DRDO working on more advanced version of Arjun MBT: VK Saraswat

NEW DELHI: After receiving orders for 124 more Arjun main battle tanks, the DRDO has decided to supply an advanced version of the weapon system to meet the requirements of the Army. "We will have the modifications (on Arjuns) that the Army is looking for," Defence Research and Development Organisation chief V K Saraswat said here on Thursday. He was asked if the DRDO had any plans of delivering a more advanced version of Arjun to the Army as part of the next order. The DRDO chief was talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function to mark the golden jubilee of the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS). Saraswat said that the DRDO had already started working on the mark II version of the tank, which will incorporate a number of modifications that have been sought by the Army.  "We have to make certain modifications in the tank, which we call the Arjun mark II version. Development process on mark II is already in progress and our scientists and the Army are working together," Saraswat said. The DRDO chief said the decision by the Army to place orders for 124 more Arjuns will ensure that the assembly line of the tanks is "engaged". Army has till date placed orders for 248 Arjun tanks of which 124 have already been delivered to it. The orders for additional 124 tanks was placed after the comparative trials in March and April this year. The comparative trials between the Arjun and the Russian T-90 were carried out to decided the future of the tank in the Army, during which the indigenous tanks reportedly performed satisfactorily.  The DRDO wants the Army to place orders for at least 500 Arjuns to recover its investments before staring work on the futuristic main battle tank for the service.  Commenting on the role of INMAS during the recent Mayapuri radiation leak case here, Saraswat said, "INMAS also has the expertise of detecting nuclear radiation and we provided the fastest response to the casualties there. We were able to send our teams within four hours and we also found out the level of radiation."

Source:-http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

DRDO eyes robotic soldier, mule |VK Saraswat

Chennai: India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is in the process of building robotic soldiers and mules as a part of its unmanned fighting systems of the future, said an official Sunday. "We are working on building soldier robots that can work like a human soldier. Such a robot needs data base, artificial intelligence to carrying out its activities and the DRDO is planning to build such a robot," V.K. Saraswat, scientific advisor to defence minister and director general, DRDO, told reporters here. After inaugurating new facilities inside the Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE) campus, he said the DRDO was also planning to design a robotic mule that could replace a real one used by soldiers in mountainous terrain.

The DRDO has already developed Daksh, a remote-controlled robotic vehicle, for detecting and destroying dangerous objects like bombs and has been approved by the Indian Army for induction. The army will start trials of DRDO's main battle tank Arjun Mark II from next October, said P. Sivakumar, director, CVRDE. He said the army had ordered 124 units of the upgraded Arjun tanks. According to him, the CVRDE would be completing the supply of Mark I version of Arjun tanks by March 2012. "We have supplied 110 units out of the total 124 units that were ordered," he said. The Indian tanks were far cheaper, costing around Rs.21 crore each, as compared to Rs.56 crore each of American battle tanks of a similar nature.

"If there are more orders then the cost would come down further," added Saraswat. According to Sivakumar, the CVRDE was planning to source the battle tank engines and transmission systems from BEML Ltd. Presently, the engines and transmissions were imported. Queried about the commercialisation of the technologies developed by the DRDO, Saraswat said the annual revenue was currently around Rs.30 crore and it was growing. He earlier inaugurated the new technology centre, jointly set up by the CVRDE and BEML, a suspension testing facility for Arjun tank and combat veronics technology centre.

The centre will address the design and development of defence products and aggregates including research and development products. According V.R.S. Natarajan, chairman and managing director of BEML, the two organisations are now working together with a foreign firm for building and supplying 155 mm, 52 calibre tracked gun. BEML supported the CVRDE in development of Arjun tank sub-systems, documentation and other activities. The new centre is being set up for better and faster coordination between BEML and CVRDE. BEML will depute 18 engineers to work at the new centre.

Source:-http://www.facenfacts.com

 

Tank Ex,the Future MBT for India?

                  Tank ExTank Ex or the MBT Ex (known as ”Karna”),India’s Ambitious Defence Project to Build a Battle Tank after the MBT Arjun,has been a subject of Major Controversy. The Tank,developed to cater to the Army’s original requirement of a 40-ton Tank armed with a 105mm gun,is now under further Research & Development as theArmy,supposedly,changed its requirement to a 120mm gun armed heavier tank, capable of going toe-to-toe with the American Abrams tank, which Pakistan, was about to acquire from the United States in the 1980s. Intended to provide a solution for upgrading the Indian Army’s aging T-72M1 fleet,the Tank EX has been developed by integrating a modified low silhouette chassis of in-service T-72 tank and a re-engineered Arjun MBT turret.                                              

Broadly similar to the British Chobham,this main battle tank uses Kanchan heavy composite armor. The Tank Ex appears to be an ideal solution for upgrading the Indian Army’s vast and aging T-72M1 fleet.The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) states that the new generation “Karna” tank  can withstand a nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) attack.extankBeing much lighter than the Arjun MBT, which weighs 58.5 tons,the Tank Ex is still heavier at 47 tons   than the T-72M1 (41 tons).The Tank-Ex has a 1000 hp power plant (as on the Combat Improved Ajeya) giving a power to weight ratio of 21 hp/ton for a weight of 47 tons. This represents an improvement over the T-72M1’s 20 hp/ton with a weight of 41 tons and an 780 hp power plant.

The Tank Ex utilizes the Arjun MBT’s 120 mm rifled gun firing unitary APFSDS and HESH semi combustible cartridge case ammunition. A total of 32 rounds are carried as compared to 39 in the Arjun and 45 two piece ones in the T-72.  A global positioning system is provided for accurate navigation.The Tank Ex retains the T-72 attributes of speed and agility with a maximum speed of 60 km/hr (on road) and 40 km/hr (cross country).While the gradient climbing at 30 degrees it remains in line with all variants of the T-72 like the B(M). The Tank Ex is better at trench crossing.(2.6 metres as compared to the T-72M1’s 2.28 meters).Vertical Obstacles 0.85 metres tall can be surmounted, same as the T-72M1.Shallow fording is quoted as 1.2 metres. 

                                                 

The DRDO recently, successfully test-fired the advanced Israeli LAHAT anti-tank missile known for its lethality & long range,to be fitted on the New Tank Ex. Even when the above details of the Tank Ex seem to be noteworthy,Indian Army’s Director General of Mechanised Forces(DGMF) Gen. Dalip Bhardwaj said on 5 July 2008 that the army had rejected Tank-EX. This was part of an announcement that there would be no further orders for Arjun tanks, and the army would be inviting participants from various countries to discuss future tank developments.Although the reasons for such a statement was unclear,Many believe the statement was fueled by the ”difference of views & Opinions” between the Army & the DRDO.20110305-Indian-Army-Main-Battle-Tank-EX-Wallpaper-02-TN[3] The DRDO has made it clear that unlike the MBT Arjun,The Tank Ex may be Exported to Other Countries along with New DRDO missiles and weapon systems.”Our technology and the weapon system are competitive. There is tremendous export potential …but we have to first make sure we have real output in terms of numbers and quality.Once that happens and once we are satisfied… I think in few years from now India would be in a position to export systems to friendly countries.The impact of Agni-V launch has given us confidence… we are not dependent on any nation as far as missile technology is concerned. There was a time when missile technology controlled regimes throttled our progress. But today we are in a position to not only manufacture for ourselves but ready to go from being a purchaser to exporter.”says DRDO chief VK Saraswat.

Source:- http://www.tejwebworld.com