According to information published by “The Eurasian Times” on February 14, 2023, during Aero India defense aerospace that is taking place in Bengaluru, India, the Russian defense industry announced a plan to share the technology of the new Russian-made T-14 Armata Main Battle Tank (MBT) for the joint development of the future Indian Army’s MBT.
On June 1, 2022, the Indian Ministry of Defense released an RFI (Request for Information) to procure over 1,700 Future Ready Combat Vehicles (FRCVs) in a phased manner under the strategic partnership route, with the induction of the “future tank” expected to be completed by 2030.
According to the Indian RFI, the procurement of the new Indian-made MBT will include the transfer of technology, performance-based logistics, engineering support package, and other maintenance and training requirements. The goal of the new procurement is to replace the old fleet of Soviet-design T-72 tanks currently in service with the Indian army.
Today, in terms of Main Battle Tanks, the Indian army has a total of 3,640 MBTs including 122 Arjun, 2,418 T-72M1, 1,100 T-90S, and around 1,100 various models in store.