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The Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has reportedly granted approval for the purchase of 156 BMP-2 ‘Sarath’ infantry combat vehicles (ICVs).
The additional vehicles for the Indian Army are being procured for around Rs11.25bn ($148m).
State-owned Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) will be responsible for the delivery of the licence-built amphibious vehicles.
Production of the ICVs will be undertaken by Ordnance Factory Project Medak (OFPM) in southern India. Work will start once the order is placed by the MoD.
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OFB joint director and PRO Dr Uddipan Mukherjee was quoted by Financial Express Online as saying: “These 156 BMP Vehicles are going to be manufactured by the Ordnance Factory Medak, which is under Ordnance Factory Board.”
Delivery of the 156 ICVs is expected to conclude within a period of two years.
The 14.3t vehicle will be capable of transporting up to seven fully equipped troops and requires a three-man crew to operate it.
With an operational range of 600km, the vehicle can reach maximum speeds of 65km/h on roads, 45km/h off-road, and 3.8k on water.
The platforms can be equipped with a 2A42 30mm dual-feed with stabilised cannon, a coaxial 7.62mm PKT machine gun and a 9Sh119M1 missile launcher for 9M113 Konkurs anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs).
Currently, the Indian Army uses 1,500 BMP-2/2Ks for a range of operations.
Since 1987, the OFPM has assembled and built more than 2,500 units of the BMP-2 and the BMP-2K variant.
Earlier this year, Indian defence contractor Larsen & Toubro (L&T) delivered 51 K9 Vajra-T 155mm / 52-calibre tracked self-propelled howitzers (SPHs) to the IA.
