Indian Army's T-72 steals show at exhibition

Bhopal, Apr 21 : Remarkable advances in indigenous tank technology have made the Indian Army the proud possessor of the Main Battle Tank (MBT) Arjun but the T-72 continues to be the Army's mainstay and was given its due importance at a three-day exhibition that got underway here today.

Other hardware on display included a mechanised infantry vehicle, air defence guns, bridging equipment, mines, anti-tank missiles, night vision-equipped supporting weapons and a mobile surgical station .

''The T-72 has been the mainstay for years now and plays a key role in the majority of our armoured and mechanised formations. It is the main punching power and success would heavily depend on its being able to achieve necessary missions in mechanised operations,'' Brig Prabir Goswami, Vishisht Seva Medal, who commanded 16 Independent Armoured Brigade during Operation Vijay, the Kargil conflict, told UNI.

He explained the original Soviet tank is being indigenously produced at Avadi in Tamil Nadu as the Ajay. ''The T-90, an upgraded version recently acquired from Russia with a number of add-on superior abilities such as the capability of launching missiles, is expected to gradually take on this role,'' he added.

Regarding the MBT Arjun, the brigadier pointed out that it's a highly-sophisticated tank with several state-of-the-art components and a ''very high first round hit capability,'' a must to survive in an increasingly hostile battlefield having multiple anti-tank threats compounded by developed terrain restrictions on the country's western border.
When pointed out that the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)-manufactured MBT Arjun's 120 mm-calibre rifled gun was of the same diameter as the M256 smoothbore gun on the US Army's M1A2 Abrams, the expert said, ''The gun is very important but it is a part of a weapon system -- the whole tank -- and the difference is that the Americans are old hands at this game.

''The American advantage of private firms manufacturing prototypes for trials, as part of a competitive environment entailing selection of the best, bespeaks of the amount of finances these firms are willing to spend to develop such sophisticated weaponry. Still, the MBT has several good points and should help the DRDO develop more efficient models in the future.'' Taking a leaf out of the nation's post-independence military history, Brig Goswami proudly mentioned that the Vijayanta served India well in Operation Cactus Lily -- the 1971 Indo-Pak war.''I served with the Vijayanta tank for 17 years but by the time I got to command my regiment, it had converted to T-72 tanks. The armoured brigade, which I commanded for three years, also had T-72 regiments,'' he said.

The T-72 has a primary armament comprising a 125 mm smoothbore gun utilising an electro-hydraulic autoloader. The secondary armament is a 7.62-mm coaxial machine gun. Power is supplied by a 582 KW (780 hp) diesel engine and the crew comprises a commander, driver and gunner. The weapon system is equipped with a laser range finder and thermal jackets on the main gun.

By comparison, the MBT Arjun has a 120-mm gun with thermal jacket, 12.7-mm anti-aircraft gun, 7.62-mm coaxial anti-personnel machine gun, laser range finder and night vision. The much larger stats are combat weight 58.5 tonnes, length (gun forward) 10.638 m, width 3.864 m and height 3.03 m. It packs in a 1,400 hp engine that gives a maximum speed of 70 Kmph with the crosscountry speed being 40 kmph. The crew comprises a commander, gunner, loader and driver.

The superior armour-defeating capability of the indigenously developed Fin Stabilised Armour Piercing Discarding Sabot (FSAPDS) ammunition give MBT Arjun an edge.

UNI