How India plans to rebuild T-72, T-90 tanks using Soviet-era blueprints

Vehicle Factory Jabalpur is working alongside Heavy Vehicles Factory to overhaul Army tanks.

BHOPAL: The documents are decades old, written in Russian and never meant to be read by anyone outside the original programme. At Vehicle Factory Jabalpur (VFJ), engineers are reading them anyway.Working with Heavy Vehicles Factory, based in Tamil Nadu's Avadi, VFJ has decoded nearly 70% of Soviet-era drawings for specialised fixtures used to dismantle and rebuild battle tanks. The factory is developing designs indigenously for fixtures whose drawings are unavailable, aiming to overhaul 80 Army tanks annually from April 2028.

India's armoured fleet includes the Soviet-origin T-72 Ajeya and Russian-designed T-90 Bhishma.

In 2001, a contract was signed for licensed production of 1,000 T-90 tanks at Avadi, following an earlier agreement to procure 310 tanks that included technology transfer. Russian experts had helped establish production processes, while Indian engineers travelled to Russia for training.Jabalpur is being developed as a second tank overhaul centre alongside Avadi. VFJ secured the assignment after successfully completing a pilot project involving two T-72 tanks.

The Avadi and Jabalpur units come under Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited (AVNL), a defence PSU."Many of the original designs and blueprints are decades old and in Russian. We have carried out detailed studies of specialised fixtures, equipment, machinery and facility layouts required for the project," said Harsh Bhatnagar, VFJ deputy general manager whose unit already manufactures specialised military vehicles.Teams from various disciplines have been sent to Avadi for training, while experts from both factories are working together to establish the facility. "It is a complex and time-consuming process, but work is progressing in line with the detailed project report (DPR) timelines," Bhatnagar said.Unlike routine servicing, an overhaul involves dismantling the entire tank, inspecting its systems, repairing or replacing worn components, and reassembling and testing the vehicle.

Each overhaul can take about four months.

Around 80 personnel are currently working on the project, focusing mainly on the hull and turret. Work on internal systems will begin in the next phase. VFJ estimates it will need about 650 trained personnel at full capacity. Training has been underway for two years. The project cost is estimated at Rs 462 crore.