Tank APU contract signing on Monday gave Accurate Industrial Controls Private Limited a Rs 586 crore order from the Ministry of Defence for Auxiliary Power Units (APUs) for the Army's T-72 and T-90 tanks. The contract was inked in New Delhi in the presence of Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, the ministry said.

Tank APU contract signed in New Delhi

The value is Rs 586 crore and the supplier is Accurate Industrial Controls. The announcement carries no unit count, no per-unit price and no delivery timeline, and none is assumed here.

Bound copies of the contract were held up for the official photograph after the signing.

What an APU does inside a T-72 or T-90

According to the ministry, the APU is an alternate source for generating electric power for the tank's fire control system, firing circuit, gun stabilisation system and other ancillaries.

As a general feature of such units, an APU lets a tank keep its electrical systems running while the main engine is switched off. That means fewer engine hours logged during surveillance halts and training, and a lower noise and heat signature while the tank is stationary. The T-72 and T-90 are the mainstay tanks of the Army's armoured regiments.

Effect on the Army's mechanised formations

The ministry said the induction of indigenously developed APUs will strengthen the operational readiness, reliability and sustainability of the Indian Army's Mechanised Formations.

Make-II route from prototype to production

For the tank APU contract, the ministry pointed to the Make-II category of the Defence Acquisition Procedure. Make-II is the industry-funded prototype route, where a development effort is followed by a procurement order if the equipment clears user trials. The release said the contract shows the mechanism working in turning indigenous innovation into production and induction.

It also linked the deal to the Government's Viksit Bharat @2047 vision and to a self-reliant defence industry, part of the wider push for Indian-designed defence equipment.

Other armoured platform work under way

The ministry called the procurement a step toward indigenisation of critical sub-systems of armoured platforms. Last month, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh performed the Bhoomi Pujan for a Rs 472 crore tank overhaul facility at Vehicle Factory, Jabalpur, designed to overhaul 80 T-72 and T-90 tanks a year.

Earlier this month, defence sources said Tata Advanced Systems had emerged as the lowest bidder in the Army's roughly Rs 20,000 crore contest for a new light battle tank, with Mahindra Defence Systems set to build a competing prototype.