Indian Army Arjun Tank Fails Trials

摘要

29 Apr 08. India's homegrown Arjun tank, has failed the crucial winter trials, undertaken by the Indian Army, putting a question mark on the combat deployment of the tank. The controversial Arjun tank, under development since 1974, has been "literally pushed on the Indian Army", said a senior Indian army official.rn"The Indian Army wants a new tank, other than the Arjun," said the army official adding that, "The tank will never be used for combat purposes as it is a failed tank and can only be used for training purposes."rnThe Indian Army, which had to wait for the Arjun for decades, was pushed to buy the Russian T-90 tank in 2000, in the absence of an advanced main battle tank.rnThe Indian Parliament's 29th Report of the Standing Committee on defence, presented to Parliament on April 16, noted adverse comments on the Arjun. The Committeernsays it is startled to find that the Arjun is not performing up to the mark. The Report notes, "The Committee in their earlier reports had recommended that adequate numbers of Main Battle Tanks-Arjun should be manufactured for induction into the Indian Army. The Committee, however, are surprised to hear from a representative of the Army that Arjun tanks have performed very poorly and many improvements have to be made before the Army is satisfied on the Arjun tank".