Avadi Arjun

     Notes:  Designed with the help of Germany and the Netherlands, the Arjun project has had many false starts, restarts, and general difficulties; the entire project has been plagued with problems.  First designed with experience from the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 in mind, the Arjun was first rolled out in 1974 as the “Chetek” tank.  It was never produced except for prototypes, since it was essentially obsolete by 1974.  A long re-development period ensued, and the next roll-out occurred in 1985, this time with the “Arjun” name.  The engine was the biggest problem this time; it was originally supposed to be a gas turbine, but the Indians could not make the engine work.  They then intended to replace it with an indigenous diesel engine developing the same horsepower (1500 hp), but the engine only developed 500 horsepower.  Further development and the addition of turbochargers increased the output to 1000 horsepower.  India then scrapped the entire indigenous engine idea and bought 1400-horsepower diesel engines from Germany.  The Indian-made fire-control system (an upgrade from the Vijayanta’s fire-control suite with Dutch input) also had problems.  The next problem was cost; the price of the Arjun project was rising fast, and meanwhile, cheaper tanks were becoming available from Russia.  The Arjun did not enter service until 2001, but its future is still in doubt; the cost of development has meant that the real-world cost of the Arjun has far exceeded the Indians’ expectations – and, as stated, cheaper Russian tanks are competing against the Arjun, despite the apparent superiority of the Arjun.  The Arjun first resembled an upgraded Vijayanta, but the long period of upgrades over the decades have resulted in a tank that more resembles the Leopard 2A4.

     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, India signed an agreement with Russia for the procurement of the T-90S tank.  The first 310 T-90Ss were to be complete vehicles from Russia; the next 124 were to be delivered in a knocked-down condition, to be assembled in India by Avadi starting in 2002.  Eighty more complete T-90Ss were to be delivered later in 2001.  The knocked-down T-90Ss would give Avadi experience in assembling them, as in 2006, production in India was to commence, with only certain electronics being imported.

     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 India has the fleet of 1500 Bhishmas they initially intended to have in service by 2012.

     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 Israel for a soft/hard-kill active protection system for their Bhishma, as the Russians failed to provide the Shtora-1 and Arena systems the Indians requested.  In the meanwhile, the Indians have been able to buy Shtora-1 systems for the Bhishma from Belarus.  The Bhishma also has the short-range, low power EMP generator in the front lower hull, used to sweep the ground ahead of the Bhishma; when the EMP encounters a magnetic mine or one with an electrical fuze within 10 meters, the EMP generator will detonate the mine on a roll 14 or better on a d20.  Note that the mine must be in a 20-degree radius of the front of the Bhshma.  The EMP device is also not a mine detector – if the device does not detonate the mine and the mine does not actually go off, the Bhishma’s crew will not know that the mine is there.

     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 Israel; these air conditioners keep the temperature inside the Bhishma to manageable levels, but the interior space of the Bhishma does not allow for a superior air conditioning system.  The Bhishma has complete NBC overpressure capability.  The Bhishma is fitted with the standard 1 kW APU.  The driver is equipped with the Russian TVN-5 day/night vision block to his front, and standard vision blocks the rest of the way around.

     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 France are the latest versions of the THALES Catherine-FC 3rd-generation thermal imagers used by the commander and gunner.  These imagers have a range of 8000 meters, and also include a day image intensifier channel that has similar range.  (The commander and gunner can use these sights to see well beyond the maximum range of the main gun.)  The laser rangefinder doubles as a laser designator for the 9M119M Refleks ATGM and no separate designator is needed. 

     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 Slovenia.  (The actual system is built in India under license.)  Thermal imaging is provided for the commander and gunner, along with an electronically-magnified gunsight.  An inertial land navigation is installed.  Armor is considerably improved, with the armor being generally thicker and the glacis and turret front using Kanchan, the Indian-designed version of composite armor; in addition, lugs for ERA are fitted to the glacis, hull sides, turret front, and turret sides, as well as the forward portion of the turret deck.

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