India vs Pakistan: Who has the best battle tanks?

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One of the most important factors of any military power is the might of its tanks. Wars in history have taught us the importance of armoured tanks. In World War 2, Hitler's Germany cut through France like a knife through butter, all thanks to its superior Tiger Tanks. 

India and Pakistan have also seen the importance of battle tanks in the wars of 1965 and 1971. Indian Army has a total of over 3,500 battle tanks as compared to 2,496 tanks of the Pakistan Army. 

Indian Army has over 1000 tanks more than the Pakistani Army. 

But numbers are not everything, let's look at how the Indian Army and Pakistani Army's Main Battle Tanks (MBT) stack up against each other. 

India's Main Battle Tanks

ARJUN MBT

Arjun is a third-generation tank indigenously developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The Arjun boasts of a 120mm main gun with armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding-sabot ammunition, one PKT 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun and another 12.7mm machine gun. 

The engine on the Arjun is a single MTU multi-fuel diesel engine which gives out whooping 1400 BHP and can achieve a maximum speed of 67kmph. Crew of the Arjun tank comprises of four members -- Commander, Gunner, Loader, Driver. 

T-90 BHISHMA

T-90 is a legendary Russian tank. India purchased 310 T-90S tanks from Russia back in 2001. T-90S is an upgrade to the T-72 tanks that India now produces domestically. T-90S Bhishma has been upgraded by a joint collaboration of the Indian, Russian and French engineers. 

The T-90 Bhishma tanks are equipped with the French Thales-built Catherine-FC thermal sights and utilise Russian Kontakt-5 K-5 explosive reactive armoured plates. The tank is powered by a 1130 HP engine and has a top speed of 60kmph. It has a 125mm smoothbore main gun and 12.7mm heavy machine gun. 

T-72 Ajeya

T-72 Ajeya is an upgrade on the Russian made T-72 tanks. In 1978 India purchased 500 T-72 tanks from the USSR. The technology was subsequently transferred to India and tanks started getting produced domestically. T-72 tank has a main gun of 125mm.

Pakistan's Main Battle Tanks

AL-KHALID

Al-Khalid is Pakistan's premier battle tank. It is manufactured by a joint collaboration between Pakistan and China in the 1990s. Al-Khalid's main gun is 1125mm smoothbore gun. It also has fixed on top a 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun. 

Al-Khalid has a 1200 Hp engine and a top speed of 72 kmph. 

T-80UD 

T-80UD was purchased by Pakistan from Ukraine in the mid-1990s. The Pakistani army purchased 320 T-80UD tanks from Ukraine. 

T-80UD has a 125 mm main gun and a 7.62 mm machine gun. The engine of the T-80UD is a 1000 HP engine with a top speed of 70kmph. 

AL-ZARRAR

Al-Zarrar is a second-generation battle tank produced by Pakistani and Chinese collaboration. The tank possesses a 125mm smoothbore main gun and a 12.7 mm anti-aircraft machine gun. 

There is also a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun installed up top the Al-Zarrar.