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The first two T-72 main battle tanks overhauled under a pilot project executed by Vehicle Factory Jabalpur (VFJ), a unit of Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited (AVNL), were flagged off recently, marking a modest but significant step in expanding India’s armoured vehicle sustainment capacity.
According to an official release, the pilot project is part of AVNL’s effort to address the Indian Army’s growing requirement for battle tank overhauls, driven by the continued operational reliance on the T-72 fleet. To augment existing facilities at the Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF), another AVNL unit, the company selected VFJ to develop parallel overhaul capability and reduce pressure on established production lines.
Under this capacity-expansion initiative, VFJ was authorised to undertake a pilot overhaul programme in 2025, aimed at validating its technical processes, quality assurance systems and ability to meet Army-mandated timelines. The successful completion of the first two tanks is being seen as proof of concept for distributing overhaul workloads across AVNL’s production units.
The tanks were overhauled in accordance with the technical specifications and quality standards laid down by the Indian Army, the release said, adding that the project demonstrated VFJ’s readiness to take on larger volumes of sustainment work in the future. AVNL described the rollout as an important milestone in its efforts to align industrial output more closely with the Army’s operational requirements.
Lieutenant General Amardeep Singh Aujla, Master General Sustainment (MGS), flagged off the two tanks at a brief ceremony. Congratulating the AVNL and VFJ teams, Lt Gen Aujla described the task as challenging and time-bound, noting that timely completion reflected growing in-house capability within the defence public sector.
“In the future, you will be entrusted with larger tasks related to tank overhauls, and I am confident you will be able to deliver them successfully,” he said, underlining the Army’s expectation that the pilot project will translate into sustained capacity enhancement.
If scaled up, the initiative is expected to ease overhaul backlogs, improve fleet availability and strengthen the domestic defence industrial ecosystem supporting India’s armoured formations.
Team BharatShakti
