In a big boost to India’s defence capabilities, the DRDO has developed India’s first unmanned remotely operated tank. The tank named Muntra was rolled out of DRDO’s Chennai lab. Muntra is incidentally an acronym and it stands for Mission UNmanned TRAcked.
This tank can chiefly be used in three ways that are surveillance, mine detection and reconnaissance. It can also operate in areas which have nuclear and bio hazards. So three versions of the tank have been created, which are Mudra-S, Mudra-M and Mudra-N which would be used for surveillance, mine detection and nuclear affected areas respectively.
This tank has specially been made for the army but the paramilitary too has expressed interest in using it in Naxal infested areas. This vehicle has already been tested by the Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE) in Avadi.
Two such unmanned tanks were kept on display at an exhibition at Avadi in Chennai, named Science for Soldiers which was a tribute to Late President APJ Abdul Kalam.
Some of the features of the tank include, a surveillance radar, an integrated camera along with laser range finder which has a whooping 15 KM range. It can also smoothly function in temperatures of about 52º Celsius.
Apart from these tanks, the DRDO also showcased some other cutting edge equipment it has developed. The inventions include a handheld wall penetration radar which when placed on a wall would be able to project the presence of people on the other side of it, helmet-mounted night vision, nano-driven thermal and electromagnetic protection which acts as a shield against electromagnetic attack to name a few.
According to the report, the DRDO via the exhibition wanted to improve the morale of its employees and change the negative perception which the government allegedly has towards the organisation.
DRDO’s chairman S Christopher stated that if the organisation manages to generate Rs 5 lakh crores in the next 5 years it would no longer have to depend on the government for funds.
In order to do that they are considering exporting some weapons which are now redundant for the Indian army(due to its acquisition of newer versions). These redundant weapons though are still good enough for some countries who incidentally have shown interest.
