Because the origin of the "Indian Leopard" is the Indian tank program in the 1950s
In the 1950s, in order to confront Pakistan, which owned the "Patton" medium tank, independent India began to devote itself to the construction Domestic armored force. However, the young country at that time did not have enough industrial level to support their ideas. In order to develop a suitable tank, they decided to change their thinking and set their sights on what they thought was the best tank designer in the world-Germany. German engineers began developing tanks for India with great enthusiasm in Switzerland. Based on the surviving drawings after the war, they used all the experience gained in World War II to improve the original design, and so the "Indian Tank Project" was born.
Based on the surviving drawings after the war, they used all the experience gained in World War II to improve the original design. According to the requirements of the Indians, the weight of the new tank should be around 36 to 39 tons. But the Germans, or rather the Swiss, still made it overweight, and the weight of the car body reached 40 tons. Apparently, engineers felt that excess weight was not a fatal problem for such an important project. But no one knows why this Indo-Swiss cooperation project is still not accepted by Indians.
The basic information of this project can no longer be verified. In terms of appearance alone, German engineers have made many improvements. Even better than the World War II-era prototype, the "Lion." For example, it is 50 tons lighter than the prototype "Lion" and has better protection; its turret also refers to the design of some IS heavy tanks (such as the machine gun mount behind the turret).
This project was developed in Switzerland, and the overall design of the tank was completed by Porsche. The chassis and transmission system were completed by Zahnradfabrik AG of Friedrichshafen. The turret was designed by Ruhr Steel. The final assembly in India will be carried out by TATA, which will be famous for producing cars in the future.
The new tank is expected to be equipped with a 670-horsepower MB-837A 8-cylinder diesel engine produced by Daimler-Benz. Using this engine can make a 40-ton tank move at a speed of 50km/h.
The weapon equipped is a Swiss-made 90mm PzKan 48 tank gun modified from the M36/Patton equipment.
Its car body has good armor, with 90mm of armor on the front; the armor on the sides and rear is relatively weak, but it also has 40mm. The front of the turret is thicker, with a 130mm front mantlet and 70mm on the sides and rear.
The Cheetah is the product of German armor designers who learned valuable lessons from World War II. Modern craftsmanship and sophisticated design have achieved its extraordinary performance on paper. Although the "Indian Leopard" was never born, World of Tanks faithfully restored it for us.