Chennai, Jan. 7: Bhishma, the first of the T-90S tanks, was formally inducted into the army today.

The tank, christened after the great Mahabharata warrior, rolled out of the Heavy Vehicles Factory in suburban Avadi and was handed over to the chief of army staff, .C. Vij, by minister of state for defence production . Rajagopal, a defence ministry press release said this evening.

Bhishma, described as a “technological marvel”, is better than its Russian predecessor, the T-72 tank, in terms of mobility, protection, fighting capability, safety and communication, the release added. With a 1,000 HP engine, Bhishma has higher mobility despite its weight of 46.5 tonnes, nearly five tonnes more than the weight of the T-72 tank. The “integrated explosive reactive armour panels” offer enhanced protection from enemy attacks.

A significant feature is its ability to fire guided missiles in addition to conventional ammunition, using the same main gun barrel, the release said.

The “integrated fire control system”, consisting of the gunner’s sight, the guided weapon system and the ballistic computer, facilitates accurate firing of conventional ammunition as well as guided missiles. New “thermal imagers” have also been installed with night-fighting capability and radio communication sets have been upgraded.

Rajagopal said the next step would be to indigenise Bhishma’s production in a few years. Ordnance factories can achieve the target in time, given their vast infrastructure and technological support with doors being opened to the private sector, the minister added.

Gen. Vij described Bhishma’s induction as a landmark event that will go a long way in giving the army a combat edge over adversaries. It also fulfils the army’s “crying need” for modernisation, he said, adding that a balanced army should have at least 10 per cent of its tanks equipped with state-of-the-art technology.

A.K. Lamba, the additional director-general (armoured vehicles), said the government has approved the T-90S indigenisation project with a total outlay of Rs 96.25 crore, spread over four ordnance factories. The project, which will create and upgrade facilities for achieving a production capacity of 100 T-90S tanks per year, is likely to be completed by 2006-07.