NEW DELHI — User trials for India’s future main battle tank, the Arjun Mk. II Phase I, will begin in June, and the first batch of the advanced variant should be ready by 2014. Two regiments of the Arjun Mk. I are already deployed in India’s western sector of Rajasthan by the army, and a further order for 124 tanks has been placed with the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO).

The commercial aviation industry is likely to see growth slow in 2011 compared with strong growth last year, say aerospace and defense analysts at PriceWaterhouse Coopers. “Some economic signals are mixed. Oil prices have recently increased as a result of unrest in the Middle East and are expected to remain high, with the global economic recovery eroding airline profits,” according to the latest PwC Aerospace & Defense 2010 year in review and 2011 forecast.

NEW DELHI — The Indian Ordnance Factories board has begun augmentation projects to meet the increasing demand for armored vehicles, spare parts and other equipment for the armed forces. “Augmentation projects worth about 10 billion rupees ($224 million) [for] mine-protected vehicles, armored vehicle engines, T-72 tank variants [and] spares for T-72 overhauls are being executed,” a defense ministry official says.