TRACKED METAL BEASTS OF THE INDIAN ARMY

AMARTYA SINHA reviews the fleet of India’s tanks and armoured fighting vehicles

- AMARTYA SINHA

The two world wars in the last century witnessed widespread casualties among soldiers from both camps and forced many European nations to invest in better research and development initiatives to develop better armour and boosted-firepower in order to counter threats on the tactical-level battlefield. With the evolution of high-explosive warheads, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), landmines and grenades capable of taking out infantrymen and vehicles, shielding the soldiers and officers from enemy firepower became an abject necessity.

Tanks and armoured vehicles were developed to cater to the needs of professional armies all across the world to take out enemy positions and mobile targets through LRDLOS (Long Range Direct Line of Sight) firing and to protect the soldiers inside the hardened armoured compartment from hostile fire. While the evolution of India’s armoured fleet dates back to the 1950s, the country faced two massive ground wars with Pakistani 1965 and 1971 which witnessed widespread use of tanks, tank destroyer vehicles and armoured personnel carriers (APCs). As of 2020, with more than 4500 Main Battle Tanks (MBTs) divided into 67 armoured regiments, the Indian Army has one of the largest tank fleets in the world. But tracked-armour modernisation is a work in progress.

Main battle tanks (MBTs) in operation