Armour vs altitude: India’s light tank dilemma along China border

AI Summary

India's Zorawar light tank is designed for high-altitude operations along the disputed border with China, where heavier vehicles face terrain and transport constraints. Adding armor to withstand high-caliber autocannon fire could increase its weight from about 25 tonnes by seven tonnes, complicating deployment.

India’s new high-altitude combat tank was designed to go where its heavier armoured fighting vehicles cannot: the thin mountain air, narrow roads and small bridges along its disputed border with China. In its base configuration, the Zorawar weighs some 25 tonnes – light enough to be flown all the way to the Line of Actual Control – but a push to make it strong enough to withstand high-calibre autocannon fire could add an extra seven tonnes to that loadout. Reports of renewed stand-offs between...