India's Project Zorawar Light Battle Tank Faces 2-Year Induction Delay

India's new light battle tank, Project Zorawar, faces a two-year induction delay. Developers are enhancing protection levels, a move that adds weight and technical hurdles. Originally planned for 2027 induction in high-altitude areas, the timeline is now extended. This tank, developed rapidly in response to Chinese deployments, aims for superior mobility and firepower.

New Delhi: A requirement of enhanced protection levels against enemy fire for the indigenously developed light battle tank is likely to result in a delay of about two years in the induction of the system and can pose technical challenges as developers will race to balance the additional weight against agility, said people familiar with the matter.

The tank, developed under Project Zorawar by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), currently offers protection of up to STANAG level 4, which can defeat machine gun fire, artillery shrapnel and limited mine blasts, they said.

While the tank has been offered for induction and has undergone extensive trials in the plains as well as high-altitude regions like Ladakh since its unveiling in July 2024, the requirement to upgrade protection level beyond STANAG 4 is set to stretch the development timeline.

As per original plans, the tank was to be inducted by 2027 in forward, high-altitude areas.

With extra developmental work required, the timeline has been pushed back as developers will replace protective materials while keeping its weight below the required 25 tonnes.

As reported by ET, the tank was developed in a record time of less than two years in response to Chinese armoured deployments in eastern Ladakh. The need for a light tank was felt after tensions built up in eastern Ladakh in 2020 and China deployed light armour at high-altitude locations. Following consultants with the Army, DRDO in April 2022 initiated its development with L&T.

Named Zorawar by the Army, the tank has more mobility and has fire power of higher accuracy than that of the Chinese Type 15 tanks which have been deployed on the Ladakh border. The weight of the tank has been kept at 25 tonnes for higher mobility at extreme altitudes and features a 105 mm gun. It also has active protection against attacks and the ability to undertake integrated operations with an unmanned aerial vehicle which greatly enhances battlefield visibility.

The Army has a requirement of 354 light tanks which can be deployed at high-altitude areas of Ladakh. For now, 59 are to be made by L&T-DRDO. For the rest, the Army has initiated a competitive process that may take up to a decade before supplies begin.