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Russia awarded contract to provide 16,000 T-90 ammunition to Indian Armed Forces.

23 Oct, 2014 7:42 | 2014

Defence & Security News - India

Thursday, October 23, 2014 10:20 AM

Russia awarded contract to provide 16,000 T-90 ammunition to Indian Armed Forces

Russia is likely to win a $197 million T-90 ammunition contract from India. In 2012, India took of 16,000 rounds of the same ammunition from Russia for its T-90 tanks. Indian Defence Research and Development has developed indigenous variant of the ammo but Ordnance Factory Board failed to produce it successfully.

Indian T-90S "Bhishma" main battle tank (Source Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_battle_tank#/media/File:T-90_Bhisma_cropped.jpg

“A contract for procurement of 16,000 rounds of Fin Stabilized Armor Piercing Discarding Sabot (FSAPDS) ammunition for T-90 tanks was signed with Rosoboronexport ... in December 2010. It became effective in March 2011, and the complete consignment is likely be delivered in the first half of 2012,” a defense ministry official said at the time.

India had trouble manufacturing the ammo indigenously because of restraints in transfer of technology. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) developed T-90 ammo which was ultimately not compatible with the tanks.

A DRDO official told that technology for the ammunition actually has been developed and transferred to Ordnance Factory Board which also failed to produce the ammo successfully.

The Indian Army operates more than 500 T-90 tanks, and plans to increase the strength to more than 1,300 by 2020 through license-production at Indian facilities, according to the report.

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Russia awarded contract to provide 16,000 T-90 ammunition to Indian Armed Forces.