T-90 Bhishma / T-72 Ajeya of Indian Army : News and Discussions

464 Bhishma tanks to made in Tamil Nadu’s Avadi

Chethan Kumar | TNN | Updated: Nov 8, 2019, 5:49 IST

BENGALURU: More than six months after the Centre cleared the procurement of 464 Russian-origin T-90 main-battle tanks (MBTs), the ministry of defence has placed an order for the entire fleet worth 20,000 crore with the Heavy Vehicles Factory at Avadi in Chennai.

Going by the present production capability of the factory, which is about 120 tanks a year, it could take over four years for it to deliver all 464.

When the procurement was cleared in April this year, the value of the deal was to be a little more than 13,000 crore. But multiple sources in the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) confirmed on Thursday that the order had been valued at 20,000 crore.

The order for 464 units of Bhishma, the newest MBT that the Army is using, is meant to bolster the shock-and-awe capabilities of the armed forces along the western sector of the India-Pakistan border. Once the delivery is complete, the Army will have over 1,500 of these tanks. Pakistan is in talks with Russia to acquire more than 300 such tanks.

The Avadi factory has been manufacturing heavy battlefield equipment since 1961 and has delivered, among other things, the T-72 MBTs being used by the Army.

The T-90 MBT entered Russian army service in 1992. India signed a contract for about 300 tanks in 2001, of which 124 were entirely built in Russia while the rest were assembled here.

T-90s are equipped with night-vision devices and a thermal imaging system. Known for mobility and first-hit capabilities, Bhishma is protected by an explosive reactive armour.

The 46.5-tonne tank is powered by a 1,000HP engine and has a 125mm smoothbore gun capable of firing all types of ammunition, including laser-guided missiles to a range of up to 5km.

464 Bhishma tanks to made in Tamil Nadu’s Avadi | India News - Times of India
 
Indian MoD awards OFB USD2.8 billion contract to licence-build 464 additional T-90S MBTs
India's Ministry of Defence (MoD) has signed a INR200 billion (USD2.8 billion) contract with the state-owned Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) to licence-build 464 additional T-90S main battle tanks (MBTs) for the Indian Army (IA).
OFB spokesperson Uddipan Mukherjee told Jane's on 11 November that under deal, which was signed five days earlier, the OFB's Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF) at Avadi, in southern India, would complete delivery of the MBTs within four to five years.
Industry sources said the order is part of a series of earlier contracts agreed upon with the HVF in 2006-07 to licence-build 1,000 T-90Ss - designated 'Bhishma' in Indian service - under a transfer of technology agreement signed with Russia.
This programme has faced recurring technological problems for several years, especially with regard to the MBT's 125 mm smoothbore gun barrel, which has resulted in extended delays and cost overruns. However, IA sources told Jane's that these glitches have now been resolved, with the latest order for 464 T-90S tanks meant to complete the previous agreement with HVF for the licensed production of 1,000 of these platforms.
The recently signed agreement is separate from the planned INR134.48 billion acquisition of an equal number of T-90MS MBTs, all of which would be imported in kit form from Russian tank manufacturer Uralvagonzavod (UVZ) for assembly by the HVF.
India's Committee on Security approved the T-90MS procurement in April, but no contract has yet to be signed. Industry sources said that the planned T-90MS acquisition also featured in discussions held in early November in Moscow during a meeting of the 9th India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military and Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-M&MTC), but pointed out that no deal has yet been reached.
 
Ashwin said:
Can you give a source for 2013 deal? If you go by report above only the last batch of 464 will make the tally ~1000 of OFB made Bhishma.
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It is written on wikipedia that India signed a deal with Russia on 17th September 2013 to buy/make 235 T-90 tanks
Aniruddha said:
It is written on wikipedia that India signed a deal with Russia on 17th September 2013 to buy/make 235 T-90 tanks
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All in all, we will be operating 310+330+347+235+464 = 1686 T-90 tanks
 
Ashwin said:
Its quoting Indian media of DAC clearance.
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I knew you would say something like that, that's why I posted the article from Rostec, that's the Russian state owned company created by Putin that owns Rosoboronexport, which is where the MoD shops from.

Google Rostec now.
 
randomradio said:
I knew you would say something like that, that's why I posted the article from Rostec, that's the Russian state owned company created by Putin that owns Rosoboronexport, which is where the MoD shops from.

Google Rostec now.
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:p I know what Rostec is. Its a correct reference if its was a press release but its blog/news post referring to Indian media.

CAG, Standing committee, SIPRI something ?
 
Ashwin said:
:p I know what Rostec is. Its a correct reference if its was a press release but its blog/news post referring to Indian media.

CAG, Standing committee, SIPRI something ?
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The Rostec link is a much better source.

And you yourself posted the CAG report referencing the order as well.
 
Gautam said:
OFB ready with new tank shell before Army changes target

By Shishir Arya | TNN | Updated: Aug 5, 2019, 4:41 IST
View attachment 8906

Highlights :
  • These are 125mm FSAPDS shells
  • Production of DRDO-designed shells was stopped after an accident 10 years ago
  • OFB got ToT from Russia in 2015-16
  • It has begun supplying shells of 460mm piercing capacity
  • Army should have decided on yardstick before placing orders

Nagpur : The Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) has come up with an enhanced version of Russian T-90 tank ammunition even before the Army changes its mind saying it wants a better product that the factories are supplying now.

The OFB has already got orders from the Army to supply 125mm fin-stabilized armour-piercing discarding stabot (FSAPDS) shells. The current version has a capacity to pierce into steel plates of 460mm thickness that are put on the enemy tanks. Sensing that the Army may soon demand a higher penetration, the OFB has a developed an ammunition that can rip into steel of over 500mm thickness. This comes at a time when the government is considering a case to corporatize the OFB with view to make it more competitive.

The OFB has recently finished supplying over 10,000 tank shells with 460mm piercing capacity. In a bid to continue getting indents, it has now come up with shells having piercing capacity of much beyond 500mm, said sources. Internal trials have been completed over a month ago and the product would be put up before the Army for its final appraisal. The production process takes place in ordnance factories across Vidarbha too.

Even though T-90 tanks have been purchased much earlier, the OFB got the transfer of technology (ToT) for making 125mm FSAPDS shells in 2015-16 from the Russian original equipment maker (OEM).
In line with the original requirement of 460mm capacity, the OFB has supplied over 10,000 shells made out of semi-knocked down material received from Russia. It is gearing up to make a similar number of shells out of completely knocked down (CKD) material. In the meantime, the Army also purchased over 90,000 shells, also of 460mm capacity, directly from Russia.

Sources said even as there has been no official communication from the Army, it has been known through some of the communication and including minutes that the Army may soon change the requirement, said highly placed sources. As the Army has invited request for proposal (RFP), from a whole gamut of ammunition the 125mm FSAPDS rounds were dropped as the piercing capacity was changed to over 500mm from 460mm, said a source.

“If the Army now wants to change the standards, why should it have placed an order for 460mm at all? The Army has also purchased a sizeable quantity from Russian manufacturers,” said a source.

Both T-90 and T-72 tanks, also purchased from Russia, use same ammunition. Even as the FSAPDS shell is also used in the T-72 tanks, the design made by the DRDO could not make its way into the Army. The production of the DRDO-designed shells was stopped nearly a decade ago following an accident, said a source.


OFB ready with new tank shell before Army changes target | Nagpur News - Times of India
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What is the RHA penetration capability of this round??
 
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