India to develop unmanned tank for desert warfare

India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is planning to develop an unmanned ground combat vehicle based on the country’s Arjun Mk 1A main battle tank.

The state-backed organization’s laboratory, the Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment, has proposed the design, development, and field validation of the project.

The Chennai-based lab has been developing a range of unmanned vehicles since 2007 with payloads for surveillance, reconnaissance, and mine detection missions. The new vehicles will be based on the 3 x BMP-II armored personnel carrier.