The successful initial firing trials of Light Tank Zorawar at high altitudes are a remarkable success story of ‘Atmanirbharta’ and ‘Make in India’. A world class modern light tank with capabilities catering for Indian operational requirements in mountains and other terrains has been developed in a record time of 2-3 years.
The success and lessons of this project, which is an example of a collaborative effort between the User (Directorate General of Armoured Corps) and DRDO along with their ‘development cum production partner’ (DcPP) – L&T needs to be replicated for other critical defence projects.
Changing Operational Dynamics: Light Tank Requirement
Indian Army has a legacy of successfully deploying and winning wars in the mountains/difficult terrain by innovative operational employment of light tanks. During the Japanese offensive at Kohima in 1944 during WW II, the 254th Indian Tank Brigade had a major role in stalling the Japanese offensive at Kohima, Nagaland, in the famous Battle of Tennis Court. During the 1947- 48 Indo-Pak war at Zojila, light tanks of 7 Cavalry blocked the Pakistani advance to Srinagar. At Chushul Ladakh) during the 1962 conflict with China, light tanks, AMX-13, were airlifted and played a major role in the defence of Chushul. The Amphibious PT-76 Light Tanks during the Indo-Pak 1965 and 71 Wars again played a major role in river crossings and the success of overall operations.
In the 1990s, the only Light Tank held with the Indian Army (IA) was PT-76, which was phased out due to its vintage. Thus, the IA Tank inventory majorly comprised the heavier main battle tanks T-72s, which were later supplemented by T-90s, both of Russian origin. Limited numbers of even a heavier tank, Arjun, which had a long development period, have also been inducted.
Due to IA’s focus on conducting operations mainly in the plains and desert areas of the Western sector, the Main Battle Tanks, i.e., T-72s, T-90s, and Arjun tanks, were considered adequate. Thus, efforts to initiate a case for a light tank did not get much traction.
The 2020 Galwan incident and subsequent standoffs brought into focus the need for a light tank. The tank face-off, which took place in the area of Rechin La between Indian and Chinese tanks, highlighted the need for a more powerful and lighter tank that could engage targets at a high angle. This was more apparent as China had already developed its Light Tank, ZTQ-15. It was incredible how crews of our older and less powerful T-72 tanks could climb Rechin La heights in time to execute the ‘face-off’ with the Chinese tanks.
Initiation of Light Tank Project by DRDO
In September 2020, DRDO, then under the Chairmanship of G. Satheesh Reddy, visualising the need for a light tank, initiated the project in conjunction with their development cum production partner, L&T. This was a technology demonstrator cum ‘design and development’ (D&D) project of DRDO. This project was called the HATS – High Altitude Tank System and was designed to weigh around 36 tons (the same as the Chinese ZTQ-15 Light Tank). It was similar to the K-9 Vajra. The manufacturing expertise was there with L&T.
User Involvement and Operational Specifications
Usually, the User (Indian Army) is not involved in the initial design stages of DRDO development projects. However, Lt Gen KS Brar, who had taken over as DG Armoured Corps in December 2020, decided to change the norm with his operational and technical expertise. He was critical of the design specifications on which HATS (Light Tank) was being made. The weight of 36 tons of HATS would not have given much added operational advantage over T-72/T-90 tanks as a lighter HATS would have a correspondingly smaller powered engine, thus providing only around 25 HP/Ton. Barely more advantageous than a T-90 but less than the Chinese Light Tank. There were also other requirements for future warfighting, including capabilities for situational awareness, net centricity, counter-drone, etc.
To the credit of DRDO, the viewpoint of Lt Gen KS Brar was accepted. He then went about going over the design specifications, in which he majorly gave a term of reference as a weight of 25 tons, which required re-designing and re-engineering. It led to a positive fallout of having its own Indigenous integration design. The 25-ton weight gave the tank many operational advantages – the tank could be amphibious, strategic lift was possible, gave a power-to-weight ratio of 30 HP/ton, much higher than earlier planned, and made the tank suitable for marshy and riverine terrain due to reduced nominal ground pressure. Additional design features suggested, like modular armour, bustle loading, counter-drone / soft kill abilities and net-enabled environment, made the tank more suitable for future war-fighting. The tank was also christened as ‘Zorawar’.
The clarity on the operational requirements and translation of them to Qualitative Requirements QR and specifications, which are unambiguous, practical, and implementable, were thus provided to DRDO for Make-1 by Lt Gen KS Brar. It was a major departure from Arjun tank development, where DRDO has attributed the delays and the tank not meeting the operational requirements due to a lack of clarity and constantly changing QRs by the User.
Procurement Process and Prototype Development
The procurement process initiated by the Armoured Corps Directorate under the defence acquisition process is intensive and requires numerous approvals at each stage. Again, it is to the credit that all this was done in a short time of 1-2 years. Light Tank was the first Make-1 project initiated by the Ministry of Defence. During AON approval, Lt Gen KS Brar was again made Chairman of this Committee to resolve the categorization between Make- 1 and D&D.
The DRDO and L&T teams quickly translated the specifications into design and manufacturing specifications. They have done remarkable work to produce the prototype quickly and were ready by the beginning of 2023. At this stage, when MTU was delayed in delivering the engine, having indigenous integration design, the switch to a different engine – Cummins was feasible and again done quickly. After the prototype readiness and integration validations, OEM trials will be ongoing. Again, to their credit, all trials of driving and firing in deserts and high altitudes have been exemplary and thriving in the first instance.
The Light Tank project has had a smooth run so far. If it is finally successful, it will generate numerous ancillary industries and MSMEs. It will act as a boost, like what the ‘Maruti car’ did to the Indian car industry. Variants of light tanks can easily be modified for other operational requirements and for other arms, command posts, logistics, etc. They will also have a huge export potential.
The project has achieved major milestones but is still not complete. The ecosystem coming together for this project was incidental and needs to be institutionalized for other projects including Zorawar until its fruition.
Team BharatShakti
