To Counter Chinese Xinqingtan light tank india to Upgrade 693 BMP-2 ICVs

India’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) has approved the INR24 billion (USD371 million) upgrade of 693 Indian Army (IA) BMP-2/2K Sarath infantry combat vehicles (ICVs) to BMP-2M standard.

Under the proposed upgrade, the BMP-2’s current power pack will be upgraded from 285 horsepower to 380. The upgrade also will provide better observation and surveillance, night-fighting capability, fire control system and  anti-tank guided missile system. The  vehicle will gain a capability of having two missiles loaded in ready-to-fire mode, allowing the  gunner to fire missiles of his choice.

 The fire control system would have a ballistic control with sensors to monitor wind and temperature, and should have an advance accurate firing capability. A new turret is required to increase firepower  and to fire new types of ammunition, and there is a requirement for a comprehensive electro-optic fire control system.

India’s Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), headed by Defence Minister Arun Jaitley, awarded the ICV upgrade on 8 July to Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), both of which are state-owned companies.

The OFB unit in Medak licence-built around 1,250 BMP-2/2Ks between 1987 and 2007, all of which needed upgrading.

Industry sources said that by awarding the contract to OFB and BEL, the MoD has contravened its own Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP)-2016 that dictates competitive bidding in the acquisition process.

India’s MoD has approved the upgrade of 693 IA BMP-2/2K Sarath ICVs to BMP-2M standard. (V K Singh/Indian MoD)India’s MoD has approved the upgrade of 693 IA BMP-2/2K Sarath ICVs to BMP-2M standard.

Senior IA officials told Jane’s that the ICV upgrade was “arbitrarily” awarded to the two state-owned companies without user trials, and that the approval of the OFB/BEL-designed fire control system was sanctioned merely on a “performance demonstration”.

Mandatory maintainability, quality assurance, and electro-magnetic interference trials were not carried out, a senior industry executive told Jane’s on condition of anonymity.

“Under pressure from the army, which wanted the ICV upgrade to be fast-tracked, the MoD also ignored several indigenous private sector companies who had developed assorted technologies for the BMP-2 upgrade,” the source said.

Many of these potential vendors were involved in the MoD’s long-pending Future ICV programme and wanted to try out their technologies in the BMP-2/2K upgrade project, the source added.

The IA and MoD did not immediately respond to a request for comment

 

 

 

 

Source:- IHS Jane

 

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