By Jim Morris, Warrior Vice President, News
India has shown off its newest weapon – a light battle tank latest that went from design to prototype in roughly two and a half years.
The Zorawar’s role is to be a counterweight to China’s fleet of lightweight mountain tanks, like the Type 15, which are said to be especially effective in the high altitudes along the disputed border between the two countries.
The new Indian tank weighs just 25 tons, half the weight of the Russian-made T-90. That will make it easier to operate in tough mountain terrain where heavier tanks can’t go. The Zorawar is armed with a 105mm main gun that’s capable of firing anti-tank guided missiles. It also has modular reactive armor and an active proteoth China and Pakistan for decades. ction system for better survivability.
Other features include the ability to be integrated with drones and battle management systems.
“What is unique about this tank is the weight as well as the combination of the fundamental parameters of a tank, which is the fire, power mobility and protection,” said Rajesh Kumar, tank lab director of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
The Indian army has ordered 59 of the new tanks, and potentially could buy as many as 354 of them. The Zorawar is expected to go into service in 2027, following tests in both mountainous regions and the desert.
It was named after the legendary general Zorawar Singh, who led troops to vitory in Ladakh and Tibet six times between 1834 and 1841.
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India’s armored forces are currently fielding three tanks – the Russian-origin T-90 and T-72, and the homegrown Arjun main battle tank. Both the T-90 and T-72 have been equipped with Indian-made upgrades.
India began seriously contemplating a new light tank four years ago, after clashes in eastern Ladakh left 20 Indian soldiers dead, along with an undisclosed number of Chinese troops. Ladakh is part of the larger Kashmir region, which has been the center of border disputes between Indian and both China and Pakistan for decades.
India sent T-90 and T-72 tanks up to what is called the Line of Actual Control (LAC), which serves as a de facto border between India-controlled and Chinese-controlled territory in Ladakh. That required tanks and their crews to operate at altitudes up to 16,000 feet and at temperatures that approached minus 35 degrees Celsius.
The problem is that those tanks weren’t designed to handle the harsh conditions. One problem is that at high altitude, the oxygen is thin and engines begin to lose power.
China came up with the Type 15 light tank, with has oxygen generators along with its powerful engine. The tank also has more mobility than some main battle tanks because of a high power-to-weight ratio.
