India Begins Development of its Own UCGV Based on the Arjun Mk1 Tank

The Indian Defense Research and Development Organization [DRDO] has announced that the country has begun developing an unmanned ground combat vehicle based on the Arjun Mk.1A tank. According to DRDO, the laboratory design of the new project has already been completed. DRDO says the whole project is funded by the Government of India.

The system, which is being developed at the request of the Indian Army, will have to carry out a series of missions such as surveillance, escort, infantry support, reconnaissance, and mine detection.

India invests in Arjun Mk.1A

The Indian government has made a major investment in the development of its Arjun Mk.1A tank. BulgarianMilitary.com recalls that on September 23, the Indian Ministry of Defense awarded a contract to the local state-owned Heavy Vehicle Factory [HVF] for the supply of 118 main Arjun Mk-1A battle tanks to the Indian Army. The country’s Defense Ministry has signed a contract to supply more than 100 Arjun Mk-1A tanks worth more than $ 1 billion.

The implementation of this agreement is carried out under the Made in India program, which has been implemented for more than a year to acquire the necessary competencies and develop technologies for the production and localization of various weapons for the Indian Army.

It is noted that the Arjun Mk-1A is an updated version of an earlier version of the Arjun tank, developed by Indian gunsmiths. “Thanks to 72 new modifications, this tank will be able to provide good mobility in any area,” said the Indian Ministry of Defense, probably alluding to solving the problems that were in the previous version.

The first five samples will be delivered to the army within 30 months, after which it is planned to deliver 30 new vehicles a year.

It will be recalled that currently, the main battle tank of the Indian Army is the Russian T-90, which was located in India in the early 2000s. But for about 10 years, local gunsmiths have been trying to replace it with a machine of their design.

Source: BulgarianMilitary .com