tactics, who optimises technology to the best is what makes the difference.'
From tackling cyber threat to having an an unmanned tank, there's so much DRDO wants to do
The ministry's year-end review is silent on the continued occupation by Chinese troops of territory that India has always claimed and patrolled.
President Droupadi Murmu will lead the nation in celebrating the Republic Day, and Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will be the chief guest at the ceremonial event.
All equipment from the Army which were part of the Republic Day celebrations are made-in-India, Chief of Staff Delhi Area Maj Gen Bhavnish Kumar had earlier said.
The cost of acquiring the advanced light helicopters from the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) has been estimated at Rs 3,850 crore while a batch of rocket ammunition will cost Rs 4,962 crore, the defence ministry said.
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