Avadi Arjun
Notes:
Designed with the help of
The Arjun has a
crew of four, with a generally conventional layout for the crew and their
hatches. The gunner uses a
comprehensive fire control suite, including a 2nd-generation laser
rangefinder, an advanced fire control computer, a stabilized sight, thermal
imaging, and magnified day vision.
The commander also has his own stabilized sight along with thermal imaging and
magnified day vision, and auxiliary controls for the main gun.
The gunner’s sight equipment is located in an armored head atop the
turret; the commander has the same arrangement.
The gun is slaved to the fire control equipment and can be “locked on” to
a target in order to track and fire upon it regardless of the Arjun’s motion.
The Arjun has a driver-adjustable hydropneumatic suspension, with a
semiautomatic transmission. The
brakes are incorporated into the final drives and said to be quite effective.
The tracks are all-metal, including aluminum-alloy track shoes.
The main gun is
a locally-produced 120mm rifled gun developed by MRS; this gun can fire both
Indian-produced ammunition and British-made ammunition made for their 120mm
rifled guns. (The Indians have also developed some specialized rounds for the
gun, such as a proximity-fuzed anti-helicopter round, similar to the LAHAT.)
The coaxial machinegun is a locally-built version of the German MG-3
machinegun; the commander has a pintle-mounted M-2HB (though some have been seen
with NSV instead). The loader’s
station can also be fitted with a pintle-mounted MG-3.
Aside from the
1400-horsepower German MTU diesel engine (which will be produced indigenously
under license), the Arjun has an APU for use during silent watch and when the
vehicle is otherwise stopped; this is becoming more and more common on tanks, as
it greatly reduces fuel consumption.
The Arjun has a GPS system and a Battlefield Management System which
coordinates and reports intelligence, friendly unit positions and enemy unit
positions; this is controlled by a central computer that also monitors the state
of the Arjun itself.
The Arjun
incorporates modular armor panels, including composite armor (called Kanchan by
the Indians) and lugs for ERA. The
Arjun has an NBC overpressure system with a collective backup.
Nine smoke grenade launchers are located on each side of the turret.
The Arjun has a laser warning system, and it is rumored that the Indians
may incorporate the Russian Arena active defense system in the future in the
Mark 2 model. 12 rounds are carried
in the turret bustle, which has blow-off panels like the M-1 Abrams; the
remaining rounds are carried in blast-proof drums that use a system that has
been rare since World War 2 – “wet” storage, where the drums are surrounded with
a water jacket to increase their resistance to ammunition detonations inside the
tank.
Twilight 2000
Notes: The Arjun was built, but only a mere 42 were made.
Price |
Fuel Type |
Load |
Veh Wt |
Crew |
Mnt |
Night Vision |
Radiological |
$901,314 |
D, A |
700 kg |
58.5 tons |
4 |
27 |
Image Intensification (D, G, C), Thermal Imaging (G, C) |
Shielded |
Tr Mov |
Com Mov |
Fuel Cap |
Fuel Cons |
Config |
Susp |
Armor |
142/99 |
31/21 |
1610 |
217 |
Trtd |
T6 |
TF128Cp TS35
TR24 HF161Cp
HS25Sp HR15 |
Fire Control |
Stabilization |
Armament |
Ammunition |
+5 |
Good |
120mm Rifled Gun, MG-3, MG-3 (L), M-2HB (C) |
39x120mm, 3000x7.62mm, 1000x.50 |
Avadi T-55 Upgrade
Notes:
The Indians saw the fairly inexpensive upgrade that Jung Jungenthal did
for the Egyptians, and asked for the same package.
This is a package that upgrades the armor, fire control, transmission,
and fuel storage.
Appliqué
armor has been added to the glacis, turret front, and turret sides.
Side skirts have been added to the hull.
An automatic fire suppression system has been installed.
Four smoke dischargers are mounted on either side of the turret; in
addition, the vehicle can lay a smoke screen by injecting diesel fuel into its
exhaust. The roadwheels and torsion
bars are replaced with new ones similar to those of the T-62 series.
The fuel storage has been increased to 1200 liters; this eliminates the
need for long-range fuel tanks. The
manual transmission is replaced with an automatic transmission.
Finally, a laser rangefinder has been added.
Most of these vehicles replace the 100mm rifled gun with a 105mm L-7-type
gun; some retain the 100mm gun, but those who do add a jacket of aluminum around
part of the gun to distinguish them from Pakistani Type 59s and Type 69s.
The DShK is also replaced with an M-2HB.
A later modification added lugs for ERA to the turret front, turret
sides, glacis, hull sides, and part of the front turret deck.
Vehicle |
Price |
Fuel Type |
Load |
Veh Wt |
Crew |
Mnt |
Night Vision |
Radiological |
T-55 Mod 1 |
$304,310 |
D, A |
400 kg |
41 tons |
4 |
22 |
Passive IR (D, C, G), WL/IR Searchlight |
Shielded |
T-55 Mod 2 |
$311,504 |
D, A |
400 kg |
41.15 tons |
4 |
20 |
Passive IR (D, C, G), WL/IR Searchlight |
Shielded |
Vehicle |
Tr Mov |
Com Mov |
Fuel Cap |
Fuel Cons |
Config |
Susp |
Armor |
T-55 Mod 1/T-55 Mod 2 |
102/71 |
23/15 |
1200 |
290 |
Trtd |
T6 |
TF54Sp TS22Sp
TR14 HF68Sp
HS18Sp HR12 |
Vehicle |
Fire Control |
Stabilization |
Armament |
Ammunition |
T-55 Mod 1 |
+2 |
Fair |
100mm D-10T Gun, PKT, M-2HB (C) |
35x100mm, 3000x7.62mm, 500x .50 |
T-55 Mod 2 |
+2 |
Fair |
105mm L-7A2 gun, PKT, M-2HB (C) |
35x105mmL7, 3000x7.62mm, 500x.50 |
Avadi T-90 Bhishma
Notes: In 2001,
Unfortunately,
the agreements, reached in 2000, were violated by the Russians.
The Russians did not deliver any T-90Ss, instead sending the Indians
T-90As. These tanks were not
delivered until 2004, and only 124 were delivered.
The knocked-down versions were also T-90As, and assembly did not commence
until early 2009, though the Indians will receive 186 of them.
It is unknown when license-production will begin; the Russians have yet
to transfer the technology and fulfill that part of the license conditions.
Uralvagonozavod discovered that it was not capable of building so many T-90Ss
within the time allotted and still deliver the T-90Ss that other export
customers had bought at about the same time; essentially, they were not ready
for such a large project, and had far over-estimated their capabilities to ramp
up production. They also seem loath
to completely transfer the technology to build the T-90 to other countries.
It may be as long as 2020 before
Meanwhile, the
Indians have been upgrading the T-90As they have with the help of several
countries, and the Russians rather sheepishly also agreed to help, supplying the
Indians with components that were not part of the original deal as a bonus.
Modifications are still underway as of the time I write this (September
2009); the Indians are modifying them almost as fast as they receive them.
Ironically, the mistake by Uralvagonozavod has benefited the Indians in a
way; they have better T-90s at over half the cost (real-world) than the standard
T-90A or T-90S.
The Bhishma
The T-90 Bhishma
(sometimes called the Bhisma) began as stock T-90As.
The ERA used on the turret front and sides (and the forward third of the
turret roof) and the hull front and sides is the new Russian Kaktus 3rd-generation
ERA, instead of the Kontakt-5 2nd-generation ERA normally fitted to
export vehicles. The base armor is
also a very slight bit better than the standard T-90A.
The Indians are reputedly negotiating with
The Bhishma is
fitted with the Shtora-1, which is a “soft-kill” vehicle protection system.
The Shtora-1 consists of sensors and equipment mounted atop the turret
and control systems mounted inside the turret and hull; the primary controls for
the Shtora-1 on the Bhishma are at the commander’s station.
The Shtora-1 system includes an electro-optical jamming system to jam
wire-guided ATGMs (on a roll of 12+ on a d20, the difficulty to the ATGM gunner
is increased by one level; outstanding success indicates that the incoming
missile pre-detonates before it can hit the Bhishma).
A laser warning system is also included with the Shtora-1; when the
Bhishma is being lased by a laser designator, an alarm sounds inside the
Bhishma, and a pair of smoke grenades are automatically launched to help obscure
the Bhishma to the laser beam. The
laser warning system can also be triggered manually by the commander. The smoke
grenades can also be triggered by the gunner manually if he feels it is
necessary; the Bhishma has six smoke grenade launchers on each side of the
turret. The smoke grenade
launchers of the Bhishma are the same as on other T-90s, but they are mounted so
that they fire on a lower elevation than other T-90s.
The Shtora-1 also includes a pair of IRCM lights (one on the turret on
each side of and above the main gun) that emit coded, pulsed IR beams to decoy
IR-guided munitions; their effectiveness is the same as listed for the
electro-optical jammer above, and both have a 360-degree range of protection, as
well as 180-degrees upwards. They
can also temporarily blind IR sights and image intensifiers; this is successful
on a roll of 8 on a d20 for IR sights and 5 for image intensifiers.
The Bhishma is
fitted with air conditioning for its crew; originally, these air conditioners
were Russian-made, but those Russian air conditioners proved to provide
inadequate cooling and prone to breakdowns.
New air conditioners were procured from
The Bhishma uses
the 125mm 2A46M main gun as on the standard T-90A, complete with
9M119
Refleks (AT-11 Sniper)
ATGM capability. The autoloaders
for the main gun are modified to allow the Bhishma to use the very latest
developments in 125mm ammunition, including long-rod APFSDSDU and APFSDS-T
rounds. The autoloader holds 22
rounds, and can load ATGM rounds as well as standard rounds. Gunsights use the
Russian-built sights as a base, but the laser rangefinder, ballistic computer,
and barrel droop sensors are French.
Also made by
The Indian Army
has chosen to retain the PKT coaxial machinegun and NSVT commander’s machinegun,
but the gunner’s compartment also has a rack to store an INSAS assault rifle and
300 rounds of ammunition. The
commander’s machinegun can be aimed and fired from under armor and uses a
coincidence rangefinder with stabilization in the vertical plane only.
The commander has emergency override controls for the main gun; for this
purpose, he uses the primary sights of the main gun.
Note that the commander cannot launch or guide a missile, as he does not
have access to the necessary sights or computer.
The Bhishmas are
equipped with a Battlefield Management System similar to those used by the West,
allowing the crew to navigate using GPS with an inertial navigation backup,
communicate by radio or a digital uplink, receive and send updated battle
information, locate friendly and enemy troops, and generally keep the crew
abreast of the general situation. A
computer ties all of the information together, as well as keeping track of the
health of the tank and how much ammunition and fuel are available.
The computer tests the systems of the Bhishma at regular intervals and
reports any problems to the commander.
The Bhishma are also equipped with a radiation and chemical weapon
detectors, which sound an alarm inside the tank and automatically feed this
information to the BMS’s computer, which then automatically transmits the
information to other vehicles and units equipped with the BMS.
The engine is a
V-84KD 1000-horsepower supercharged diesel engine.
A thick, oily smoke screen can be laid by injecting diesel fuel into the
engine’s exhaust. The engine is fed by larger fuel tanks than found on other
T-90s; though the Bhishma can also use long-range external tanks, the Indian
Army rarely uses them. The
suspension is the same as for a standard T-90A, but uses tracks that offer a
much greater lifespan and have replaceable rubber track pads.
The Bhishma has the necessary attachment points in front to mount the
KMT-3 mine plow. The Bhishma is protected by a fire/explosion detection and
suppression that reacts with milliseconds to trigger fire extinguishers and
actuate a foaming compound that coats the fuel tanks as well as the bulkheads
that separate the crewmembers as well as the engine compartment.
Twilight 2000
Notes: The Bhishma is not available in the Twilight 2000 timeline.
Price |
Fuel Type |
Load |
Veh Wt |
Crew |
Mnt |
Night Vision |
Radiological |
$1,251,631 |
D, A |
500 kg |
50 tons |
3 |
19 |
FLIR (G, C), Image Intensification (G, C), Passive IR (D) |
Shielded |
Tr Mov |
Com Mov |
Fuel Cap |
Fuel Cons |
Config |
Susp |
Armor** |
136/95 |
35/21 |
1600+400 |
493 |
Trtd |
T6 |
TF153Cp TS44Sp
TR23 HF182Cp
HS30Sp HR18 |
Fire Control* |
Stabilization* |
Armament |
Ammunition |
+5 |
Good |
125mm 2A46M gun, PKT, NSVT (C) |
37x125mm, 6xAT-11 ATGM, 2000x7.62mm, 300x12.7mm |
*The commander’s machinegun has a Fire Control rating of +2 and a Stabilization
rating of Fair.
**Armor for
the hull floor and hull deck is 11; armor for the turret deck is 11Sp.
Avadi Vijayanta
Notes:
Based on a license-produced version of the British Vickers Mk I, the
first Vijayanta (“Victory”) prototype appeared in 1963 and initial low-rate
production began in 1965, with full production beginning in 1969.
Production continued at an ever-slowing rate until 1983, with 2200 being
built in total. Though the
Vijayanta is no longer in use by the Indian Army as a main battle tank (it was
withdrawn from service in mid-2008; it’s replacement were Indian-built versions
of the T-72M1 and the T-90S), the hulls and sometimes parts of the turret have
been converted into other vehicles, including AVLBs, CEVs, ARVs, and SP
howitzers. However, some Vijayanta
MBTs were still being upgraded to their later counterparts as late as 2000. By
the time of it’s retirement, only about 800 were still in service as MBTs;
today, some 1000 complete and incomplete Vijayantas are being kept in storage by
the Indians for emergency use, spare parts, or conversion into other types of
vehicles. Progressive upgrades have
resulted in three major versions of the Vijayanta over time: the Vijayanta 1A,
1B, and 1C.
The Vijayanta 1A/1B
The Vijayanta’s
layout is virtually identical to the Vickers Mk I; at first glance, the
Vijayanta could in fact be mistaken for a Vickers.
The primary differences between the Vickers Mk I and the Vijayanta 1A is
the somewhat heavier armor and the fire control system.
The main gun, an Indian copy of the British L-7A2 105mm rifled gun, is
linked to Indian-designed AL-4420 fire control suite, which includes a laser
rangefinder and a basic ballistic computer.
The Vijayanta 1A also has a muzzle reference system to allow the
ballistic computer to correct for barrel droop with repeated firing of the main
gun. To the left of the main gun is
an M-2HB machinegun to be used primarily as a backup ranging device; to the
right of the main gun is an Indian-built version of the MAG machinegun as a
coaxial. The commander has a
pintle-mounted M-2HB as his weapon.
Some Vijayanta 1As have been seen with banks of four smoke grenade launchers on
either side of the turret, but this was apparently not a common fitting. The
engine, transmission, suspension, and most other mechanical details of the
Vijayanta 1A duplicate their British counterparts, but the Vijayanta has
somewhat heavier radiological shielding than a Vickers Mk I, the suspension is
raised and beefed up, and the engine has been de-rated to 535 horsepower and
converted to a multifuel engine.
The Vijayanta 1B
is for the most part the same as the Vijayanta 1A.
The engine is uprated, however, to 600 horsepower and is a diesel engine,
not having a multifuel capacity.
Armor is also a bit improved. The
primary change is to the fire control system; the Vijayanta 1B uses the upgraded
AL-4421 fire control suite, which is essentially an Indian-produced version of a
British fire control system. This
gives the Vijayanta 1B a laser rangefinder with better range and an improved
ballistic computer.
The Vijayanta 1C
The Vijayanta 1C
is a dramatic upgrade for the Vijayanta; however, due to budget concerns and the
influx if inexpensive foreign designs, estimates of how many Vijayantas received
the 1C upgrade range from as little as 150 to as much as only 425.
The Vijayanta iC was originally to be considered a different tank to be
called the Bison when the upgrade program was conceived, and 1100 were supposed
to have been so upgraded.
Upgrades include
the replacement of the engine with the same 780-horsepower engine powering the
T-72M1 tank, along with a compatible fully automatic transmission and suspension
improvements to cope with the higher speeds possible and help further stabilize
the main gun. The fire control
system is replaced with the SUV T-55A, which was originally designed to upgrade
Yugoslavian M-55 tanks and further improved by
Vehicle |
Price |
Fuel Type |
Load |
Veh Wt |
Crew |
Mnt |
Night Vision |
Radiological |
Vijayanta 1A |
$391,576 |
D, G, AvG, A |
500 kg |
40.4 tons |
4 |
28 |
Passive IR (D, G, C) |
Shielded |
Vijayanta 1B |
$416,975 |
D, A |
500 kg |
41.5 tons |
4 |
30 |
Passive IR (D, G, C) |
Shielded |
Vijayanta 1C |
$602,595 |
D, AvG, A |
500 kg |
42.6 tons |
4 |
22 |
Thermal Imaging (C, G), Image Intensification (G), Passive IR (D) |
Shielded |
Vehicle |
Tr Mov |
Com Mov |
Fuel Cap |
Fuel Cons |
Config |
Susp |
Armor |
Vijayanta 1A |
112/78 |
25/16 |
1000 |
223 |
Trtd |
T6 |
TF62Sp TS22Sp
TR13 HF77Sp
HS18Sp HR11 |
Vijayanta 1B |
117/82 |
26/17 |
1000 |
246 |
Trtd |
T6 |
TF69Sp TS24Sp
TR13 HF86Sp
HS20Sp HR11 |
Vijayanta 1C |
136/96 |
30/20 |
1000 |
398 |
Trtd |
T6 |
TF98Cp TS26Sp
TR14 HF123Cp
HS22Sp HR12 |
Vehicle |
Fire Control |
Stabilization |
Armament |
Ammunition |
Vijayanta 1A |
+2 |
Fair |
105mm L-7A2, MAG, M-2HB (C), M-2HB (Ranging) |
50x105mm, 500x7.62mm, 3000x.50 |
Vijayanta 1B |
+3 |
Fair |
105mm L-7A2, MAG, M-2HB (C), M-2HB (Ranging) |
50x105mm, 500x7.62mm, 3000x.50 |
Vijayanta 1C |
+3 |
Good |
105mm L-7A2, MAG, M-2HB (C), M-2HB (Ranging) |
50x105mm, 500x7.62mm, 3000x.50 |