India’s Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) on February 14, 2017, has launched remote controlled weapon station (RCWS) for the Army’s Arjun tanks at Aero India.
An improvised version of the manually operated air defence gun, the RCW enables the soldier to aim and fire at airborne targets from the safe interiors of the battle tank. The present 120.7 mm guns of all tanks are manually operated.
The R&D along with the design has been done by BHEL independently. RCWS integrated on MBT (Arjun) Mk II has completed tank integration and firing trials in September, 2015.
Arjun Mk II is an upgraded version of the Arjun MBT which is at present being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
It can be mounted on the Armed Repair and Recovery Vehicle (ARRV) and fast moving boats of the Indian Coast Guard.
The system comprised of automatic firing system, 2 axis self-stabilised platform, day camera and night vision devices and automatic target tracking.
It allows the operator to control the gun and sight from the operating console and joy stick from inside the turret away from the harms way.
The system has a provision for the operator to do automatic loading and firing of the gun.
