Indian Govt Approves Purchase of Russian T-90 TanksThe Indian government has given the green light to the finalization of an arms purchase contract which will help the country to acquire 310 T-90 main battle tanks from Russia, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported Sunday.A price negotiating team from the Indian Defense Ministry has left for Moscow for final rounds of talks with M/S RVZ, manufacturer of the Russian tanks, and the first batch of these heavy tanks are likely to be inducted within this year, the PTI quoted official sources in NEW DEILI as saying. The acquisition of the Russian T-90 tanks will give the Indian army's strike corps an edge over Pakistani formations, which have recently been armed with Ukrainian T-80U tanks, the sources added. The Committee on Security of the Indian cabinet has approved a proposal for the outright purchase of 124 T-90 tanks, while the rest 186 currently remain in semi-knocked down and completely knocked down state, said the PTI. Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes was quoted as saying that comparative analysis suggested the Russian T-90 tanks were "superior to all known tanks in Pakistan's armory." However, he clarified that the T-90s were not purchased as a replacement for the country's indigenous "Arjun" main battle tank,which is currently under development. According to the PTI, the government's nod to purchase T-90s has come after three of these tanks underwent peak summer trials in Rajasthan during May-June 1999 and further trials in October-November 1999, which were witnessed by senior army and defense ministry officials. Based on these trials the army headquarters prepared a general staff evaluation report recommending the induction of the T-90 tanks last December, the PTI added. |
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