The Vijayanta (en: 'Victorious') was a main battle tank built in India based on a licensed design of the Vickers Mk.1. The Vijayanta was the first indigenous tank of the Indian Army. The prototype was completed in 1963 and the tank entered service on December 29, 1965. The first 90 vehicles were built by Vickers in the UK. Production continued at the Heavy Vehicles Factory in Avadi until 1983 with 2,200 being built. The Vijayanta was first made in the UK before production moved to India. Indian production got underway, allowing UK production to cease. The Vijayanta was to be phased out by the Indian Army by 2008 (the decision to phase out 296 'pre Mark 1A tanks' was already taken in 1997). In 1997 the plan to repower the Vijayanta was shelved. The overhauling of the fleet was discontinued from the year 1999–2000 as the withdrawal from service of the Vijayanta had already been approved. Bulk production of Vijayanta spares ended in 1989. A number of the tank hulls were converted to other uses such as self-propelled guns after being withdrawn from service. The Vijayanta has been supplemented by the T-72M1 in Indian service. (Source: Wikipedia.org, CC BY-SA)