New Delhi: The prototype of indigenous Zorawar light tank, meant for mountain warfare, will be rolled out in December 2023, ThePrint has learnt.
It will then be put under development trials and once the prototype clears them, it will go in for user trials, sources said.
Sources in the defence and security establishment told ThePrint that the Army will likely go in for trials only in March next year.
India selected the American company Cummins for the engines of these tanks in October, after initially zeroing in on a German firm.
“The DRDO has chosen to go with the US engine now and the prototype will be unveiled with those engines. The reason for this is that earlier German companies were not given the BAFA (Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control) clearance by the German government. These clearances are related to export controls,” a source in the defence establishment told ThePrint,
The Zorawar is especially designed to operate at high altitudes, countering Chinese armoured deployments in high-terrain warfare. Weighing 25 tonnes, the tank will be transportable by air.
The Indian Army has been locked in a standoff with China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in eastern Ladakh since 2020. Reports suggest that the PLA has deployed light armoured vehicles at high altitudes. It is being said that Zorawar will have a greater mobility and accuracy of fire power in comparison with the Chinese Type 15 tanks deployed along the Ladakh border.
The need for a light tank was felt because the T72s and T90s are meant to be deployed in plains and deserts. Though the Army already operates them in Ladakh, these tanks are heavier and less manoeuvrable.
The Army had come up with a Request to Information (RFI) for the first time in April 2021. It wants the light tank to carry out amphibious operations, facilitating operation even in riverine areas.
The project to develop such a tank was given a go ahead in April last year with Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) and private vendor L&T as manufacturers. Industry sources told ThePrint that L&T is the only company involved in the co-development of these tanks.
Zorawar will have a 105 mm gun made by Belgium-based firm John Cockerill. The tank will likely feature active protection against incoming attacks as well as integrated UAVs, enhancing battlefield visibility. It will be equipped with technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and situational awareness.
In December 2022, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved acceptance of necessity (AoN) to acquire 24 different types of weapons, weapon systems and platforms for the three services and the Indian Coast Guard. This included the Zorawar Light Tank project worth Rs 16,000 crore. An in-principle approval had come in March 2022 for the design and development of such a tank.
The Russians had offered the Sprut light tanks to the Indian Army, at a time when L&T was working with the DRDO to convert the tracked 155 mm howitzer Vajra into a light tank.
As reported by ThePrint, the DAC approved the initiation process for procurement of 354 light tanks of which the DRDO will manufacture 59. The rest will be manufactured under the Make-I category. Projects under the Make-I category involve government funding of 90 percent, released in a phased manner and based on the progress of the scheme, as per terms agreed between the defence ministry and the vendor.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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