India has at last acheived success in Indeginously developing a Battle Tank which can stand to the requirements of our Defence Forces.Built by its very own DRDO(The Defence & Research Organisation),India has got its First Indeginously built  Main Battle Tank,namely,The ARJUN.

Main Battle Tank (MBT) Arjun is a multi-laboratory programme of DRDO with CVRDE as the lead Laboratory. It is a state-of-the-art tank with superior fire power, high mobility, and excellent protection. Twelve Mk 1 prototypes of MBT Arjun have been manufactured and their performance tests have provided satisfactory results. Some of the breakthroughs achieved by CVRDE during the development of MBT Arjun are in Engine, Transmission, Hydropneumatic Suspension, Hull and Turret, and Gun Control System.

The rifled 120 mm ARJUN gun together with the newly developed super velocity ammunition, can defeat any contemporary armour used in tanks. The electro-slag refined gun steel tube is autofrettaged to withstand higher gas pressures. A thermal jacket prevents irregular temperature distribution on to the tube due to the weather influences.

MBT Arjun is provided with excellent mobility, superior fire power and protection and the features are quite comparable to contemporary world tanks. The Kanchan armour, hydro-pneumatic suspension, armament system, Integrated Fire Detection & Suppression System, system engineering and system integration of complex weapon platforms are some of the significant indigenous technologies of Arjun, developed by DRDO labs.

Armed with a 120 mm rifled gun, the Arjun is believed to be capable of firing APFSDS (Kinetic Energy) rounds, HE, HEAT, High Explosive Squash Head (HESH) rounds at the rate of 6-8 rounds per minute and the Israeli semi-active laser guided LAHAT missile. In addition, it is armed with a 12.7 mm AA machine gun and a 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun. The Arjun can carry 39 rounds in special blast-proof canisters. Loading is manual.

The Arjun’s rifled main gun is a rarity, main battle tanks of most other countries have smoothbore guns as standard. The British Challenger 2 is the only other MBT equipped with a rifled gun. Trials were conducted with the smoothbore Rheinmetall 120 mm gun.

The turret has been designed with the ergonomics of Indian Army troops in mind. The typical crew consists of a gunner, commander, loader and driver. It is protected by a laser warning system and smoke launchers for counter measures. To further enhance combat survivability, the tank has an auto-fire detection and suppression system. Ammunition is also stored in watertight containers to reduce the risk of fire.

The engine and transmission are provided by German companies MTU and Renk respectively. The water-cooled engine generates 1,400 hp and is integrated with an Indian turbocharger and epicyclic train gearbox with four forward and 2 reverse gears. A local transmission is under trials and will envisions to ultimately replace the Renk-supplied unit.The tracks which were being supplied by German company Diehl are now being manufactured by L & T, an Indian company. The cooling pack has been designed for desert operations. The Arjun has a lower ground pressure than the lighter T-72, due to its design.