Does that mean that the Arjun is a bad tank? It really depends who you ask. For years, cherry-picked data on the Arjun tank's faults seemed to highlight a series of seemingly insurmountable obstacles - the tank was too heavy, it wasn't reliable and it couldn't fire an anti-tank missile. This is all true, but was this reason enough to stifle the growth of the indigenously built tank?

Arjun tanks of the Army's 43 Armoured Regiment are a part of RAPID or Reorganised Army Plains Infantry Division.
The invitation to visit the Arjun tank formation was unexpected. For years, I had made requests to visit an Arjun regiment only to be denied permission by Army Headquarters, worried about a possible controversy if 'the true story' of the Arjun were to emerge. There were some valid reasons for this concern. For decades, the Army has successfully operated the T-72 tank and the T-90, now being acquired, is based on this tank. Acquisition of the Arjun would result in a logistics nightmare since it has an entirely different supply chain of components. What's more, the Arjun, for decades, was a tank seemingly always in the process of being developed. Tired of waiting for its development cycle to end, and worried about the depleting strength of its tank units, the Army pushed for the Russian tanks and eventually got them.

Two Army Armoured Regiments deploy the Arjun tank.
Neither does the actual fighting ability of the Arjun Mk 1 fall short of tanks of its generation - A French built thermal imaging sight (which allows operations in pitch darkness) allows the detection of targets 5 kms away, recognition at 3 kms and identification 2 kilometres away.

Arjun tank commander's position with gunners position below.
What the Arjun Mk 1 lacks is an anti tank guided missile and new generation Explosive Reactive Armour, designed to defeat incoming missiles. It also lacks electronic countermeasures designed to spook enemy missiles once they have been launched.
But here too, there are solutions - there is a new Arjun tank, its called the Arjun Mark 2, and its better than the existing tank in just about every critical parameter. Unveiled a few years ago, the Arjun Mk 2 incorporates 70 changes demanded by the Army. Its laser warning control system detects a missile homing in on the Arjun and fires aerosol grenades to confuse the incoming missile's seeker head. The tank is fitted with new Explosive Reactive Armour that the Mark 1 lacks and features a remote control weapon system - an externally mounted gun designed to take on helicopters and drones. It also has a new integrated fire control system with an automatic target tracker, all systems which are designed to make the Arjun Mk 2's weapon system more accurate than its predecessor. Unfortunately, the Israeli made LAHAT missile meant to be fired through the tank's main gun failed its tests - it could not engage targets at ranges less than 1.2 kilometres with the precision that the Army required, a problem more to do with the operational philosophy of the missile in Israeli service. It turns out that the Israeli Army usually does not use anti-tank missiles at short ranges preferring to use the tank's primary weapon, its kinetic energy shells which are both faster and more lethal than anti-tank missiles in a close-range duel between tanks. India has since decided to built its own anti-tank missile.

The Arjun project had to overcome adverse commentary from groups more impressed by foreign wares.
Last month, in a clear signal that it had not lost hope in the Tejas, the government paved the way for the manufacture of 83 Tejas Mk-1A fighters in a deal likely to be worth close to Rs.60,000 crores. In September, the new Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman visited 43 Armoured Regiment to get a first hand look at the Arjun tank. A month later, she visited the Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment in Chennai where the tank was developed - signals which some say are an indicator that the Arjun main battle tank's best days are yet to come.