India restarts FRCV tank development program
Indian tank T-72 in training. Photo Wikimedia Commons
The Indian Armed Forces are planning to seriously upgrade their tank the park. To replace the aging T-72, it is proposed to develop a new main battle tank with improved characteristics and a number of new capabilities. The Army has revealed its requirements for such a machine, and design is scheduled to begin in the coming months. The program, tentatively titled Future Ready Combat Vehicle, will be completed by 2030 and will then provide the army with nearly 1800 new combat vehicles.
Requests and plans
At the moment, the Indian Army has more than 4600 main tanks of several models. The T-72M1 of the Soviet design is still the most widespread - over 2400 units. During this decade, such tanks will use up their resource and will be decommissioned, and the troops will need new equipment. The issues of replacing the aging T-72 have been discussed for several years, and now the army is taking a new step in this direction.
The Future Ready Combat Vehicle (FRCV) program was launched several years ago. Back in 2017, after the necessary theoretical work, the Ministry of Defense formulated the basic requirements for the new tank. At the same time, we issued the first request for information, and then received several applications for participation in the program. However, in the future, the program stalled, and its future was in question.
Tanks T-72 with engineering equipment at the parade. Photo Wikimedia Commons
On June 1, the Ministry of Defense announced the cancellation of the previous request for FRCV and the restart of the program. The requirements for the promising MBT have been significantly adjusted, and now a new acceptance of applications is being carried out. Organizations wishing to participate in the creation of the tank of the future must send their proposals by September 15th.
Then the competitive part of the program will take place, the winner of which will develop the final version of the FRCV tank. In the medium term, the army plans to launch its mass production with subsequent deliveries to the troops. According to current plans, the first tanks will enter the troops in 2030, and in the future, the army will receive 1770 such vehicles.
Desired look
The published requirements for FRCV stipulate all the main features of the appearance of a promising tank. It provides for the use of well-known and mastered solutions, as well as fundamentally new components. Remarkable is the fact that no modern MBT, incl. advanced projects.
India wants to get a medium-weight (about 50 tons) MBT with high mobility, enhanced protection and increased firepower. It must be protected from all modern and future threats, as well as be able to deal with a wide range of targets characteristic of the battlefield. Dimensions must comply with railway and military transport restrictions aviation.
The T-90S Bhishma is a key component of the Indian Army. Photo by Indian Ministry of Defense
The tank must have a combined forehead armor based on metal and ceramic elements. It should be supplemented with dynamic protection units and an active protection complex. Suppression of various kinds is possible. The customer wants the new tank to be able to suppress and destroy not only shells and missiles, but also unmanned aerial vehicles and combat helicopters with the help of additional means.
It is required to provide high mobility in any landscape. The FRCV tank should be able to work both on the plain and in the mountains. In this regard, it is proposed to create a hybrid power plant providing a power density of 30 hp. per ton. In addition, it must provide power to all onboard systems.
The fighting compartment should be built on the basis of the most modern solutions. In particular, the possibility of creating a fully automatic tower will be worked out. The main weapon should receive an automatic loader. Various types of projectiles and guided missiles launched through the barrel will continue to be used to defeat all expected targets. You also need to create a reserve for future replacement of the gun. A complex of additional weapons in the form of machine guns and other products is required.
Tanks "Bhishma" at the joint exercises "Indra-2018". Photo of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
The fire control system for FRCV will provide full control of all weapons. It is proposed to build it on the basis of a central computer with artificial intelligence. He will take over some of the tasks and will help the crew. Networking capabilities required.
Depending on the architecture of the fighting compartment and other factors, the tank's crew can be reduced to three or two people. Automation will help them with all basic functions. To increase situational awareness, it is proposed to introduce a new or existing system of vision "through the armor".
Armored prospects
The tactical and technical requirements of the Indian Ministry of Defense for a promising FRCV tank look interesting, but overly bold. They combine all relevant and promising ideas, some of which have not yet been implemented or worked out even by the leading tank-building powers. This fact imposes the most serious restrictions on the prospects of the program - and at the same time on the future of the Indian armored forces.
It should be recalled that to date, India has been able to independently develop only one MBT, and then carry out its deep modernization. At the same time, the development of both projects was too long, expensive and difficult - due to the lack of the necessary competencies. Now India, having such a difficult experience, intends to create another main tank, moreover, of an advanced design, ahead of even the most modern foreign models in a number of features.
MBT "Arjun" Mk 1. Photo by the Ministry of Defense of India
It is obvious that the Indian industry, which still has limited experience, will not be able to quickly and efficiently meet the challenges. It should be expected that she will be able to design some of the components and assemblies, while other components will have to turn to foreign colleagues. Moreover, one should not exclude a scenario in which all the development will be carried out by a foreign organization. In this case, India can really count on the appearance of a tank with the desired capabilities by 2030.
It is unclear how long it will be possible to complete the construction of 1770 necessary tanks. Indian enterprises have experience in quickly assembling armored vehicles from foreign components, but the pace of building their own vehicles leaves much to be desired. Perhaps by the end of the decade, factories will cope with the existing problems and be able to build their own equipment as quickly as assemble kits.
In the coming years, Indian businesses will have a chance to gain experience and improve their competencies. Right now, the contract for the delivery of 118 MBT "Arjun" of the latest modification Mk 1A is being fulfilled. In addition, 71 tanks of the basic version will be updated to this version. It takes several years to complete such an order, and the result of this work will be not only new armored vehicles, but also some experience.
Distant future
At the moment, the T-72M1 is the most massive tank of the Indian army - there are more than 2400 vehicles in service. After 2030, the process of replacing them with promising FRCVs will begin. Such a replacement will not be equivalent in terms of quantity, but such “losses” are compensated for by qualitative growth.
The handover ceremony of the first Arjun tank of the Mk 1A version. Photo by Government of India
Over the past 20 years, India has purchased more than 2 Russian and Indian T-90S tanks. In 2019, another order appeared, this time for 464 vehicles of the latest modification T-90SM. The further fate of this technique is clear enough. She will remain in service until the early thirties, and later. Over time, a promising FRCV will be able to become the basis of tank forces, but the T-90 will also remain in the army and make a significant contribution to defense.
The army has 124 base modification Arjun tanks and 1 modernized Mk 1A. In the coming years, 117 more vehicles will be built, and their number will exceed 240 units. Plans for the further production of such equipment have not been reported. It is very likely that new "Arjuns" will no longer be built, and these tanks are no longer destined to become the basis of tank forces.
Thus, until the end of this decade, the appearance and composition of the Indian tank forces will not undergo fundamental changes. The leading role will remain with Russian equipment, which will determine the fighting qualities of the entire army. Tanks of their own Indian design will still be a relative rarity with ambiguous prospects. Perhaps the situation will begin to change in the thirties - if India copes with the FRCV program and does not again seek foreign assistance.
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