India’s Tank Dilemma: Arjun’s Struggles and T-72 Upgrades
India has long dreamed of boasting a potent main battle tank, but this dream has been belied both by the problem of the Arjun tank and strategic necessity when T-72s were being upgraded and exported.
Developments at India’s Defence Research and Development Organization are constantly meant to be marks of indigenous military power, but the problems that have bogged the Arjun make an insufferable-sized percentage of its fleet ineffective.
The Arjun was developed after the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971.
It is meant to modernize the armored ability of India, which, for some time, weighed rather heavily.
Its armory includes a 120mm rifled main gun and a very powerful diesel engine, but it is surrounded by several logistical and design problems.
The Indian Army bought 124 Arjuns in 2009 but was disappointed when nearly 75% of these became non-operational within six years due to technical problems.
India has instead retained a large number of T-72s from the Soviet arsenal, which have proved much more reliable.
With around 2,500 T-72 in service, India has decided to upgrade these with the assistance of Russia.
It will modernize the tanks with new fire control systems, better armor, and mobility thereby making them capable against modern threats.
Upgrades of the T-72 are part of a larger strategy to build the export potential in the defense sector of the country.
African, Middle Eastern and Far East Asian countries have indeed evinced an interest in them, but that would indicate sustained relevance.
This collaboration with Russia also serves to strengthen defense ties and, for India, strengthens the home production capabilities.
Through various constantly changing geopolitical stratagems.
India is placing all its bets on balancing indigenous development with strategic partnerships for its defense procurement strategies.
The teething problems of the Arjun and the T-72 upgrading process reflect the overall difficult scene into which India is pushing to fortify its armored forces in a complex global defense landscape.