By A Correspondent

Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh): The Indian Army’s two Soviet-era T-72 Main Battle Tanks got an overhaul at a state-run facility, enhancing their service life and battlefield deployment for more years.

The overhaul, under a pilot project, was carried out at the Vehicle Factory Jabalpur (VFJ) in Madhya Pradesh, run by the state-owned public sector unit Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited (AVNL), according to Ministry of Defence officials.

The overhauled battle tanks were rolled out of the facility on January 27, 2026, flagged off by Indian Army’s Master General (Sustainment) Lieutenant General Amardeep Singh Aujla, they said.

“This was a very challenging task and by completing it on time, you have demonstrated your capability,” Lt Gen. Aujla was quoted by defence officials as saying on the occasion.

“In future also you will get a big task of overhauling tanks and I am sure that you will be able to complete it successfully,” Lt Gen. Aujla said.

The Indian Army selected VFJ, one of AVNL’s production units, to overhaul the T-72 tanks in an effort to expand the existing capacities at the Avadi-based Heavy Vehicles Factory in Tamil Nadu.

The aim was to meet the increased requirement of battle tank overhauling for the Indian Army, a Ministry of Defence (MoD) statement said on January 28.

Under the capacity expansion plan, VFJ was approved to carry out the pilot project of T-72 overhaul in 2025, it said.

“VFJ has successfully completed the overhaul as per the technical specifications and quality standards set by the Indian Army, demonstrating its capability and readiness to meet the Army’s operational requirements,” the statement said.

AVNL Chairman and Managing Director Sanjay Dwivedi congratulated VFJ on successfully completing the overhaul within the stipulated timeframe.

He expressed AVNL’s commitment to use the capacities at VFJ to continue to overhaul Indian Army’s battle tanks with full efficiency, the statement said.

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