Arjun
India's own main battle tank, three decades in the making.
About the Arjun
The Arjun is a third generation main battle tank developed by the Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE) of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), for the Indian Army. The tank is named after Arjuna, the archer prince who is the main protagonist of the Indian epic poem Mahabharata. Design work began in 1986 and was finished in 1996. The Arjun main battle tank entered service with the Indian Army in 2004.
Service history
Sanctioned in 1972 and rolled out for trials in 1996, the Arjun programme ran far over time and cost, and the Army long resisted it in favour of the T-90. Regiment 43 Armoured took the first Mk1s in 2004. Comparative trials against the T-90 in 2010 went decisively in the Arjun's favour on gunnery and mobility, and the improved Mk1A — 72 changes including a new fire-control system — was contracted in 2021.
Combat edge
120mm rifled gun firing the LAHAT guided missile
Kanchan composite armour developed by DRDO
Outperformed the T-90 in the 2010 comparative trials
Hydropneumatic suspension for high cross-country speed