The government may grant permission to the Kalyani Group to go ahead with its plans although the company – which has previously collaborated with American General Dynamics Land Systems – is yet to disclose its partner in this process the prototype developed jointly by the DRDO and L&T is expected to undergo mobility trials after its launch later this year

New Delhi: The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) may have to face a new competitor in the race to build a new light tank for the Indian Army.

The Kalyani Group may enter the race to build 354 light weight tanks for the Indian Army.

This may pose a challenge for the DRDO, which is working on a prototype for a light tank in collaboration with Larsen & Toubro (L&T) as part of Project Zorawar.

The prototype developed jointly by the DRDO and L&T is expected to undergo mobility trials after its launch later this year.

The government may grant permission to the Kalyani Group to go ahead with its plans although the company – which has previously collaborated with American General Dynamics Land Systems – is yet to disclose its partner in this process.

American General Dynamics Land Systems has extensive experience in defence production, having previously developed a Mobile Protected Firepower vehicle, which is basically a light tank since it is an armoured, turreted and tracked vehicle with a large gun.

The Kalyani Group has given rise to speculations of a possible collaboration with Turkish military vehicle manufacturer Otokar Otomotiv ve Savunma Sanayi as documents made public by the company feature the TULPAR Light Tank developed by the Turkey based group.

However, it is not clear whether the image of the TULPAR Light Tank used by the Kalyani Group in its documents was for representational purposes or if it is actually trying for a collaboration with the Turkish defence manufacturer.