Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has confirmed its role as partner in the program to develop a light tank for the Indian Army

The Indian Army plans to procure a new light tank to replace existing assets, including Russian T-90S MBTs.

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has confirmed its role as partner in the program to develop a light tank for the Indian Army. Janes has learnt that a prototype of the new tank is expected to be unveiled in late 2023.

Jayant D Patil, L&T's senior executive vice-president for defence, told Janes on 16 September, “L&T is selected as development partner as of now.”

He added that while the company is involved in the platform's development, L&T is not assured of a role in the tank's production phase.

“[The] Indian process cannot place development and production contracts in one,” he said. “Developed equipment has to undergo field evaluation trials and emerge successful for the induction clearance, and then [the] production ordering process begins.”

Patil did not elaborate on L&T's role in the program, but a senior source from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) disclosed to Janes that L&T is collaborating with the state-owned agency on the development program.