Why tank overhaul matters: Giving India’s T-72 and T-90 fleet a new lease of life I Explained
A foundation-laying (Bhoomi Pujan) ceremony was held for a new ₹472-crore T-Series Tanks Overhaul Project at Vehicle Factory, Jabalpur.
The facility is designed to overhaul 80 T-72 and T-90 tanks annually, adding to India's existing tank-overhaul capacity.
The Indian Army requires around 230 tanks to be overhauled every year, while the existing Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF) at Avadi, Tamil Nadu can overhaul only about 150 tanks annually, leaving a capacity gap.
The new facility is expected to reduce transportation time and logistics costs by allowing tanks to be overhauled closer to their operational bases, and is framed as part of India's broader defence indigenisation push.
Corporatisation of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) and Defence PSUs
Vehicle Factory Jabalpur was formerly a unit of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), a departmental government organisation. In a major defence-sector reform, the OFB's 41 factories were corporatised in 2021 into seven new Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), converting them into government-owned companies to improve efficiency, accountability and competitiveness.
Key Details
- With effect from 1 October 2021, the OFB's production units were converted into 7 DPSUs: Munitions India Limited (MIL), Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited (AVNL), Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited (AWEIL), Troop Comforts Limited (TCL), Yantra India Limited (YIL), India Optel Limited (IOL) and Gliders India Limited (GIL)
- Vehicle Factory Jabalpur and Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF), Avadi are both now units of Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited (AVNL), which specialises in armoured fighting vehicles, main battle tanks and military vehicles
- The corporatisation aimed to grant these entities operational and financial autonomy, professional management, and the ability to enter joint ventures — while ordnance factory employees retained government service protections during transition
The new overhaul facility is being built within AVNL's Vehicle Factory Jabalpur, reflecting how the post-2021 corporate structure is being used to expand capacity across multiple AVNL sites rather than concentrating all tank maintenance at the single legacy site in Avadi.
T-72 Ajeya and T-90 Bhishma — India's Main Battle Tank Fleet
The T-72 and T-90 are Russian-origin main battle tanks (MBTs) that form the backbone of the Indian Army's armoured corps, both produced under licence in India over different eras, giving them distinct maintenance and indigenisation profiles.
Key Details
- T-72 "Ajeya": Soviet/Russian-origin tank, license-production began in India in the late 1970s; roughly 1,700+ units inducted; being progressively phased down as older-generation armour
- T-90 "Bhishma": Russian-origin tank inducted from the early 2000s, licence-produced in India since 2004 with progressively higher indigenous content; mounts a 125mm smoothbore gun (2A46M) capable of firing the 9M119M Refleks anti-tank guided missile through the barrel
- Both tanks now run on indigenously developed engines (V-46-6 for the T-72, V92S2 for the T-90) produced by the Engine Factory, Avadi — a concrete indigenisation milestone reducing import dependence for a critical sub-system
- Periodic overhaul (as distinct from routine field maintenance) is required to restore engines, running gear, and fire-control systems to full operational specification after years of service life
The Jabalpur facility addresses the operational-readiness gap created by insufficient overhaul capacity for this legacy but still front-line fleet, directly supporting the Army's sustained combat readiness on both the western and northern fronts.
Defence Indigenisation Framework — "Atmanirbharta" in Defence Production
Expanding domestic overhaul and manufacturing capacity for legacy Russian-origin platforms is part of India's broader defence self-reliance (Atmanirbhar Bharat) push, which spans indigenous design, licensed production, and depth-maintenance infrastructure to reduce dependence on original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) abroad.
Key Details
- The Department of Military Affairs (DMA), created in 2019 to integrate the armed forces and promote indigenisation, periodically notifies "Positive Indigenisation Lists" of platforms and components to be sourced domestically
- Defence public sector undertakings (DPSUs) and Ordnance factories' legacy sites are being modernised and expanded rather than only relying on new private-sector defence manufacturing, forming a dual-track indigenisation strategy
- Domestic overhaul capacity is a form of "sustainment indigenisation" — distinct from manufacturing indigenisation — that reduces dependency on the Original Equipment Manufacturer (in this case, Russian entities) for spares and depth repairs, which is strategically significant given supply-chain disruptions affecting Russian defence exports since 2022
Building depth-overhaul capacity domestically, rather than depending on imported spares or foreign OEM support for these Russian-origin platforms, reduces strategic vulnerability and is presented as a defence-indigenisation achievement independent of new platform acquisition.
- Project cost: ₹472 crore
- New facility capacity: 80 tanks overhauled per annum
- Total Army overhaul requirement: ~230 tanks per annum
- Existing HVF Avadi overhaul capacity: ~150 tanks per annum
- OFB corporatised into 7 DPSUs effective: 1 October 2021
- Vehicle Factory Jabalpur and HVF Avadi are both units of: Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited (AVNL)
- T-72 licence production in India began: late 1970s; T-90 licence production began: 2004
- Indigenous tank engines: V-46-6 (T-72), V92S2 (T-90), produced by Engine Factory, Avadi