Additional export customers included Kuwait, Kenya and Nigeria. By the end of its production run in the mid 1980's, over 2,000 had been produced under license. Production in India was handled by the Avadi Company (resulting in the Vijayanta, based on the Mk 1, model of 1965). A further interesting variant of note is the 155mm self-propelled howitzer that can be converted from the MBT. The production of the Vickers tank produced several variants utilizing a similar chassis that included the VABV bridgelayer counterpart and an armored recovery vehicle. The Mk 3 series varied from the Mk 1 in that a new Leyland 60 powerplant was fitted along with a welded-turret construction. The Vickers was seen in two Mark series that included the Mk 1 and the upgraded Mk 3. The result was a capable tank produced in number locally and abroad. They were fielded with the tried and proven L7 105mm rifled main gun with a ranging 12.7mm (.50 caliber) machine gun along with some of the internal components already found in the Chieftain series. The Vickers series of tanks were highly conventional. This match would secure orders and license production for years to come. As it turned out, India was in the market for a full-service, new main battle tank to add to its armories. As such, the Vickers company began work on a cost-effective export design to secure those future orders. It was soon discovered that foreign operators of the Centurion would find its successor - the Chieftain - too expensive to procure and effectively too expensive to maintain. The Vickers Main Battle Tank series was created with export customers in mind.
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