India unveils new domestic tank Zorawar, ending reliance on Russia

According to the Defence Blog portal, India has presented its light combat tank, Zorawar. The portal emphasises that the vehicle was developed in a record-short time. India is turning away from its ally Russia, from whom they planned to buy a replacement for Zorawar a few years ago.

Let us recall that the topic of developing the domestic project called Zorawar has been ongoing since 2020. At that time, India was holding talks with the Russian Federation regarding purchasing military equipment. It was pointed out then that New Delhi was interested in the light tanks Sprut SMD1 with 125mm calibre cannons.

Ultimately, however, India did not purchase the Russian design; instead, it decided to develop the project of the domestic Zorawar tank. Thus, acquiring Russian equipment was abandoned – New Delhi turned away from Russia. A significant turning point in this matter was the Dubai Airshow 2023, during which the Russian company Rosoboronexport expressed interest in the Indian tank. The roles have reversed, and now Russia is considering purchasing machines from India.

However, the problem with the Zorawar project was that New Delhi faced further difficulties during the tank's construction, resulting from inconsistencies with the original assumptions. As the journalist of Wirtualna Polska, Mateusz Tomczak explained earlier, this primarily concerned the need to limit the tank's weight to about 25 metric tonnes, which contributed to the choice of the chassis known from the K9 Vajra howitzers.

Problems with the Zorawar tank's engine also existed. The inability to ensure the continuity of supply of the propulsion system temporarily halted the development of the Indian machine. Ultimately, contrary to suspicions that these would be MTU units, the Indians found a solution in the form of a domestic Cummins engine with 1,000 HP.

The Zorawar project is continuously ongoing. Moreover, the vehicle was already created and presented on Saturday, July 6th, by the Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation and the Larsen & Toubro company. Currently, however, the offered machine should be treated as a prototype. The manufacturer informs that completing the entire cycle of tests and moving to the procurement stage usually takes up to 1.5 years, which is why – in their opinion – Zorawar will be fully ready by 2027.

As the Militarny portal explains, Zorawar currently weighs 25 metric tonnes and, thanks to its 1,000 HP power unit, can overcome difficult obstacles – it is highly mobile. The offensive capabilities of this vehicle are the responsibility of the 105mm calibre cannon designed by the Belgian company John Cockerill. The further specification is unknown, but it is worth noting that the Indian army has already placed a preliminary order for 59 Zorawar tanks. At the same time, it plans to purchase at least 295 vehicles of this type.