MoD places Rs 7.5k-cr order for 118 tanks

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 23

The Ministry of Defence today placed an order for the supply of 118 Arjun Mk-1A tanks for the Army. The order is worth Rs 7,523 crore.

The tanks will be made by the MoD’s Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF), Avadi, Chennai.

State-of-the-art Arjun Mk-1A is the latest variant of the original Arjun tank that was inducted a decade ago. The new one is designed to enhance fire power, mobility and survivability. It has 72 additional features and will have greater indigenous content.

The tank would ensure effortless mobility in all terrains, besides precise target engagement during day and night. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has designed the tank by making numerous upgrades to Arjun.

It will have accurate and superior firepower, all-terrain mobility and multi-layered protection provided by an array of advanced technology systems.

Army transport plane Deal likely

The Defence Ministry is likely to finalise in the next few days the nearly Rs20,000 crore Airbus-Tata deal to procure 56 C-295 medium transport aircraft to replace the Avro-748 planes of the IAF. The long-pending procurement was cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Security two weeks ago. PTI