Arjun is an Indian main battle tank developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the Indian Army.

Arjun MBT was designed by the DRDO between 1972 and 1996 and was manufactured starting with 2004 by the Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE) laboratory of the DRDO, and by the Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF), located at Avadi, Chennai in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

With a cost per unit of US$7.8 million, the Arjun tank has been produced in 242 units since 2004.

Of the 242 units produced for the Indian Army, 124 units are Arjun Mk.1 variants and 118 are Arjun Mk.2 tanks.

The Arjun tank was named after the main protagonist of the Mahabharata Sanskrit epic of ancient India, the archer Prince Arjun.

Arjun main battle tank has a mass ranging from 58.5 to 68 tonnes.

The Arjun Mk.1 weights 58.5 tonnes (57.6 long tons; 64.5 short tons), and is 10 tonnes lighter than the Arjun Mk.1A and Arjun Mk.2 variants, which each have a weight of 68 tonnes (67 long tons; 75 short tons).

Regarding the dimensions, the Arjun Mk.1 version has a length of 10.19 metres (33 ft 5 in), while the Arjun Mk.2 measures 10.64 metres (34 ft 11 in) in length.

The Arjun main battle tank, like the German Leopard 2 or the American M1 Abrams, has seven (7) road wheels on each side of the tracks.

Arjun Mk.1 has a width of 3.85 metres (12 ft 8 in), the Arjun Mk.2 being wider, with a total width of 3.95 metres (13 ft 0 in).

The Arjun Mk.1 has a height of 2.32 metres (7 ft 7 in), while the Arjun Mk.2 reaches a total height of ~2.8 metres (9 ft 2 in).

All the variants of the Arjun tank have a ground clearance of 0.45 metres (1 ft 6 in).

The Arjun MBT has a classified Kanchan armour with ERA and NERA.

As additional protection elements, Arjun is also fitted with 12 smoke grenades, to hiding itself from the enemy fire.

Arjun tank has a 120 mm main rifled gun than can fire armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding-sabot (APFSDS) ammunition.

Beside the armour-piercing ammunition, Arjun MBT is able to also fire LAHAT, HEAT, HESH, PCB, and TB ammunition.

Arjun's 120 mm rifled gun has a rate of fire of 6 to 8 rounds per minute, and the tank carries in total 39 containerized rounds.

As secondary armament, Arjun is equipped with a 12.7 mm NSVT anti-aircraft machine gun with 1,000 rounds and a 7.72 mm PKT coaxial machine gun with 3,000 rounds.

Arjun MBT is powered by a 1,400 hp (1,044 kW) MTU MB 838 Ka-501 V10 multi-fuel, liquid-cooled turbocharged diesel engine.

The MTU MB 838 Ka-501 V10 diesel engine is coupled to a Renk epicyclic train gearbox with six (6) gears (4 forward + 2 reverse).

A new, more powerful 1500 hp (1,118 kW) V12 diesel engine is currently under development.

Arjun has a power-to-weight ratio of 23.9hp/tonne.

Having a hydropneumatic suspension, Arjun MBT can reach a maximum speed of ~60-70 km/h (~37-43 mph) on road, depending on the variant.

Thus, the Arjun Mk.1 is able to reach a maximum speed of ~70 km/h (43 mph), being the fastest of all variants.

The Arjun Mk.1A reaches 58 km/h (36 mph), while the Arjun Mk.2 has a maximum speed of ~60 km/h (37 mph) on road.

Off-road, the Arjun MBT can move at a maximum speed of 40 km/h (25 mph).

With a fuel capacity of 1,610 litres (350 imp gal / 430 US gal), Arjun Mk.1 has a maximum operational range of 450 km (280 mi), while the Arjun Mk.2 can operate for maximum 400 km (250 mi).