To counter the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aggression following its attack on Indian soldiers, the Indian Defence Ministry is seeking to acquire a light mountain-friendly battle tank capable of operating better near the country’s northern borders.
At present China has placed large numbers its Type-15 tanks which many consider as the most capable for such a terrain. To overcome this challenge faced by our troops who are stationed in perhaps the most inhospitable environment, MoD is prioritising acquiring weapons systems with PLA in mind.
While we have heavy armour tanks like the Russian T-72 and the T-90 to counter Pakistan in our Western border, these tanks are very heavy and are not suited to combat in the extreme conditions of the mountainous northern border regions.
India at present does not have any weapons system to counter the Chinese Type 15 tank in the Western Theatre Command. There is a need for air-transportable tanks that can be landed or airdropped at forward locations
At the moment the only viable option that India seems to have is to acquire the Russian air-transportable Sprut SDM1 light tank that has commonalities with the T72 and T90s operated by India.