New Delhi. Even though the agreement with China may have improved the LAC situation, India will always remain cautious. For this, India will now deploy small tanks Zorawar on LAC. For this, trials of the light tank Zorawar jointly developed by DRDO and L&T will start soon in the high altitude areas. The army has started preparations for this. These tanks have been specially designed to compete with China. These are to be deployed on LAC. The first phase of testing of the tank has been done last month and now the tests are to be conducted in high and cold areas. Tanks generally weigh between 40-50 tonnes.
Withdrawal of troops in final stages
Let us inform that after the agreement between India and China, the withdrawal of troops from the confrontation points Demchok and Depsang in eastern Ladakh is in the final stages. In compliance with the agreements, Indian troops started withdrawing their equipment from these areas. Army sources had said last week that the agreement was reached only for these two friction points and talks were still on for other areas. It was also told that patrolling will start in these areas after the completion of the military withdrawal which started last week.
This is the lightest tank made in the country
Zorawar tanks have been developed by DRDO’s Chennai-based laboratory Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE). This will be the lightest tank made in the country. According to sources, currently their weight is around 25 tonnes and efforts are being made to reduce it further in the new versions. Due to less weight, these tanks can run at a speed of 35/40 kilometers per hour in roadless areas. Whereas their maximum speed on the road is 70 kilometers per hour. The most commonly used tanks in India are T-72 weighing 41 tonnes and T-90 weighing 46 tonnes. Zorawar’s weight is less than 25 tonnes. This not only makes them easier to deploy in high areas, but also improves their performance. China has deployed similar light tanks near the LAC, which India realized during the 2020 confrontation. DRDO and LNT were given the contract to manufacture 354 such tanks. Its first phase of trials were conducted in the desert area of Rajasthan last September, which were successful. DRDO claims that they have been successful on all parameters. But now the second phase of trials is to be conducted in cold weather in high altitude areas.