India’s BEL Details Remote Controlled Air Defense Gun for MBT Arjun MK II

New Delhi (Sputnik) — India has unveiled a remote controlled weapon station (RCWS) for 12.7 mm Gun of MBT Arjun Mk II at Aero India 2017 in Bengaluru. It enables the soldier to aim and fire at aerial targets from the safe interiors of the battle tank. Presently, the 12.7 mm guns of all tanks are manually operated. The RCWS is armed with the 12.7 mm Russian NSVT heavy machine gun. Other weapons like 7.62 mm MG can also be fitted with the system.

"RCWS integrated on MBT Mk II has successfully completed tank integration and firing trials in September 2015. RCWS has also been developed for use in Armed Repair and Recovery Vehicle (ARRV). It can also be mounted on hovercraft / fast moving boats for the Coast Guard," said official of Bengaluru based government owned firm Bharat Electronic Ltd.

The RCWS is designed to engage air and ground targets and is stabilized on two axes platform, with automated target tracking, a fire-control system and ballistic corrections. The ammunition box is fitted on the right side of the system and the target acquisition and tracking module is located to the left. The optical sensors include a day camera, Thermal Imager and a Laser Range Finder integrated on a single housing. The system has a provision for the operator to do automatic loading and firing of the gun.

"The system can position the turret with an angular travel of 360 deg and elevate the gun in 60 to —5 degree elevation. The sight has a freedom of +/- 17 degree in azimuth and in elevation it can move from —5 to +60 degree," reads statement released by Bharat Electronics.

Recently, DRDO had detailed new requirements for the MBT design, which is intended to replace the Indian Army's fleet of T-72M1 'Ajeya' MBTs. DRDO had decided to armed 125mm gun and third generation anti-tank guided weapon. Intended design suggests that India will deploy its MBT in the Himalayan region at altitudes of up to 16,400 feet and temperatures as low as —20° Celsius.