MoD signs Rs 1,075 crore contract with BEL for retro-modification of commander sight in battle tanks

The Ministry of Defence on Thursday signed a Rs 1,075 crore contract with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) for retro-modification of commander sight in 957 T-90 battle tanks so that they can detect targets at longer ranges, an official statement said. Commander sight is an optical observation device on a tank.

Commander sight of T-90, India's premier battle tank, is presently fitted with image converter (IC) tube-based sight for night viewing, the ministry's statement noted.

Based on the requirement projected by the Indian Army, the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) and BEL have jointly designed and developed an advanced mid wave thermal image (MWIR)-based sight as a replacement for the existing IC-based sight, it noted.


"The new retro-modified commander sight employs a thermal imager capable of detecting the targets at 8 km during day and night and a laser ranger finder (LRF) to find the ranges accurately up to 5 km, thereby enhancing its capability to engage target at longer ranges," it mentioned.

With the corrections from ballistic software and LRF, the commander of T-90 can detect, engage and neutralize the targets with phenomenal accuracy, it noted.

"The indigenously developed sight completed extensive evaluations under field conditions successfully," it mentioned.