New Delhi: India is now planning to go for developing an indigenous power plant for Arjun MK-1A tanks as the German engines used for powering the indigenous tanks are likely to be delayed by around four years.

“The German engine manufacturers have communicated that they would require around 48 months to restart the production of the engines used by the Arjun MK-1A tanks to be used by the Indian Army for deployment mainly in the desert sector,” defence sources told ANI.

The agencies concerned are now trying to use the period of delay in the project to develop an indigenous engine that can be used for powering the Arjun MK-1As, they said.

There are a few engines that are already with the development agencies and they would be used to produce the initial tanks for the 118 tank order placed by the Defence Ministry.

In 2021, the defence ministry placed an order worth ₹7,523 crore with Heavy Vehicles Factory, Avadi, for 118 locally made Arjun MK-1A tanks,

The Indian plans to develop a light tank also faced minor delays due to delays in the supply of engines from Germany, forcing Larsen and Toubro and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to go for an American Cummins engine.

“Indian agencies concerned have already started working on developing an engine for a futuristic main battle tank. The same engine may be utilised for the Arjun MK-1A project but will need certain modifications and changes,” the officials said.

The Arjun MK-1A is an upgraded version of the Arjun MK-1 main battle tank (MBT) currently in army service.

The new tank is supposed to come with 72 upgrades over the existing variant, including 14 major improvements. The upgrades are set to enhance the tank’s lethality, mobility and survivability.