Indian Zorawar Light Tank

1024px-Zorawar_light_tank.webp.png


Those side skirts are going to make fixing tracks suck....
 
Apophenia said:
Not much to fix usually. DRDO has effectively reinvented Soucy-style, one-piece rubber tracks for the Zorawar.
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Soucy itself is claiming a weight capacity of up to 42 tons, by their own estimation an upgrade option for a Leopard I. As recollect, rubber tracks can save several tons of weight over conventional steel tracks, which had to be a major selling point. I don't know where India is sourcing the rubber tracks, or if Soucy has direct completion? Still, it seems that 25 tons is within the technical limits of the rubber track concept.
 
TinWing said:
... I don't know where India is sourcing the rubber tracks, or if Soucy has direct completion? Still, it seems that 25 tons is within the technical limits of the rubber track concept.
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AFAIK, DRDO is still looking for a manufacturer for their track design for the Zorawar. There are domestic rubber track makers (but mainly for the agricultural vehicle market).

On weights, the Rheinmetall KF31 also used Soucy CRTs. Lynx weight is usually given as 38 tonnes (so just a smidge over the CV90 MkIV) but KF31 weights are quoted as high as 45 tonnes. So, no worries for a 25 tonne Zorawar LT.

I was mistaken, however, when I said "one-piece rubber tracks for the Zorawar." The DRDO-designed units are, in fact, Segmented Rubber Tracks (SRT). And, I suppose, that distinction is why the Indian media is using superlatives like "innovative" or "revolutionary" to describe this track system.

So, as it turns out, Indian Army tankers will be replacing individual track links somewhere near the LAC!
 
Apophenia said:
AFAIK, DRDO is still looking for a manufacturer for their track design for the Zorawar. There are domestic rubber track makers (but mainly for the agricultural vehicle market).
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I don't think that's much of an issue. It's just a different specification they're building to.

DRDO is probably complaining about the cost the existing makers are wanting to charge for this.



Apophenia said:
I was mistaken, however, when I said "one-piece rubber tracks for the Zorawar." The DRDO-designed units are, in fact, Segmented Rubber Tracks (SRT). And, I suppose, that distinction is why the Indian media is using superlatives like "innovative" or "revolutionary" to describe this track system.

So, as it turns out, Indian Army tankers will be replacing individual track links somewhere near the LAC!
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I'd rather have however long a chunk of rubber tracks equals about 50kg as the standard unit to replace. 2-4 bolts at each end of the length.
 
Scott Kenny said:
I don't think that's much of an issue. It's just a different specification they're building to.

DRDO is probably complaining about the cost the existing makers are wanting to charge for this.
...
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Durability at speed would be my concern. Surface conditions on mountains roads near the LAC are going to be a lot less forgiving than farmers' fields. (Agricultural CRTs are optimised to reduce soil compaction rather than for durability on asphalt or over rocky surfaces.)

For agricultural tractors on rubber tracks, 25-to-40 km/h are average top speeds. Top speed for the Zorawar on SRTs is quoted as 70 km/h (close to the 80 km/h hit by the turretless CV90 Armadillo on Soucy CRTs).

DRDO may or may not have cost issues but we all know how dragged out the RfP process, etc., can get. To make CRTs work for military use, Soucy had to get the rubber formula just right (part of why it took them decades to develop successful military band tracks). DRDO now needs to find Indian manufacturers who can do the same for SRTs.
 
Apophenia said:
Durability at speed would be my concern. Surface conditions on mountains roads near the LAC are going to be a lot less forgiving than farmers' fields. (Agricultural CRTs are optimised to reduce soil compaction rather than for durability on asphalt or over rocky surfaces.)
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Granted. So you'd need to mess with not only rubber formula but also extra bits like the steel braid and bolt connections cast into the tracks.



Apophenia said:
DRDO may or may not have cost issues but we all know how dragged out the RfP process, etc., can get. To make CRTs work for military use, Soucy had to get the rubber formula just right (part of why it took them decades to develop successful military band tracks). DRDO now needs to find Indian manufacturers who can do the same for SRTs.
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Once you have everything figured out, it's a matter of finding which companies can make the tracks for you. Not just "who has the technical capabilities" but "who has the production capacity" and "who is interested in dealing with government contracts."
 
Scott Kenny said:
Once you have everything figured out, it's a matter of finding which companies can make the tracks for you. Not just "who has the technical capabilities" but "who has the production capacity" and "who is interested in dealing with government contracts."
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As well as who has the right political contacts, I fear.
 

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