Vijayanta

Vijayanta
Vijayanta MBT on static display in Bhopal
Type	Main battle tank
Place of origin	United Kingdom/India
Service history
In service	1965–present
Used by	India
Wars	Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 2019 India–Pakistan standoff
Production history
Manufacturer	Vickers-Armstrongs (Initial Production) Heavy Vehicles Factory (Indian Production)
Produced	1963 (Vickers Mk.1 prototype) 1965–1986 (Vijayanta production)
No. built	2,200
Specifications
Mass	39,000 kg (43 short tons)
Length	9.788 m (32.11 ft)
Width	3.168 m (10.39 ft)
Height	2.711 m (8.89 ft)
Crew	4
Armour	80 mm (3.1 in) steel (hull and turret front) 30 mm (1.2 in) steel (side hull)
Main armament	1 x 105 mm L7A2 (44 rounds)
Secondary armament	1 x 12.7 mm MG (ranging gun) (1000 rounds) 1 x 12.7 mm MG (pintle mount) (2000 rounds) 1 x 7.62 mm MG(Co-Ax) (500 rounds)
Engine	Leyland L60 Diesel 535 bhp (399 kW)
Transmission	David Brown Ltd. (formerly Self-Changing Gears Ltd.) TN12 semi-automatic gearbox
Suspension	Torsion bar
Operational range	530 km (330 mi)
Maximum speed	50 km/h (31 mph)

The Vijayanta (en: "Victorious")^[1] was a main battle tank built in India based on a licensed design of the Vickers Mk.1. The Vijayanta was the first indigenous tank of the Indian Army.

The prototype was completed in 1963^[2] and the tank entered service on December 29, 1965.^[3] The first 90 vehicles were built by Vickers in the UK.^[4] Production continued at the Heavy Vehicles Factory in Avadi until 1983 with 2,200 being built.