70 tanks were sold to Kuwait and many of a modified version were made in India where the tank was called Vijayanta. It weighed 38,600 kg, carried a 105 mm gun with 44 rounds and had a top speed of 48 km/h. The Vickers was made of welded rolled homogeneous armour plates. In 1964, one of the prototypes was sent to India. The first prototype was completed in 1963. The Vickers MBT Mk 1 was designed to be a simple, low-cost, but effective tank. The development coincided with an agreement with India in 1961 to produce a tank design and help set up a factory there to produce it. The design would use the new engine and transmission of the Chieftain tank then being developed. With armour twice that of the light tank design, it would still be 12 tonnes lighter than Centurion and hence more mobile. However, with the introduction of the 105 mm L7 gun into the British, US and German tank designs, this light tank would have been less powerful while too large for the reconnaissance role, and so a new design was required. This would be as well equipped as a Centurion but substantially cheaper and with eight Vickers Vigilant anti-tank missiles it would be as effective. The Vickers MBT followed on from a 24-tonne 20-pdr gunned tank design intended for export. Many copied tanks were also built by India under licence as the Vijayanta. The design makes use of proven components, such as the L7 gun of the Centurion, the Leyland L60 multi-fuel engine, the transmission and fire control system of the Chieftain. The Vickers MBT is a series of main battle tanks (MBTs) developed as a private venture by British company Vickers-Armstrongs for export.
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