Summary and Key Points: India has launched its Future Ready Combat Vehicle (FRCV) program to replace its aging fleet of Soviet-era T-72 main battle tanks (MBTs).

-The Ministry of Defence has granted the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN), initiating a decade-long development process.

-Under the Make-I procedure, the government will fund up to 70% of the project, with the remaining costs covered by selected firms.

-India plans to procure 1,700 next-generation MBTs by 2030, featuring modern mobility, multilayered protection, and advanced digital systems.

-Additionally, India has begun production of the Zorawar Light Tank, designed for operations near the contested border with China.

India Advances Next-Gen Tank Program to Replace Aging T-72 Fleet

Since the 1980s, India has operated a variant of the Soviet-designed T-72 main battle tank (MBT), but after years in service, those vehicles are showing their age and arguably well past their prime. This week, New Delhi approved the decade-long Future Ready Combat Vehicle (FRCV) program that will develop the next-generation MBT for the Indian military.

On Wednesday, the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) granted the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN), the critical next step for the program to move forward. As reported by the Indian news outlet ThePrint, the program will be "processed through the Make-I procedure, which involves government funding of up to 70 percent of the project with the rest being put in by the selected firm or firms."

The Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP), which could last as long as two years, will call upon selected companies to develop prototypes that will undergo a series of trials before a final design is selected. The final contract may even be split among two companies, the Indian MoD stated.

The first prototypes could begin testing in three to four years, with production beginning by 2030. In total, the Indian military is seeking to acquire 1,700 MBTs in three phases. The future MBT will replace the Cold War-era T-72s that remain in service.

"For modernisation of the tank fleet of the Indian Army the proposal for procurement of Future Ready Combat Vehicles has been cleared," the MoD said in a statement to international military analyst firm Janes. "The FRCV will be a futuristic main battle tank with superior mobility, all terrain ability, multilayered protections, precision and lethal fires, and real-time situational awareness."

The FRCV – What We Know

The future MBT has been a long time in the making, and according to an Indian Defence Research and Studies report from March 2024, the FRCV began under the Make Project more than a decade ago. However, it could also take a while to replace the entirety of the aging Soviet-designed tanks.

"Even if optimistically inducted in 2030, it will in all probability replace the balance T 72 fleet by around 2045," the report stated.

A previously published program brief also stated that the indigenously-designed and produced Indian tank would be "designed to deliver the highest lethality survivability and agility on the battlefield combined with a fully digitised data backbone architecture to enable next-generation operational capabilities and automation."

New Delhi is also taking a cue from modern Western-made MBTs, as the design calls for a crew of four – meaning it would ditch the problematic auto-loader in the turret that has made the T-72 and subsequent designs especially vulnerable to man-portable anti-tank rockets. The FRCV's design further calls for the tank not to weigh more than 60 tonnes, as it would need to be transported by currently "in-service aircraft, ships, rail and road infrastructure," ThePrint also noted.

The FRCV is not the only tank that India will see roll out of its factories.

Last year, it announced that production had begun on the Zorawar Light Tank, which was designed specifically to counter Chinese armored deployments near the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the contested border with China. That tank was jointly developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and private vendor Larsen & Toubro (L&T) after the Indian Army issued a Request for Information (RFI) in 2021.

Author Experience and Expertise: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].

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