India is not trying to replicate a Leopard 2 or an Abrams. It is answering a specific operational problem: how to move credible, survivable, well-armed armor above 4,000 meters (~13,000 ft), while China already fields Type 15 light tanks across the Tibetan Plateau.
That problem set is driving Zorawar, literally “the one who possesses strength”, a 25-ton light tank designed from day one for Himalayan passes, narrow valleys, and contested border lakes. New Delhi is also pitching it as a more networked platform, with AI-enabled functions, sensors, and counter-UAS features baked into the design.
A light tank for mountain passes
After the 2020 Ladakh clashes, the Indian Army saw the limits of heavy armor in extreme altitude: engines lose power, mobility suffers, and logistics get harder the higher you go. China, meanwhile, has deployed the Type 15 in numbers, purpose-built for high-altitude operations and routinely showcased in plateau exercises.
India’s response was a “mountain warfare” light tank requirement launched in 2021, roughly 350+ tanks in the 25-ton class, with an emphasis on altitude performance and strategic mobility (including air transport).
The program is led by DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) through the Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE), with Larsen & Toubro (L&T) as the primary industrial partnerframed under Make in India / Aatmanirbhar Bharat to expand domestic manufacturing depth.
Zorawar is a 25-ton light tank with a crew of three, equipped with hydropneumatic suspension and composite rubber tracks, which improve mobility on fragile ground and reduce noise and vibration.
In terms of propulsion, it is powered by a 750-760 hp Cummins diesel engine coupled with a Renk transmission, giving a power-to-weight ratio of around 30 hp/ton if the weight remains within the specified range. The goal is to maintain credible mobility where heavy tanks struggle, while remaining transportable by air (heavy aircraft and helicopters), rail, and road.
The tank is also designed to be amphibious, with low ground pressure, in order to maneuver in swampy areas and lake environments such as those of Pangong Tso, which has become a symbol of Sino-Indian rivalry.
An AI-enabled “innovative” platform
The main armament centers on a 105mm Cockerill rifled gun mounted in an adapted Cockerill 3105 turret. That choice gives the vehicle firepower broadly comparable to an older-generation main battle tank (MBT), while staying within a much lighter weight class.
Built around that gun, Zorawar stands out for a distinctly multi-role architecture:
- A remotely operated weapon station with a 7.62mm machine gun, paired with a modern fire-control system.
- Side launchers designed for Nag Mk2 anti-tank guided missiles or for drones/loitering munitions—adding a beyond-line-of-sight strike option.
- 81mm smoke grenade launchers with anti-thermal/anti-laser effects to reduce signature and disrupt enemy rangefinders and seekers.
Above all, DRDO is pitching the platform as the Indian Armoured Corps’ first “AI-boosted” tank, integrating:
- Electro-optical sensors and reconnaissance drones to expand the tank’s local awareness bubble.
- An active protection system (APS) and a C-UAS capability to defeat anti-tank missiles and combat drones.
- A communications architecture designed to plug into India’s modernized command-and-control (C2) networks.
In that sense, Zorawar looks less like a “small MBT” than a high-altitude combat platform conceived as a sensor-to-shooter node in a battlespace saturated with drones and opposing sensors.
After two intensive years of trials, New Delhi is targeting operational induction around 2027, starting with an initial batch of roughly 59 vehicles (one regiment) and a stated Army objective of 354 units potentially higher later.
Doctrinal and industrial implications
Doctrine
Zorawar reinforces several major trends:
- The return of the light tank for niche missions (high altitude, marshland, littoral zones) where heavy MBTs are poorly suited.
- Organic integration of C-UAS and drones into armored platforms shifting the tank from an “isolated platform” toward a tracked mini combat cloud.
- Partial “externalization” of lethality via missiles and loitering munitions to strike beyond ridgelines without exposing the chassis.
From a European perspective, this is a useful laboratory: what India is testing in the Himalayas could inform concepts for mountainous, Arctic, or marsh environments elsewhere.
Industry
Zorawar is also a case study in accelerated industrialization:
- Compressed development cycles (first prototype rolled out in under two years)
- Strong integration of Indian SMEs into subsystems (mechanisms, rubber molding, cooling systems, and more)
- Reduced dependence on international supply chains stressed by the war in Ukraine particularly for electronics and engines.
Over time, Zorawar could become an export offering for countries seeking a light tank optimized for difficult terrain, even if near-term priorities remain clearly tied to national requirements on the northern front.
Zorawar is not just a Ladakh tank. It is a prototype for what a maneuver armored vehicle can look like under severe constraints: altitude, massed drones, advanced anti-tank threats, and complicated logistics.
The program captures several through-lines: tailoring a land platform to a specific theater rather than duplicating a NATO-style template; integrating AI, drones, and C-UAS by design into an armored system; and forcing industrial acceleration under strategic pressure with a clear objective of closing China’s high-altitude advantage by the end of the decade.
