The vehicles research and development establishment of the Defence Research and Development Organisation has unveiled what it calls the Advanced Armoured Platforms. These platforms come in both tracked and wheeled categories.
The DRDO states that the vehicles have been designed to meet the emerging operational requirements of the army.
These vehicles will be in the race to replace the Indian Army’s BMP-2K Sarath Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs). The Indian Army has been using the BMP-2 since the 1980s. The platforms launched by the DRDO were jointly produced by Tata Advanced Systems Limited and Bharat Forge.The Advanced Armoured Platforms are integrated is equipped with a high power engine, an automatic transmission and has a high power to weight ratio. The platform has amphibious capabilities and incorporates two hydro-jetsThe army is seeking to replace the BMPs in service with the yet to be chosen Future Infantry Fighting Vehicle (FICV) program.
Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited (AVNL), a government-operated entity, alongside private sector participants such as Mahindra Defence Systems, Larsen & Toubro (L&T), and Tata Motors are at various stages of development.
The army is likely to procure between 2,000 to 2,200 of these vehicles as per a capability development roadmap released last year. Although a Request For Information (RFI) for FICVs released in 2021 pegs the number at 1,750 tracked vehicles.
“The army currently has a total of 50 battalions of the Brigade of the Guards and the Mechanised Infantry Regiment which operate the BMPs and each unit has around 60 to 70 of these vehicles in different variants.
So the overall requirement of these vehicles would be well over 3,500 vehicles of both the tracked and wheeled varieties, plus the vehicles in reserve,” a source in the army said.“The army requires tracked vehicles for desert and semi-desert areas that are found in Rajasthan and Gujarat, while a wheeled vehicle is preferred in the plains of Punjab.
The wheeled platform will also be a better option in the hilly and mountainous terrain,” the source said.The vehicle developed by the DRDO is armed with a crewless turret armed with a 30mm cannon as well as a 7.62mm machine gun. The platform is also equipped with two ready to fire anti-tank guided missiles. “The advantage of a crewless turret is that it makes additional space in the chassis, this would allow troops in the vehicle to carry extra equipment such as drones or Loitering Munitions (LM) in to battle.
The vehicle should also have the capability to defend against LM,” the source said.The vehicle revealed by the DRDO also provides up to STANAG Level-5 protection for its occupants. This provides the vehicle and its occupants a strong level of protection from majority of direct and in-direct firing weapons. The army’s requirement as per the capability development roadmap also states that the vehicle should have a 360-450 horse power engine.The roll out of this vehicle also raises a question mark over the US Stryker, a wheeled armoured platform. The Stryker does not have amphibious capability, a key requirement for the Indian Army. It has also not been able to perform well in the high altitude regions.
