After successfully completing trials in high altitude Ladakh last December, a prototype of the indigenously developed Zorawar light tank will undergo field firing tests in Rajasthan desert later this month before its possible induction into the Indian Army by 2027.

The L&T and the Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO’s) Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE), which jointly manufactured the light tank in a short span of time, will carry out the firing trials to test Zorawar’s 105 mm gun’s performance in the extreme heat towards the end of this month, sources aware of the development told businessline.

Once L&T and the DRDO are satisfied with the rigorous evaluation of the 25-tonne class tank’s firing performance to ensure that it achieved the required accuracy on designated targets, the Indian army will carry out it’s own set of firepower checks from June onwards, sources elaborated.

This would be the second field firing test in desert after the preliminary automotive trails conducted in Rajasthan on September 13, 2024. In that trial, the DRDO had said that Zorawar demonstrated exceptional performance and efficiently meeting all the intended objectives.

Full scale production

Zorawar will subsequently move towards full scale production at the L&T’s Hazira facility in Gujarat as part of the initial 59-tank order to the DRDO.

But, sources pointed out that the overall requirement is for 354 such tanks for the Indian Army to scale up mobility and strategic capabilities, especially at the LAC in Ladakh.

The tanks, offering a three-member crew cabin, are fitted with Cummins’ 750HP engine and 105 mm gun or turret manufactured by Belgium-based John Cockerill Defence (JCD). It also has UAV capability, which has been integrated following lessons drawn from Russia-Ukraine war.

The JCD has formed a joint venture (JV) with Electro Pneumatics & Hydraulics Pvt Ltd (EPHL) for co-manufacturing, assembling and commissioning of turrets (a rotating heavily armoured structure on a tank connecting the gun to the hull) for Zorawar.

The Zorawar project got a sense of purpose and urgency following the Galwan face off of May 2020 when the Chinese PLA’s light weight tanks were found to be more agile and swift against heavier T-90s and T-72s which form the mainstay of Indian Army’s firepower.

Published on April 10, 2025