India’s defense production capacity and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ campaign has achieved a very historic milestone in the defense sector. Armored Vehicles Corporation Limited (AVNL), a public sector undertaking, has successfully handed over the 1000th indigenously manufactured T-90(IM) “T-90 Bhishma” Main Battle Tank (MBT) to the Indian Army. Equipped with more than 90 percent indigenous components, this tank is a living proof of India’s ever-increasing self-reliance in the manufacturing of armored vehicles, which will directly strengthen the ground fire capability of the Indian Army on the China and Pakistan borders.
Roll-out from Chennai’s Avadi factory: journey from 2001 till now
This 1000th T-90 (IM) Bhishma tank was flagged off from the Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF) located at Avadi, near Chennai on 22 May. This T-90 tank, considered the backbone of the Indian Army, is originally manufactured in India under license from Russia, but over time, Indian engineers have completely incorporated indigenous technologies by removing foreign components in it.
#AVNL has delivered the 1000th locally produced T-90(IM) tank to the #IndianArmy. pic.twitter.com/o2NeX8XZjM
— News IADN (@NewsIADN) May 22, 2026
This journey started in 2001 with the assembling of ‘Semi-Knocked-Down’ (SKD) kits received from Russia. After this, in the year 2006, the Indian government signed a major agreement with Russia for the licensed manufacturing of 1,000 tanks. The hard work of Indian defense experts paid off and by 2009, India produced the first completely indigenous T-90S tank in its own factory, which was a huge milestone in the localization of the defense sector.
From restructuring of Ordnance Factory Board to indigenization of ‘Bhishma’ engine.
In the year 2021, seven new government defense companies were created by the Modi government by restructuring the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), one of which is Armored Vehicles Nigam Limited (AVNL). The same company now completely oversees tank production at the Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF) in Avadi. This historic factory has a long and illustrious experience in manufacturing legendary tanks like T-72 ‘Ajeya’, Arjun MBT, and ‘Vijayant’ for the Indian Army.
Whereas in the initial phase the tanks were manufactured only by assembling imported kits, now AVNL has done deep indigenization of its most important systems. The biggest achievement is that AVNL has started manufacturing the extremely powerful ‘V-92S2’ engine, which powers the T-90 Bhishma, completely in India. Along with this, the engines of T-72 and BMP-2 military vehicles have also been completely indigenized. Not only this, the old hydraulic drives used inside the tank have now been replaced with modern indigenous electromagnetic turret traverse systems, which has almost eliminated India’s dependence on foreign suppliers.
The invincible warrior of the battlefield: The power of T-90 Bhishma
T-90 Bhishma is one of the world’s most lethal and modern main battle tanks. Its main features are as follows:
Main weapons: This tank is equipped with a 125 mm smooth-bore gun, which can not only fire accurate shells but can also fire precision guided missiles, APFSDS, HEAT and HE rounds.
Weight and Speed: This Mahabali tank weighing 46.5 tonnes requires 3 crew members to operate it. Its powerful 1,000 horsepower engine gives it an excellent power-to-weight ratio of 21.5 hp per ton, allowing it to run at a speed of 60 km/h on the battlefield.
Safety armor: To protect against enemy attacks, it has layers of Explosive Reactive Armor (ERA). Also it is safe from CBR (Chemical, Biological and Radiological) attacks. It is equipped with smoke grenade launchers and can easily cross 5 meter deep water in adverse conditions.
Round of upgradation: Army is getting T-90 Mk III tanks
To further modernize its combat capability, the Indian Army has also ordered 464 advanced ‘T-90 Mk III’ tanks, the delivery of which has started from the year 2024. These new variants include state-of-the-art fire-control systems, thermal imaging (infallible night vision capability) and advanced security features for battlefield survival. Additionally, the Indian Army is also working on the possibility of integrating Israel’s famous ‘Trophy Active Protection System’ (Trophy APS) into the entire fleet of Bhishma tanks. This system detects and destroys enemy missiles or rockets coming towards the tank in the air itself, due to which the protection of the tank will become impenetrable.
‘Make in India’ and MSMEs get big support
This historic milestone of manufacturing 1,000 tanks is a huge victory for India’s “Make in India” resolve and broader “Atmanirbhar Bharat” vision. Achieving more than 90% indigenization, the entire program has not only secured the country’s borders but has also given a huge boost to India’s domestic industries, especially the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) that manufacture small parts of the country. Reducing dependence on foreign imports will ensure continuity and flexibility of defense production in times of crisis. This successful delivery of the 1000th T-90(IM) Bhishma tank is a concrete step towards making India a global leader in defense manufacturing.
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