CLOSING A CRITICAL GAP

Engineered to dominate high-altitude warfare, the Zorawar light tank combines strategic air mobility, lethal firepower, and networked technology tailored for the world's highest battlefields. VISHAL DUGGAL reports.

- VISHAL DUGGAL

In the summer of 2020, the thin, frigid air of the Ladakh plateau, at altitudes exceeding 14,000 feet, became the silent witness to a marked shift in India’s military calculus.

As troops engaged in a tense standoff against China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), a glaring asymmetry in high-altitude combat capabilities was laid bare. While the Indian Army's mainstay armoured regiments—formidable T-90s and T-72s—strained and struggled in the oxygen-starved, rugged terrain, their engines gasping and their bulk constrained by narrow passes and fragile bridges, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) showcased the Type 15 light tank—agile, purpose-built, and operating with ease where heavier armour faltered. It presented a tactical challenge that demanded an urgent, indigenous response from India.

From this crucible of operational necessity, Project Zorawar was conceived as a strategic imperative to reclaim tactical parity and secure India’s Himalayan frontiers.

Named after the legendary Dogra general Zorawar Singh Kahluria, who led formidable campaigns in the treacherous Himalayas in the 19th century, the Zorawar Light Tank epitomises India's resolve to master the unique demands of high-altitude warfare through innovation and self-reliance. In an unprecedented feat of defence industrial mobilisation, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), in a public-private partnership with engineering giant Larsen & Toubro (L&T), delivered the prototypes in a record-breaking two years. As the tank now gears up for rigorous user trials across the deserts of Jaisalmer and the frozen heights of Ladakh in early 2026, its journey from drawing board to deployment marks a new chapter in India's defence preparedness.

Engineering for Extremes

While several nations are reviving light-tank concepts, only a few have fielded modern, purpose-built systems. Here's how the Zorawar stacks up against its peers.