Punjab, Sept. 21 -- The Defence Ministry has signed a Rs 586 crore contract for auxiliary power units for the Army's T-72 and T-90 tanks. It is a small contract addressing a specific and long-standing problem.
What an APU actually does
A tank's main engine is enormous, thirsty and loud. Running it just to power electronics, radios, sights and crew climate control - which is most of what a tank does on a deployment - wastes fuel and announces the vehicle's position from a considerable distance.
An auxiliary power unit is a small generator that handles those loads with the main engine off.
The gains are fuel consumption, engine life, acoustic and thermal signature, and how long a crew can hold a position without resupply. None of those ma...