Armoured Vehicles Discussion Thread

Surya · Post by **Surya** » 19 Feb 2010 08:32

The audacity is amazing

Surya · Post by **Surya** » 19 Feb 2010 09:12

I have to take the BEML stuff with a ton of salt.

They basically assemble TATRA trucks from CKDs (as told to me by a former babu who ran BEML)

Now they are going to leap to ultra light tanks???

narayana · Post by **narayana** » 19 Feb 2010 09:56

Well,to be fair, will we be mum if Ecuador awards Dhruv Simulator Development to any french or canadian firms?

Bheem · Post by **Bheem** » 19 Feb 2010 10:16

KrishG wrote:
arun wrote: Subsequent to the Desidoc presentation of March 29, 2007 you linked, CVRDE put out an Expression of Interest on August 21, 2007 seeking a partner for the development and production of a “1500 hp Compact High Specific Power Output Diesel Engine”.

CVRDE is looking to develope a 1500 HP engine with a weight not exceeding 1560 Kg and volume not exceeding 2.2 cubic meters. That and other details of the EOI are available here:

DEVELOPMENT OF 1500 HP ENGINE
INVITATION FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

Reading the tender gives an impression that CVRDE wants a developed engine from a foreign manufacturer and wants to put its own lable on it. I was hard put to find any Joint in the "joint venture"

khukri · Post by **khukri** » 19 Feb 2010 12:33

narayana wrote:Well,to be fair, will we be mum if Ecuador awards Dhruv Simulator Development to any french or canadian firms?

The question is not whether will we be mum or not - the question is will we have any legal right to protest?

If no agreement was breached - and the Russians certainly are in breach of a few agreements with us - where is foundation for a protest?

Surya · Post by **Surya** » 19 Feb 2010 18:21

Right - we may not be happy and we can hold back any proprietary info we have but if they can do without us then we have to suck it up or bid accordingly.

Surya · Post by **Surya** » 19 Feb 2010 20:18

Marten

if they have a world class product - ok

But my concern is that they take some crap, package it and because they are a PSU - MOD will support them against what maybe a better product from someone else.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 19 Feb 2010 20:19

in auto mags I notice a very large number of indian engg colleges (ranging from IIT down to really obscure ones) sending teams to compete in do-it-urself car races and motocross type projects - the cars are small ones using motorcycle or m800 engine, roll bars, simple control systems, tyres from old vehicles ... usually 5-15 people from mech engg dept (some guys pull in their pyt gf's too to keep the junta engaged in banter).

sure compared to the costly and complex "mars rovers" fielded by MIT and CMU in
DARPA contests these are really like bullock carts, but one has to start somewhere
and we have started.

the "hard lessons" they learn in putting together a working product from scratch
while still in college will teach them far more than passing exams with high scores
and mugging up textbooks. all great designers in ANY field come from the "gettings hands dirty" school. michaelangelo used to hammer his blocks of marble with enough energy for three people.

if you look at skyscrapercity thread on indic colleges, there is a vast improvement
in campus physical infra and comfort levels.

we are finally deploying division after division of trained "combat power" at better
eqpt levels than us oldies (pitchforks , books and staves) could get.

The Revolution has began

the war has just started....

Surya · Post by **Surya** » 19 Feb 2010 20:23

singha - PICTURES

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 19 Feb 2010 20:47

here

http://www.overdrive.in/motorsports/sto ... 942-0.html

http://bajasaeindia.org/index.php ... see the galleries

as I have said before...the war has just began.

The event this year witnessed unprecedented enthusiasm, with the number of entries accelerating to a record 155 in comparison to the 27 and 58 entries in the previous two editions respectively. Of the 155, only 80 teams made it to the main event, while the rest were given an opportunity to take part in the Virtual Baja Competition, wherein they designed buggies using Computer Aided Designing software and then analysed and simulated their entries.
The 80 teams who slogged it over the weekend on the 268-acre testing facility were as close to being professional as can be, with access to better technology and quality to enhance sustainability of the racing machines. As in the previous two editions, the engines were provided by Lombardini India and the transmission systems by Mahindra and Mahindra for use in the off-road buggies. On the first day, the students lined up their vehicles for evaluation by the judges following which they had to make presentations of their design and the technology used in the buggies, apart from furnishing cost details and a marketing presentation.
The second day saw the students’ teams put their vehicles through acceleration, braking, maneuverability and hill-climb tests. After a successful completion of these tests, the teams were allowed to practice on the track laid out for the endurance race scheduled for Sunday. Points were allotted to the teams on the basis of performance in the tests and in the acceleration run and the points tally was the deciding factor for their positions on the starting grid of the endurance race. At the end of the dynamic tests, no clear favourites had emerged for Sunday’s race, indicating the close competition this year. To lay claim to the overall winner’s trophy, it was necessary to excel in the endurance race and in the static and dynamic tests as well.
The contestants were brimming with excitement come Sunday morning as the three-hour endurance race was flagged off. The race had obstacles in the form of humps and a water trench to add to the off-road feel, apart from the several tight corners and the up-hill climb. It was the BLDEA’s College of Engineering and Technology, Bijapur team that won the endurance race. However Maharashtra Institute of Technology, Aurangabad who secured 798 points out of a total 1000 points were declared overall winners of Baja SAE India 2010. Runners-up, the Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad team with a score of 796 points missed the crown by just a whisker, while the PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore team finished third with 790 points. The all-girl Indira Gandhi Institute of Technology, Delhi team were very worthy winners of special the Chairman’s Award.

rajsunder · Post by **rajsunder** » 20 Feb 2010 12:11

L&T, Raytheon join hands to upgrade T-72 tanks

http://www.ndtv.com/news/videos/video_p ... id=1201911

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 22 Feb 2010 05:02

Raytheon says bidding for India tank upgrade

Airavat · Post by **Airavat** » 22 Feb 2010 09:28

Video on the 81 Armoured Regiment.

narayana · Post by **narayana** » 22 Feb 2010 13:19

Mahindra's Mine Protected Vehicle

the tyre of the vehicle went flat after the blast,can the vehicle move in such condition?,we had previous experiences from maoists of a ambush after a mine blast

RayC · Post by **RayC** » 22 Feb 2010 20:07

Ajai Shukla on his Alleged Turnaround on the Arjun MBT

Ajai: Just to clarify, my view of the Arjun tank remains unchanged. The cretins who believe something has changed, and that "Ajai Shukla has done a turnaround" are basing it solely on one fact alone: that I've done an on-ground report on the Arjun. The TV story that I did makes ONLY the following points... and that's pure journalism:

1.
These are the first video pictures of the Arjun.

2.
The problem with the hydro-gas suspension appears to have been fixed.

3.
The driver says it's a world class tank. (NOTE: the driver says it... that's a viewpoint. Nitwits who don't understand reportage perhaps have a problem understanding the difference between what a reporter says and a view expressed by someone else).

4.
The Arjun will be pitted against the T-72 and the T-90 in comparative trials in June.

5.
The officer in charge of the project says (NOTE: I don't say it... he does) that he thinks the Arjun is better and he hope for a level playing field in the trials.

6.
14 tanks are ready for the trials and THE OFFICERS WHO MADE THE TANK are confident it will perform well.

My fundamental views of the Arjun's flaws (posted on Bharat-Rakshak years ago) remain unchanged. Especially my views that:

1.
The tank suffers from a hybrid design where several major components have been bought off-the-shelf and slapped together into a tank.

2.
The tank suffers from a high profile, high visibility, high vulnerability to helicopter, ATGM and tank attack from ranges beyond which it can pick up those enemies.

3.
The issue of translating a prototype into a production line remains beset with Quality Control problems.

4.
Strategic mobility remains a major problem for the Arjun.

5.
If the tank does not perform well in trials, it should be shelved and categorised a technology demonstrator, rather than shoved down the throats of the army.

I also believe that if, on the other hand, the Arjun performs well in trials and comes up with even acceptable performances, give it a chance in service. But for that it must perform to an acceptable degree.

Newer thoughts from him:

New Thoughts

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 22 Feb 2010 20:15

^^^ that's from 2007 and 2008 respectively. a lot has happened since then.

he may not acknowledge it on his blog but his change of perception is clear to anyone to goes through his reports in a chronological order.

Picklu · Post by **Picklu** » 22 Feb 2010 23:36

Not only the change of perception but the arguments themselves (e.g the comparison of approach between army and navy for systems development) are exactly the same of what were told to him by brfites.
Good to see one less person shouting "Arjun is a dabba".

Samay · Post by **Samay** » 23 Feb 2010 00:18

Ajai on live fist :Furthermore, even if your mad paranoid worldview of lifafas (hey shiv, which planet is this guy from?) were correct (which it is not), I certainly am given a monthly lifafa from NDTV and Business Standard. That's in contrast to a loser like you, who's never been paid a cent to write a word. Thank god for the blogosphere or you'd have died like the non-entity that you are.

Guess what, Anonymous. That's what you'll always be, no matter how well educated you imagine yourself to be. Because you're utterly ignorant about anything to do with tank warfare in the Indian context.

All you'll ever do is to hide behind your "anonymous" and post stuff that gels with the rah rah morons on Bharat Rakshak, who are scurrying out of that rathole onto this blog as well.

This is not (as you in your blunt weapon-style manner suggest) because I'm trying to do down Shiv. He writes good sense. It's people like you who are the nitwits on this blog.

Don't worry about who visits my blog. And don't bother going there either, you won't understand a word. It's for serious students of defence production and logistics, not for cut-and-paste boyz with toyz like yerself.

What's wrong with this guy ^^ ?,why is he so furious ,I think that anonymous made some simple points that were not totally wrong
Certainly, I was not that anonymous

My fundamental views of the Arjun's flaws (posted on Bharat-Rakshak years ago) remain unchanged. Especially my views that:

1.
The tank suffers from a hybrid design where several major components have been bought off-the-shelf and slapped together into a tank.

2.
The tank suffers from a high profile, high visibility, high vulnerability to helicopter, ATGM and tank attack from ranges beyond which it can pick up those enemies.

3.
The issue of translating a prototype into a production line remains beset with Quality Control problems.

4.
Strategic mobility remains a major problem for the Arjun.

5.
If the tank does not perform well in trials, it should be shelved and categorised a technology demonstrator, rather than shoved down the throats of the army.

1. ajai didnt explained how a tank or any other machine 'suffers' from 'hybridization' .
2.that could be point but,again based on ajai's own views
3.only this factor seems closer to the issue, but if its made on mass scale(which seems to be a problem @ present,say 100 tanks per yr production cant be achieved with present infra.), will decrease the errors by the time .
4. could be resolved in tank-ex or further developments ,incidentally we have a 1500 hp engine from MTU
5.why not to export it then, to earn something??

KrishG · Post by **KrishG** » 23 Feb 2010 00:24

We are disussing Shook Law in Armoured Vehicles Thread !

rohitvats · Post by **rohitvats** » 23 Feb 2010 00:48

Samay wrote:.................<SNIP>........

What is the point in discussing 2007 article today? The archive section has in depth multiple debates on Arjun and historical contexts.....

Samay · Post by **Samay** » 23 Feb 2010 00:54

rohitvats wrote:
Samay wrote:.................<SNIP>........
What is the point in discussing 2007 article today? The archive section has in depth multiple debates on Arjun and historical contexts.....

oops...my mistake

RayC · Post by **RayC** » 23 Feb 2010 09:11

There is nothing wrong in discussing 2007 and change of heart.

One would like to know why the change of heart? What are the improvements that he has observed that overrides his earlier observations?

That is what is important to know. I think that much any taxpayer is entitled to know from him since he claims to be an expert!

There is a fine difference between being an Armoured Corps officer knowing the basics of a tank and its employment to being an expert in Tank Technology. He is not in the league of Brigadier Richard Simpkin.

Hybridisation may have its problems, but it has to be meshed into each other of the systems. If that is feasible and there is no appreciable drop in the efficient handling of the tank for the task designed, then there is nothing wrong with hybridisation. Has this been done?

Shukla stated - The tank suffers from a high profile, high visibility, high vulnerability to helicopter, ATGM and tank attack from ranges beyond which it can pick up those enemies. High profile, high visibility cannot be rectified unless the tank is reinvented. He should clarify what has been done to negate the ‘high vulnerability to heptr, ATGM and tk attack’. If he can’t, then obviously those asking the questions are not quite the cretin he thinks they are. Those who are military enthusiasts and not military men sure would be curious to know so that they can sleep well that India is in safe hands with first class equipment.

Has the Quality Control been addressed? The issue he seems to have worried about.

What about the strategic mobility issue that he seemed to be concerned about that the Arjun does not match up.

His contention that it was ‘reportage’ and he was quoting others falls flat. He is an Armoured Corps officer who is now a reporter. People do expect a more responsible reporting from him rather than from the other defence reporters who have not been in the military but are mere military enthusiasts.

I am reminded of Omar Khayyam's Rubiyat - The moving finger having writ moves on........

I agree it is Armd Veh thread.

So, all this could be moved to the right thread.

Samay · Post by **Samay** » 26 Feb 2010 18:57

RayC wrote:There is nothing wrong in discussing 2007 and change of heart.

One would like to know why the change of heart? What are the improvements that he has observed that overrides his earlier observations?

That is what is important to know. I think that much any taxpayer is entitled to know from him since he claims to be an expert!

There is a fine difference between being an Armoured Corps officer knowing the basics of a tank and its employment to being an expert in Tank Technology. He is not in the league of Brigadier Richard Simpkin.

Hybridisation may have its problems, but it has to be meshed into each other of the systems. If that is feasible and there is no appreciable drop in the efficient handling of the tank for the task designed, then there is nothing wrong with hybridisation. Has this been done? Proof of that had been provided by those officers he himself interviewed

Shukla stated - The tank suffers from a high profile, high visibility, high vulnerability to helicopter, ATGM and tank attack from ranges beyond which it can pick up those enemies. High profile, high visibility cannot be rectified unless the tank is reinvented. He should clarify what has been done to negate the ‘high vulnerability to heptr, ATGM and tk attack’. If he can’t, then obviously those asking the questions are not quite the cretin he thinks they are. Those who are military enthusiasts and not military men sure would be curious to know so that they can sleep well that India is in safe hands with first class equipment.he is considering a tank to be hidden for an ambush ,or to very silent, none of this is possible anymor,provided the sensors aircrafts have,instead a tank is the only thing on the ground one would like to hide in a war

Has the Quality Control been addressed? The issue he seems to have worried about.he should not be worried about that,at least we should leave scientists to do this much on themselves

What about the strategic mobility issue that he seemed to be concerned about that the Arjun does not match up.perhaps he wants tanks to be UL , transportable ,airlifted, not yet possible for Arjun

His contention that it was ‘reportage’ and he was quoting others falls flat. He is an Armoured Corps officer who is now a reporter. People do expect a more responsible reporting from him rather than from the other defence reporters who have not been in the military but are mere military enthusiasts.But the transition from a armoured corps officer to a paid journalist is clear

I am reminded of Omar Khayyam's Rubiyat - The moving finger having writ moves on........

I agree it is Armd Veh thread.

So, all this could be moved to the right thread.

things that remain disadvantegeous in Arjun tank are
1). precision
2)mass production
3)air transportable
4)stealth

Srivastav · Post by **Srivastav** » 26 Feb 2010 19:15

If by precision you are referring to Arjun's gun....Well the issues have been resolved and there were a few reports regarding that.
Although i do really wonder how big of an issue stealth is right now....Merkava, Abraam, leo etc do not appear that stealthy either. Maybe the gurus can answer this.

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 26 Feb 2010 19:43

Samay wrote: things that remain disadvantegeous in Arjun tank are
1). precision { supposed to be very very accurate even on the move at par with the best. better than T-90's obviously}
2)mass production {same problem as T-90. OFB. nothing unique to arjun. of course if the solution is to just buy ready made from russia I've nothing to say }
3)air transportable {again same problem as T-90. both will however be air-transportable by C-17}
4)stealth {stealth ? you mean silhouette height I guess. a difference of 3 and a half inches makes a world of difference I guess. doesn't even take into account that the arjun with it's hedro-pneumatic suspension will be able to able to adjust it's silhouette to match its surroundings which the T-90 with its torsion bar suspension can't. }

IOW, your analysis is flawed, seriously flawed.

http://frontierindia.net/indian-mod-out ... n-pipeline

The Ministry{MOD} replied ” “MBT Arjun is a 60 tonne class battle tank with state of the art optro-electronic power-packed control system, weapon management system and high performance suspension. It is a product unique in its class specifically configured for Indian Army requirement. Unlike T-90 tank which was primarily built for Russian Armed Forces, adapted by Indian Army for certain specific roles, this T-90 is a 50 tonne class vehicle which does not have some of the advanced features of MBT Arjun. But it is an improved system over T-72 tank. A price comparison between the two tanks, therefore, will not be in order. However, it is important to know that MBT Arjun had a cost of Rs 17.20 crore per system from the production line and is Rs 6-8 crore cheaper than its contemporary system in the west. It is understood that T-90 tank is costing approximately Rs. 12 crore {T-90 price has gone up to 17-18 cr since then. it is now costlier than the arjun}and is yet to be indigenised. MBT Arjun firing accuracy is far superior to other two tanks. {T-90 and T-72}........

Samay · Post by **Samay** » 26 Feb 2010 19:53

^^ sir I was talking about this and this
LO is what Ajai shukla raised ,stealth is what army would be looking for ,in its futuristic tank-again the russians are already in that.

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 26 Feb 2010 19:56

what is this 'stealth' supposed to be ?

RayC · Post by **RayC** » 26 Feb 2010 20:26

Rahul M wrote:what is this 'stealth' supposed to be ?

Stealth technology will make the tank almost invisible to enemy forces, by absorbing rather than reflecting radar beams.

It will be equipped with detection systems for collecting information - including infra-red sensors, microphones, radar and TV cameras - which can then be transmitted back to base using a secure communications link.

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 26 Feb 2010 21:06

^^ I hope your post was tongue-in-cheek.

it sounds like something you will hear on discovery channel, the next biggest tech marvel that never materialises.

sumshyam · Post by **sumshyam** » 26 Feb 2010 21:18

Rahul M wrote:what is this 'stealth' supposed to be ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OpRxaLq1Fc

In last few minutes something has been said...!

Samay · Post by **Samay** » 26 Feb 2010 21:37

Rahul M wrote:what is this 'stealth' supposed to be ?

now that is what i didnt expect you to ask,being an oldie here

Rahul M wrote:^^ I hope your post was tongue-in-cheek. it sounds like something you will hear on discovery channel, the next biggest tech marvel that never materialises.

like what Arjun tank was for us ,30 yrs ago??its left as a mere tech demonstrator with least production any tank has undergone

RayC · Post by **RayC** » 26 Feb 2010 21:48

Rahul M wrote:^^ I hope your post was tongue-in-cheek. it sounds like something you will hear on discovery channel, the next biggest tech marvel that never materialises.

I wouldn't know.

I go by what is available on the open forum and not 'in the know' as you may possibly be, or appear to project, given by your most sagacious comments that I observe in various threads.

I can't see Discovery channel or anything else since my grandson hogs the TV and so I look forward to information given by knowledgeable people as you!

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 26 Feb 2010 21:51

RayC wrote:
Rahul M wrote:what is this 'stealth' supposed to be ?
Stealth technology will make the tank almost invisible to enemy forces, by absorbing rather than reflecting radar beams.

It will be equipped with detection systems for collecting information - including infra-red sensors, microphones, radar and TV cameras - which can then be transmitted back to base using a secure communications link.

Nothing like secure on the battlefield saar.

You radiate and you will suddenly be very dead.

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 26 Feb 2010 22:00

just as I expected !

Discovery Channel, Extreme Machines

this program itself was first aired in India 10-12 years back, how far have we progressed in making stealth tanks ? heck, what happened to this supah-dupah future combat system ? last heard the project was canceled and the abrams is slated to be in service till 2050 ?

don't fall for the typical hubris of these propaganda type coverages.

D Roy · Post by **D Roy** » 26 Feb 2010 22:06

well, the british have experimented with active cloaking in the visual spectrum, there have been news items about that from time to time. Most experiments are about projecting the background into the front.

A lot of other things are talked about - the usual - Noise reduction , thermal and even radar. How much of this finds a place in the FMBT and to what level of efficacy is another matter.

Of course even though the tank was made to "disappear" one could still hear it. so I guess active noise cancellation will be one area of development.

Vivek K · Post by **Vivek K** » 26 Feb 2010 22:12

So now stealth is the weapon being used to bludgeon the Arjun by IA. No wonder we were under foreign domination for such a long period of our history!!! The IA procurement people in my eyes (let me say this - I hold IA's fighting soldiers in the highest esteem, Vikram Batra, Vijayant Thapar, Rahul Kalia are my heroes) are committing treason by denying the Army the Arjun and kowtowing to foreign products. People do not seem to remember how these Tanks have fared in recent wars (T-72 vs M1 Abrams and the T-90 in Georgia - RahulM had posted some pictures of how the T-90s blew up giving no protection to the crew).

I apologize for using such harsh words but accepting bribes from a froeign vendor/lobbyist to kill your own industry, denying extra protection and firepower to the fighting soldier is treason.

sumshyam · Post by **sumshyam** » 26 Feb 2010 22:14

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 26 Feb 2010 22:17

Samay wrote:
Rahul M wrote:what is this 'stealth' supposed to be ?
now that is what i didnt expect you to ask,being an oldie here

I haven't seen the answer yet. this is not it. let's assume I'm an ignoramus in need of lecturing and put the hard facts on the table, minus the subjective comments.
should be easy ?

Samay wrote:
Rahul M wrote:^^ I hope your post was tongue-in-cheek. it sounds like something you will hear on discovery channel, the next biggest tech marvel that never materialises.
like what Arjun tank was for us ,30 yrs ago??its left as a mere tech demonstrator with least production any tank has undergone

the arjun was built to IA's GSQR, not some star-treky TV program that promised anti-matter based shells, tractor beams and laser main guns.
it was doable and they showed it. if you are unaware of why it took so long or why the numbers ordered are low, google and inform yourself. in the meantime don't try and charm us with your ignorance. you have been warned due to this kind of behaviour before, I'll have no qualms to do it again.

Stealth technology will make the tank almost invisible to enemy forces, by absorbing rather than reflecting radar beams.

those ideas are still well in the realm of typical american techno-hype (which per your own admission you are distrustful of), quite some distance away from battlefield deployment. US DOD itself has realised that and as a result a number of such 'space-age' projects have been scrapped (after costing millions of $) in favour of more doable down to earth ones.

D Roy wrote: well, the british have experimented with active cloaking in the visual spectrum, there have been news items about that from time to time. Most experiments are about projecting the background into the front.

as chetak said, radiating itself will have its attendant problems, even if this is practically feasible. it's still a long distance away from even being technologically possible. it's easier to do cloaking from as seen from one direction, tough to do the same from a range of angles. secondly, there is also the energy requirement to be looked at. of course we haven't even touched upon thermal signature which is one of the principal method to detect tanks these days.

D Roy · Post by **D Roy** » 26 Feb 2010 22:36

as chetak said, radiating itself will have its attendant problems, even if this is practically feasible. it's still a long distance away from even being technologically possible. it's easier to do cloaking from as seen from one direction, tough to do the same from a range of angles. secondly, there is also the energy requirement to be looked at. of course we haven't even touched upon thermal signature which is one of the principal method to detect tanks these days.

yes the chief problem.
As far as the energy requirement is concerned- always an issue of course as you have indicated.
To reduce the thermal signature active cooling will be required which will once again bring us back to the case of energy.

May be , just maybe in the future () we may have some kind of tri-generation on tanks given their size.

and looking well into the future ( 50 year horizon) we may have special materials that can breathe for the tank and be part of the tank's energy management system.

aditp · Post by **aditp** » 27 Feb 2010 17:08

124 more Arjun tanks to be ordered for Army

PTI staff reporter wrote:New Delhi, Feb 27 (PTI) The Army is likely to soon place a repeat order for 124 indigenous 'Arjun' Main Battle Tanks from DRDO as troops have expressed satisfaction over the armoured vehicle's performance in desert terrain in Rajasthan.

"A repeat order of another 124 Arjuns is expected from the Army soon, as it is satisfied with the tanks' performance," a senior DRDO official said here today.

The new order would be a follow-on to the 124 Arjuns ordered by the Army in 2004, of which the Avadi-based Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF) has already supplied 45 to comprise an armoured regiment.

The regiment has now taken out the tanks to the desert in Rajasthan for conversion trials and reports from the troops reaching the Army headquarters say the combat vehicles were doing extremely well, the official said.

"The repeat order is necessary to keep the production lines in Avadi running.