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Arjun Mk1 and Arjun Mk1A Main Battle Tank
OngoingDRDO inaugurated the Arjun Sustenance Engineering Division at CVRDE, Chennai, on 13 December 2025.
On 13 December 2025, the DRDO chairman inaugurated an Arjun Sustenance Engineering Division at CVRDE in Chennai, adding dedicated infrastructure focused on indigenising armoured-vehicle items and subsystems. Six months earlier, DRDO transferred industry licences for the Arjun Mk1A's 70-tonne tank-transporter trailer and for Arjun unit-maintenance and unit-repair vehicles, broadening the programme's support base. The production order remains exposed to propulsion supply: on 20 February 2024 a DRDO official told Janes that deliveries would slip because MTU engines were unavailable. The Ministry of Defence ordered 118 Mk1A tanks from Heavy Vehicles Factory for ₹7,523 crore on 23 September 2021 after the Prime Minister handed a Mk1A to the Army chief that February. The original Mk1 reached its first five-tank production rollout in 2004, while the Mk1A adds 72 features and completed more than 7,000 km of development and user trials during 2012-2015. Arjun matters because it sustains an Indian-designed heavy-tank and support-vehicle industrial base despite the Mk1A engine bottleneck.
Updated 13 Dec 2025
Verified figures
Specifications
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Mk1A combat weight | 68 tonnes ↗ |
| Mk1 combat weight | 58.5 tonnes ↗ |
| Crew | 4 ↗ |
| Mk1A dimensions (length x width x height) | 10.642 x 3.950 x 3.182 m ↗ |
| Mk1A maximum road speed | 58 km/h ↗ |
| Mk1 maximum road speed | 70 km/h ↗ |
| Engine power | 1,400 hp ↗ |
| Mk1A power-to-weight ratio | 20.59 hp/tonne ↗ |
| Mk1A fording | 1.4 m shallow; 2.15 m medium ↗ |
| Main gun | 120 mm rifled gun ↗ |
| Mk1A main-gun ammunition | 39 rounds; FSAPDS and HESH ↗ |
| Mk1 main-gun ammunition | 42 rounds; FSAPDS and HESH ↗ |
Spec sources: avnl.co.in ↗ · avnl.co.in ↗
Changelog
Program timeline
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DRDO Chairman Samir V Kamat inaugurated the Arjun Sustenance Engineering Division at CVRDE in Chennai; the new division is intended to focus on indigenisation of armoured-vehicle items and subsystems.
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At VRDE in Ahilyanagar, DRDO transferred industry licences for a 70-tonne tank-transporter trailer for Arjun Mk1A and for Arjun unit-maintenance and unit-repair vehicles; BEML received all three support-vehicle technologies and three other firms received the trailer technology.
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A DRDO official told Janes that Arjun Mk1A deliveries would be delayed by an MTU engine shortage; the official said MTU required at least four years to restart engine production and DRDO planned an indigenous engine within three years.
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DRDO and the Indian Army tested the indigenous laser-guided anti-tank guided missile from an Arjun tank at KK Ranges, with the missile successfully engaging targets at two different ranges.
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DRDO and the Indian Army test-fired the indigenous laser-guided anti-tank guided missile from an Arjun at KK Ranges, Ahmednagar, defeating a minimum-range target and establishing engagement capability from minimum to maximum range.
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The Ministry of Defence ordered 118 Arjun Mk1A tanks from Heavy Vehicles Factory, Avadi, for ₹7,523 crore; the variant incorporated 72 new features and the order was expected to involve more than 200 Indian vendors.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi handed an Arjun Mk1A to Chief of Army Staff General M M Naravane in Chennai.
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DRDO test-fired its laser-guided anti-tank guided missile from an Arjun at KK Ranges, Ahmednagar, defeating a longer-range target; the missile's stated engagement band was 1.5-5 km.
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A laser-guided anti-tank guided missile fired from an Arjun at KK Ranges, Ahmednagar, defeated a target at 3 km during technical-evaluation trials.
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The first batch of five indigenously manufactured Arjun main battle tanks rolled out of Heavy Vehicles Factory at Avadi, Tamil Nadu.
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