India and Russia have reached a $248 million agreement to upgrade the engines of India’s T-72 tanks

The Ministry of Defense signed the agreement with Russian defense company Rosoboronexport (RoE) on Friday, with the goal of acquiring 1,000 horsepower (HP) engines for T-72 battle tanks in fully assembled, completely knocked down, and semi-knocked down configurations.

The agreement is expected to significantly improve the Indian Army’s combat capabilities and extend the operational life of its armored vehicles.

The arrangement calls for the Russian company to transfer technology to Chennai’s Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited (Heavy Vehicle Factory). According to officials, this will help the military industry’s ‘Make in India’ campaign by facilitating the integration and licensed manufacture of the engines.