On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi handed over the country’s main battle tank Arjun Mark 1A to the army. During the visit to Tamil Nadu and Kerala, PM Modi handed over the Made-in-India Arjun Main Battle Tank (MK-1A) to Army Chief General MM Narwane in Chennai. After this, PM Modi flagged off several development projects one after another in Tamil Nadu. After the induction of Arjun MK-1A tank, the Indian Army has moved a step further towards becoming the most powerful army in the world. However, Arjun has become lethal in every way after the upgrade. The tank was named Arjun because of its unmatchable ability to hit the target. The Arjun tank is named after the best warrior of the Mahabharata.
All you need to know about this indigenous tank
Arjun has a 120 mm rifle gun. A gun fitted in a tank can fire 3000 rounds at a time, with precision. The Arjun program was launched in 1972, although its large-scale manufacturing could be started from 1996 at the Ordnance Factory in Avadi, Tamil Nadu. Due to the delay in the program, the army had to order T-90S tanks from Russia so that it could meet its requirements. The MK-1A is equipped with mobility and superior weapons. The Indian Army spent a lot of time on its trial. These 118 Arjun tanks will form two regiments in the Army in the Armoured Corps. The Ministry of Defence recently approved the proposal to induct 118 Arjun MK-1A tanks into the army. Their price is around 8,400 crores. The cost of a unit is around 56 crores. These will make the army more powerful in land warfare.
Arjun can stack enemies in a range of up to 450 km. Arjun can achieve a maximum speed of 67 km/h. Besides, a PKT 7.62 mm machine gun and an NSVT 12.7 mm machine gun are fitted in it. It can also attack with 12 smoked hand grenades. It has space for a crew of four that will include commanders, gunners, loaders and drivers. It also has automatic fire detection and suppression and NBG protection system installed. The Mk-1A has been upgraded 14 times.
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A lot of Arjun class tanks are already deployed along the Pakistan border in the western desert. It is worth noting that MK-1A, the upgraded version of the Arjun tank that Prime Minister Narendra Modi rode with the soldiers on the Longewala border of Jaisalmer to celebrate Diwali last year, is now going to be part of the Indian Army. The upgrade has made Arjun even more destructive due to sensors. Because of these, the tank will also be able to avoid any kind of nuclear attack. Significantly, its latest version comprises 54.3% native technology, while the earlier version was made up of 41% native technology.