Non-Subscriber Extract
Indian Army abandons plans to order more Arjuns
By Rahul Bedi
10 July 2008
The Indian army has confirmed that it will not place additional orders for the locally designed Arjun main battle tank (MBT) beyond the 124 already under construction.
General Dalip Bhardwaj, the army's director general of mechanised infantry, said on 5 July that "the army will place no more orders for the Arjun". While the Arjun "might be used in the next decade or so", he added that it was not suitable "for next-generation warfare". "The army... is looking 20 to 25 years ahead and wants a futuristic MBT," he said.
The Indian Ministry of Defence ordered 124 Arjuns in 2000 - which the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has been developing since 1972 - to be built at the Heavy Vehicles Factory at Avadi in southern India. These were meant to be delivered by 2009 but will not be completed on time.
Image: The Indian army has effectively killed the Arjun main battle tank project (Jane's)