By Rishikesh Kumar

NEW DELHI - The Indian Army deployed heavy T-90 tanks, weighing about 46 tones, and T-72 tanks, weighing around 45 tones, in the western sector of the Line of Actual Control (LAC). These vehicles were airlifted in in 2020 after China moved type 15/ VT-5 light tanks to forward areas.

The Indian Army plans to deploy lightweight tanks with niche technology to the Line of Actual Control in order to seek operational dominance over its adversaries.

Launched under the name of 'Project Zorawar,' the lightweight tanks will help the army to overcome the limitations faced by using medium and heavy battle tanks, which are more suitable for plains rather than mountainous terrain.

The new tanks weigh less than 25 tons and are armed with artificial intelligence, drone integration, an active protection system, and a high degree of situational awareness.

"The increased threat on the northern borders is likely to remain a threat in the foreseeable future," a senior official of the Indian Army said on Friday.

The Indian government granted an in-principle approval to the project in March, and the Indian defense industry is now working to implement it in "the earliest time frame," sources in the defense establishment told Sputnik.

Lightweight tanks became urgent two years ago after the Chinese Army began using type 15 tank in Ladakh following a hand-to-hand fight that erupted between the Indian Army and People's Liberation Army, killing 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers.

Under a separate global tender, the Indian Army wants to obtain a "new generation combat vehicle platform, approximately 350 light tanks in a phased manner, along with performance-based logistics, niche technologies, engineering support package, and other maintenance and training requirements."

India and China maintain a deployment of around 60,000 troops, tanks, and artillery guns at close range as diplomatic and military commanders' talks on disengaging and de-escalating have failed to produce the desired results so far.