New Delhi: The upgrade of India’s frontline T-90 tanks—following the lessons learnt from the military stand-off with China—are among the eight proposals worth Rs 54,000 crore approved Thursday by the Ministry of Defence.
The T-90 tanks, which are currently powered by 1000 horsepower (hp) engines, will be upgraded to 1350 hp engines. The project is likely to be bagged by the Russian Rosoboronexport, which is doing a similar power upgrade for the T-72 tank.
The new engine will help the T-90s operate more effectively in high-altitude areas of Ladakh and Sikkim, where thin air tends to affect the engine performance. The upgrade will enhance the battlefield mobility of these tanks especially in high-altitude areas by increasing the power-to-weight ratio.
Explaining what this means, sources in the defence and security establishment said that the upgrade would allow faster repositioning during combat and reduces vulnerability to enemy fire.
The new engine will increase the power output by improving acceleration, climbing ability, and manoeuvrability in challenging terrains like deserts, mountains, and riverine regions. The upgraded engine, according to the sources, would make the T90 tanks more agile.
Developed by Russia, the T-90 is a third-generation main battle tank (MBT), primarily designed to replace the older T-72 series. The T-72 tanks, too, have undergone such an upgrade—from 780 hp to 1000 hp for all the same reasons that T90s are being upgraded.
The Indian Army is already scouting for protection gear to boost the survivability of its T-90 tanks for which an active protection system (APS) will be selected for countering threats from loitering munitions and top-attack missiles.
Other Acceptance of Necessities (AoNs)—the official approval granted by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) for a specific capital acquisition proposal for the armed forces—include the procurement of Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) aircraft systems for the Indian Air Force (IAF).
The airforce currently operates two of these platforms known as Netra. In addition, one other such system is operated by the Centre for Airborne Systems (CABS).
The AEW&C systems are capability enhancers that can change the complete spectrum of warfare and exponentially increase the combat potential of every other weapon system, the ministry said in a statement.
The IAF needs 12 such systems, and the current procurement is likely to be for six Mk1A AEW&C systems. The IAF will in the near future go in for six MkII AEW&Cs.
On Thursday, the DAC also approved guidelines to reduce the timeline of various stages of the Capital Acquisition Process, to make it faster & efficient.
For the Indian Navy, the DAC gave nod to procurement of Varunastra torpedoes (combat) to enhance the force’s capability against threat from enemy submarines. “The Varunastra torpedo is an indigenously-developed ship-launched anti-submarine torpedo developed by Naval Science & Technological Laboratory,” the statement reads.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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