India to improvise Russian tanks

In view of the weaknesses of Russian tanks, especially when they are exposed, the Indian Army has made up its mind to upgrade their armour and add its own.

New Delhi, Jan 28: Although the T-90 is a bestseller on the global market, the latest images coming from the Ukraine war show that they are not what they were promised. Several of these tanks have not been able to survive the Ukrainian onslaught. The clips of T-90 tanks being burned by the Ukraine forces have gone viral to show that they still need upgrades.

Looking at the situation and what happened to T-90s not just in Ukraine but also in Syria, India has decided that it will cross T-72 with T-90 and create a deadly hybrid tank that would be invincible. The T-90 tanks are still considered among the top 10 best tanks around the world. Dozens of countries have bought them from Russia over the years.

Not just that Russia lost many of its T-90s in Ukraine, it also lost several of them in the conflicts in Syria all these years. Defence experts have started talking about the weaknesses of Russia's tanks, especially when they are exposed. Looking into these issues and others, the Indian Army has made its mind to upgrade the Russian armour and add its own.

Hybrid of T-72 & T-90

India has already bought and upgraded the Russian tanks; however, it will upgrade them further so that they are well equipped to meet the current requirements. Once it's done, the Indian Army would be able to have the tanks that are not facing the destiny that the current Russian tanks are facing in Ukraine.

The reports of the T-72 tanks performing poorly in Ukraine has not gone well in the Indian defence establishment. This is why the decision has been made to revamp the Russian tanks and make them more advanced. The first step is combining the main body of the T-72 tank with the turret of the T90 Bhishma. The amalgamation will make the tanks invincible.

Defence experts are of the view that the hybrid tank will have high-end firepower since it would also be reinforced with an Explosive Reactive Armour (ERA). Interestingly, ERA has been developed by DRDO for the Arjun MBT.

Apart from ERA, the hybrid tanks are equipped with Cannon-fired ATGMs and powered by the V92S2 high-power multi-fuel engine. The 1,000-hp engine makes it one of the best MBT in the world. These will be commissioned to the Indian Army in the coming months.