India's DRDO and Larsen & Toubro unveiled a prototype of the 'Zorawar' light tank in July. Initial tests of the tank have now commenced. (Press Information Bureau)
India's state-owned Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has started preliminary tests of the locally developed ‘Zorawar' light tank, the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) said on 13 September.
The MoD said the trials were conducted in “desert terrain”, reportedly located in India's northwestern state of Rajasthan. It added that the tank met “all the intended objectives” in the trials.
“In the initial phase, the tank's firing performance was rigorously evaluated, and it achieved the required accuracy on designated targets,” the MoD added. It provided no additional information about the trials.
An initial prototype of the Zorawar light tank was unveiled by the DRDO and its partner on the project, Larsen & Toubro (L&T), in July.
DRDO Chairperson Samir V Kamat said at the time that preliminary trials of the tank would be completed by the DRDO and L&T early in 2025, after which the tank would be trialled by the Indian Army. He added that DRDO expects the tank to be ready for Indian Army induction by 2027.
The Indian Army intends to deploy the tank in India's Ladakh region, a high-altitude mountainous plateau in the north of India where the average elevation is more than 5,000 m above sea level, and over terrain that requires low-track pressure.
The Zorawar prototype is the result of a request for information (RFI) issued by the Indian Army in April 2021 to support its intention to procure 350 locally manufactured light tanks for deployment in assorted terrain. The Indian Army has a requirement for more than 350 Zorawar light tanks, according to the RFI.
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