India's Battle Tank Arjun Operationally Useless

[insas556]

The Arjun MBT project has had problems due to the bureaucracy, over ambition, vested interests. Service mindsets, political problems etc.

However of late there has been new sense of urgency, drive and a change of attitude. There is a realisation that everything cannot be done by us, and the need for openness, adaptability and the guys at CVRDE and the powers that be realised that after sinking so much money there is no option but to go on. The Arjun has improved and productionized.

A seemingly trivial, yet surprising act was the defence ministry allowing, astonishingly. an Auto magazine, to test-drive the tank. Such openness has been rarely seen before. The article as expected is that of a popular magazine, full of flourish, style and and hyperbole. Yet the glossy , detailed photos of the FCS, crew compartment, driver station, do show the tank internally has good build quality. space and an modern look.
Granted its only photos, but the openness of the CVRDE and the defence ministry do point to a sense of confidence and purpose.
The article in print need to be seen for deatils in the photo, but courtesy of
jatt2ooo of the forum,http://www.protonriver.com/forums/, the article has been uploaded at:

http://s90370077.onlinehome.us/documents/Arjun1.pdf

 

[tatra]

Mmm...

Excellent idea!. I'ld like to see Top Gear put the Challenger II, Leo II, Ariete and LeClerc through their paces ....

 

[neel24neo]

tatra,u forgot the abrams???
anyway it was nice reading the article.it is ofcourse a PR exercise but atleast it explains that our scientists cannot be expected to comeup with a m1a2 abrams overnight.as rightly pointed out,arjun is just a stepping stone.
moreover our threat perception as of now doesnot include any country operating m1a2abrams,chally2,leo2 or even leclerc.so it doesnt matter much if arjun mk1 doesnt match upto abrams.

 

[mysterious]

In 'reality', it doesn't operationally even match up to a T-72 and/or T-90; where the hell did a comparison with Abrams come from? :roll

 

[neel24neo]

dear mysterious
i didnt compare it with the abrams infact i didnt intend on comparing it with any tank.i guess u didnt understand the import of what i had written.it is just this that arjun is a stepping stone for india.

 

[mysterious]

Yes I know its a good step ahead and got the jist of what you were trying to say but I was being careful about someone trying to compare it with some of the best tanks in the world today. :smokingc:

 

[tatra]

tatra,u forgot the abrams???
anyway it was nice reading the article.it is ofcourse a PR exercise but atleast it explains that our scientists cannot be expected to comeup with a m1a2 abrams overnight.as rightly pointed out,arjun is just a stepping stone.
moreover our threat perception as of now doesnot include any country operating m1a2abrams,chally2,leo2 or even leclerc.so it doesnt matter much if arjun mk1 doesnt match upto abrams.

Well , Top Gear is a BBC program so I figure Euro-tanks only

 

[muslim282]

NEO: with what l,ve read about the ARJUN, it seems nothing more than a white elephant. l think pride and pride alone will lead to the indian armed forces purchasing it, so as not to dishearten the indian public and avoid a press frenzy.
Don,t worry my indian friends....the yanks also had a big scandal with the useless and money guzzling SGT YORKE.
l suppose your right in respect that it will definately be a stepping stone for india.
Looks like the pakistanis are definatley ahead in this race. The Al-khalid battle tank has completed its trials and is now going to be inducted on a large scale. Foreign armies are also conducting trials and therefore the khalid is competing against the likes of M1-Abrahams and challenger. In the desert conditions it has performed exceptionally well, outdoing its western counterparts.

Admin: Last comment deleted - totally unnecessary when people are being civil - change your attitude.

 

[dabrownguy]

Lets do the Q and A thing again.
Arjun wasted too much money and we didn't get a good tank.
Not true. Europe wasted how much? and got the Typhoon which is still heck of a jet even with critizers.
Nation like India can't build a tank without experience.
It took 30 years to start the project. This is enough time to come up with advanced armor/gun but apperantly not enough for an engine. Bottom line is India can build a tank with or without forign help. Arjun stands tall against western tanks on paper. BTW most tanks are unproven still so keep your eyes open.

 

[P.A.F]

the bottom line is that the arjun is crap and a waste of money. nothing more to say.

 

[tatra]

the bottom line is that the arjun is crap and a waste of money. nothing more to say.

It may be a waste of money but not because "it is crap". That's just a totally uninformed statement.

 

[Red aRRow]

Locking the thread.