Defense cooperation of India and Russia is decades old. Since the Soviet period, India has bought fighter jets, missiles and tanks from Russia. T-90 Bhishma is the biggest example of this, which India made in the country with technology transfer. Now Russia has offered its most advanced tank T-14 Armata to India.
The special thing about this deal is that Russia not only proposed supply, but has offered technology transfer and production in India itself. This can give a new height to India’s defense manufacturing under the Make in India program.
T-14 Armata Tank Next Generation War Machine
T-14 Armata is considered to be Russia’s most advanced tank. This includes features such as stealth design, unmanned operation and 125mm 2A82-1m smoothborn gun. It has a 1500 HP engine, which is effective in both height areas and desert. The tank has a guided missile which can make an accurate attack for 8 kilometers. It also includes digital battle management system and network-centric warfare capacity. Its crew for safety of soldiers is surrounded by capsules armor. Russia claims that this tank is designed keeping in mind the needs of future battlefields.
Potential Indian version of T-14 for India
According to reports, the T-14 Armata given to India will be completely customized. It will not be installed Russia’s engine but a Detroon-1500 HP engine made in India. This will make the operation more easier in high altitude areas. Apart from this, due to production in India, the price of one unit can be reduced by about Rs 10 crore. At present, the estimated cost is being reported as Rs 30-42 crore per unit. If this project is successful, then India will not only get modern tanks but will also get self -sufficiency in tank production in future.
However, some challenges have also come up regarding T-14 Armata. Its production cost is very high. The impact of the restrictions of Western countries can be seen. Technical problems can be revealed in the engine and promotion system. This is the reason that Russia has not yet produced these tanks in large numbers. India will have to decide whether it should accept Russia’s proposal, or consider the options of any other country.
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