Ladakh shows India needs a light tank to arm itself in high altitudes

Light tanks offer utility not just on the high-altitude Sino-Indian border, but on the mountain border with Pakistan in J&K as well

A key acquisition decision that has emerged during the 20-month-long, armed stand-off in Eastern Ladakh between the Chinese and Indian militaries is for the Indian Army to arm itself in high-altitude terrain with indigenously built light tanks.

As the tension mounted in May 2020, both the Indian Army and China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) airlifted main battle tanks (MBTs) to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between the two militaries to bolster their combat muscles.

However, the advantage rested with the PLA, whose armoured units in Tibet are equipped with the new ZTQ-15 (or Type 15) light tank. While the