Xiongxiang is collaborating again! Both Russia and India may develop new main battle tanks based on the T-14 tank. According to the Belgian Army Identification website citing the Russian satellite news agency Sputnik on January 4th, Valeria Reshetnikova, spokesperson for the Russian Federal Military Technical Cooperation Agency, stated in an interview that. The Indian side has reached an agreement with Russia on the development of a new type of main battle tank within the framework of defense cooperation between Russia and India.

Russia and India may use the T-14 tank as a breakthrough point to launch a new wave of cooperation between the two countries in ground armored vehicles. Russia will provide technical consultation to India, including the development of new armored vehicles based on the "Armata" platform. India launched the Army's Future High Mobility Combat Vehicle (FRCV) program again in June last year. Due to the fact that the plan has been renovated three times over the years, there are significant differences in the specific content of each version. FRCV plan version, the Indian Army has decided to replace the existing 2000 Soviet/Russian made T-72M/M1 tanks with this, with a total procurement of 2500 vehicles. The Indian Army stated that the main battle tank purchased for this project has a self weight controlled at around 40 tons, rather than being considered an upgraded version of the "Arjun" tank weighing over 60 tons. After the news was released, some people in India lamented that this move meant the bankruptcy of the "future main battle tank" that had been implemented for more than ten years. The Indian military has no hope for the "Arjun" and subsequent upgraded versions. According to the Indian Army's plan, the FRCV procurement platform will be used as the basis for expanding and upgrading to create multiple types of ground armored vehicles, such as light tanks, armored rescue vehicles, self-propelled artillery, anti-aircraft guns, artillery observation vehicles, engineering reconnaissance vehicles, armored ambulances, etc. In other words, the Indian Army hopes to generate a vehicle family for its future ground main combat equipment through the FRCV program. This will not only enhance the army's combat effectiveness and move towards modernization, but also benefit logistics support, personnel training, and more. The second version of the FRCV plan was released in early 2017. Compared to the former, this version focuses on the development of main battle tanks, with DRDO organization responsible for overall ideas and details. It is reported that the new main battle tank will be equipped with the Indian made "Bharat" power system, and will also be equipped with a 1800 horsepower domestic engine and transmission system in the future. The firepower system will be equipped with 125mm main guns, third-generation anti tank guided weapons, and anti-aircraft machine guns. The 125mm main gun will be equipped with a new generation of programmed airburst shells and tail stabilized armor piercing shells. The upper part adopts an unmanned turret design, with 3 onboard crew members, and the crew seats are suspended below the turret. This tank not only needs to be able to adapt to plain areas, but also requires stable performance in desert and plateau areas (with strong targeting implications). The above design aims at the forefront of tank development technology in the world, while closely adhering to the ground combat focus of the Indian Army, which shows how much effort DRDO organization has put into it.However, to this day, the new tank with the above-mentioned design has not yet appeared. Despite multiple meetings and negotiations between Russia and India, there has been no progress. It can be seen that the three brothers who produce top-notch PPTs are still stuck in the technical bottleneck of the tank industry system.

The FRCV 3rd edition plan was released in early June last year. Compared to the previous two plans, the total purchase of this plan has decreased to 1770 vehicles, mainly consisting of medium tanks and supplemented by others. According to the requirements of the Indian Army, this type of tank is mainly used for combat in semi desert/desert and plateau areas, and can adapt to various terrain environments. It is planned to enter service with the Army from 2025 to 2027, replacing more than 2000 T-72 series, 1070 T-90S, 124 "Arjun" tanks, etc. In terms of tank performance, the Indian Army hopes that, in addition to strong firepower, it can adapt and launch multiple types of advanced ammunition, and can also coordinate with other equipment (such as drones) for combat; The power should be at least 30 horsepower/ton. If estimated based on a total weight of 40 tons, the engine horsepower of this type of tank needs to reach 1200 horsepower, and a hybrid electric drive system and active suspension system should be used. In terms of protection, a modular armor design will be adopted, which means rapid replacement of equipment based on differences and similarities in combat tasks, environment, and enemy strength, in order to achieve the best results. Analysts say that integrating multiple technologies into a tank would be quite difficult for the participating military companies (including 11 countries including France, Russia, South Korea, Germany, Ukraine, etc.). On the other hand, once the plan is successfully implemented, it will foreshadow that India's nearly half century long "Arjun" tank project will soon be buried in the grave. In addition, it can be seen from the above that the Indian Army's FRCV plan is obviously formulated based on the Russian "Armata" universal combat platform project. As for the specific implementation, it is difficult for India to complete it alone. Therefore, after the appearance of the T-14 tank, Russia and India have conducted multiple rounds of consultations on this matter. Now, with the progress of technical consultation and the agreement of cooperation intention, Russia and India are likely to come together and once again write a "magnificent" chapter in the history of defense cooperation between the two countries.For India, choosing to cooperate with Russia and T-14 tanks is currently the most cost-effective option, as the two countries have good cooperation practices in ground armored vehicles, but there are inevitably conflicts. With the technical assistance of Russia and T-14, India can be pulled in in the short term, thereby enabling the FRCV program to be implemented as soon as possible. As a result, the Indian Army can gradually complete the upgrading and replacement, thus having the ability to resist the ground armor forces of China and Pakistan.

The question is, can Russia and India complete the installation period from 2025 to 2027 within three years? In addition, the T-14 tank also faces some uncertainties, especially the unreliable power system. The current production schedule is extremely difficult, and even Russia itself cannot say when it can purchase in large quantities.If possible, the Indian side would simply transplant the entire set of Russian technology, add 30% to 40% of Indian domestic components, and then have the familiar Indian domestic military enterprises responsible for producing subsequent models. So a new question arises, how to meet the huge replacement plan of the army for the low efficiency production problem of Indian military enterprises? Besides, what if we mess with the Russian technology? Another issue is the price. After all, the T-14 tank and related technology have the label of "fourth generation tank". How many rupees can the Indian government offer this time?Russian military expert Liabov Kirill also pointed out that Indian industry, which has very limited experience and technological capabilities, cannot effectively respond to the challenges of FRCV. India can only design some components, and most of them require assistance from foreign counterparts. Nevertheless, India will not be able to receive its first FRCV tank until around 2030.

Source: Military of Strong Countries