The Indian Army will receive 118 Arjun Mk-1A Main Battle Tanks (MBT) following the placement of orders worth INR 7,523 crore by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) with the Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF), Avadi, Chennai.
In February, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had handed over the MBT Arjun Mk-1A to the Army chief General MM Naravane in Chennai.
The Arjun Mk-1A MBT has been designed and developed by Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) and features 72 new features and higher levels of indigenous content over the earlier Mk-1 variant.
According to the MoD, the Arjun Mk-1A production order will provide work for over 200 Indian vendors, including MSMEs and employment opportunities for around 8,000 people.
The Arjun Mk-1A was completed by Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE), along with other DRDO laboratories of DRDO between 2010-2012, with extensive Army user trials completed between 2012-2015.