Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday (August 27) laid the foundation stone for a Rs 472-crore facility at Vehicle Factory Jabalpur that will overhaul the Indian Army’s T-72 and T-90 main battle tanks. The project is expected to strengthen the country’s capacity to repair, modernise and return key armoured platforms to service while reducing dependence on a single overhaul centre.

The upcoming facility, to be developed at the 57-year-old Vehicle Factory Jabalpur (VFJ), will have the capacity to overhaul 80 T-series tanks every year. It will help meet the Army’s annual requirement to overhaul around 230 T-72 and T-90 tanks, complementing the Heavy Vehicles Factory at Avadi, which currently handles about 150 tanks annually.

A new overhaul hub in Jabalpur

Rajnath Singh described the tank-overhaul project as an important addition to India’s defence industrial base and a practical step towards self-reliance in the maintenance and modernisation of military platforms.

“This is not an ordinary project. It reflects India’s growing capabilities and will prove to be a boon for our soldiers, who use these tanks to destroy the enemy,” he said.

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The project is significant because tanks require periodic overhaul after extensive use. An overhaul is more than routine repair as it involves detailed inspection, replacement or refurbishment of major systems, restoration of performance and, where needed, upgrades to improve the platform’s service life and operational availability.

With the new Jabalpur unit expected to handle 80 tanks annually, the combined capacity of Jabalpur and Avadi would broadly meet the Army’s stated overhaul requirement of about 230 T-72 and T-90 tanks a year.

Reducing maintenance bottlenecks

India operates a large fleet of T-72 and T-90 tanks, which remain central to its armoured formations. Ensuring that these platforms are available when required depends not only on new procurement but also on the ability to maintain, repair and upgrade tanks efficiently.

At present, the Heavy Vehicles Factory in Tamil Nadu’s Avadi handles around 150 tank overhauls each year. The Jabalpur facility will address the remaining capacity gap, creating a second major overhaul centre for T-series tanks.

Singh said India’s self-reliance drive now extends beyond manufacturing new weapons and systems.

“India is not only manufacturing weapons domestically, but is also developing the capability to maintain, overhaul and upgrade them,” he said.

The added capacity could help reduce turnaround time for tanks awaiting major maintenance, improve fleet availability and create a more resilient maintenance ecosystem for the Army’s armoured forces.

Defence production nears Rs 1.80 lakh crore

The Defence Minister linked the Jabalpur project to India’s broader expansion in domestic defence manufacturing. He said indigenous defence production had risen from Rs 46,000 crore in 2014 to about Rs 1.80 lakh crore now.

“Domestic defence production, which stood at Rs 46,000 crore in 2014, has now reached approximately Rs 1.80 lakh crore,” Singh said.

He added that defence exports had risen from roughly Rs 1,000 crore in 2014 to nearly Rs 39,000 crore. The government has set a target to achieve defence exports of Rs 50,000 crore by 2028-29.

“India’s defence sector has now taken firm steps towards complete self-reliance. The world’s perception of India is changing, and the vision of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ is behind this transformation,” Singh said.

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Jabalpur’s defence manufacturing role

Jabalpur already has a long-standing position in India’s defence-production network, with factories, technical manpower and military establishments located in and around the city.

“Our aim is to make Jabalpur a major hub for defence technology, maintenance, modernisation, and manufacturing,” Singh said.

The project is also expected to generate employment and technical opportunities for the local workforce. Singh said such facilities provide skilled youth access to technology, training and an industrial ecosystem that can support long-term careers in defence manufacturing.

“I am especially pleased that this Rs 472-crore project will also create opportunities for our local talent and technical workforce. Our youth do not lack skills; what they need is opportunity, technology, and the right ecosystem,” he said.

Madhya Pradesh’s larger defence ambition

The Defence Minister also highlighted Madhya Pradesh’s effort to emerge as a major defence and aerospace manufacturing destination. He said the Gwalior-Chambal region has identified 3,073 hectares of land for defence manufacturing and is associated with proposed investments exceeding Rs 16,960 cr.

“The defence manufacturing potential across 3,073 hectares of land in the Gwalior-Chambal region, along with proposed investments of over Rs 16,960 crore, reflects the state’s ambitious vision in this direction,” Singh said.

“These efforts are laying a strong foundation for making Madhya Pradesh India’s next major Defence and Aerospace Manufacturing Hub,” he added.

The initiative will need sustained investment, supply-chain development, skilled manpower, testing infrastructure and long-term orders to convert proposed investments into operational manufacturing capacity. However, the Jabalpur tank-overhaul facility gives the state a concrete project in a strategically important segment of the defence ecosystem.

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Vehicle Factory Jabalpur’s legacy

The new overhaul facility will come up at Vehicle Factory Jabalpur, a unit now operating under Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited. Established in 1969, VFJ has been a major military-vehicle manufacturing facility for more than five decades.

The factory initially produced Shaktiman 3-tonne vehicles in collaboration with Germany’s MAN, along with Nissan 1T and Jonga vehicles developed through collaboration with Japan’s Nissan Motors. Its industrial complex spreads over about 330 acres, while the adjoining estate covers another 600 acres.

For Jabalpur, the Rs 472-crore investment marks a shift from conventional vehicle production towards a higher-value role in the lifecycle support of India’s armoured fleet. For the Army, it offers additional capacity to keep T-72 and T-90 tanks operational, modernised and available for deployment.