Future Infantry Combat Vehicle (FICV)

Dark Sorrow

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I wonder, why Indian Military leadership is not thinking of Unmanned Tanks instead of conventional Tanks ?
Unmanned Tanks in not just the question of money but also infra-structure.
To operate such tanks you will require a huge infra-structure and horde of skilled labor. Also such infra-structure can be easily destroyed.
One also has to take in account electronic warfare and cyber warfare.
Not a single unmanned system is completely battle tested in a complex real time evolving battle-field like to be fought between India and Pakistan.
Drone operation in Pakistan or Afghanistan don't count.
 

Kunal Biswas

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arnabmit

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These are specific purpose UGVs, not unmanned MBTs or their replacement. Like, Muntra series is mainly for recce in hostile environments like NBC, Minefields or electronic. Rudra is for anti-personnel ops in urban settings. None has the capacity to replace MBTs or even light tanks.



Muntra-M is the mine detector variant.

================



Muntra-S is the recon variant.

================



Rudra in progress ..
 
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Akim

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India should have several types of IFV and AFV, (from 8-30 tons). But that unification was achieved 60-75%.
 

Kunal Biswas

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Keeping the logistic strain minimum is the key ..

India should have several types of IFV and AFV, (from 8-30 tons). But that unification was achieved 60-75%.
 

Akim

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Keeping the logistic strain minimum is the key ..
Yes. Now at the front in the east Ukraine,repair company faced with a wide range of used engines. Sometimes, due to lack of spare parts and specialists in this type of engines, it is necessary to poison damaged military equipment to the repair factories.
 

Neeraj Mathur

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Mbombe 4X4 & 6X6 Infantry Fighting Vehicle

[video=youtube_share;Mz3S4QkRJA0]http://youtu.be/Mz3S4QkRJA0[/video]
 

tharun

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What is the status of tata kestrel and abhay ifv?
 

cobra commando

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FICCI Demands Indian MoD To Restart FICV Program

FICCI has demanded the Indian Army and Ministry of Defense to restart the Futuristic Infantry Combat Vehicle (FICV) project. In the view of recent selection of two Indian consortia for Battlefield Management System (BMS) project, FICCI believes government should focus on 'MAKE' projects as India's defence needs can be addressed by customized development of products based on geographic and strategic requirements, the association stated in the press release on Tuesday. The FICV will have a combat weight of less than 20 tons, amphibious capability, a third generation fire-and-forget anti- tank guided missile, automatic grenade launcher and co-axial machine gun. The Indian Army plans to produce 3,000 vehicles to replace upgraded Russian combat vehiclesat a cost of over $10 billion under the FICV program, first conceived in 2009. These products will help India in inching towards the goal of self- reliance, besides giving the user a sense of pride from a 'MAKE in India' technology, the statement added. The success of the project will boost the confidence of foreign investors and defence companies in partnering with Indian industry in keeping with the 'Make in India' vision. The MAKE project is a Network Centric Program aimed at developing an indigenous prototype of BMS for the Indian Army under the MAKE category of the Defence Procurement Procedure.
FICCI Demands Indian MoD To Restart FICV Program
 

karn

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I can understand why various new projects are being held up b the army , Until the artillery park is replenished . That naturally takes the highest priority.
 

sgarg

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I can understand why various new projects are being held up b the army , Until the artillery park is replenished . That naturally takes the highest priority.
Army capital budget can increase by additional grants. It it army bureaucracy that has to move.
 

Shaitan

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]FICV update, GoI/MoD withdrew EoI (Expression of interest) 2 years ago. Supposedly, as a result of the IA challenging the criteria being used in the original EoI.


TATA's wheeled FICV entry:




TATA's tracked FICV submission:












As part of an entirely separate project VRDE (a DRDO division) floated a tender for an amphibious assault vehicle that TATA won (submitting their wheeled FICV variant design) and hence the Kestrel was created- a joint VRDE-TATA project.














TATA have been contracted to supply 2-3 prototypes to VRDE for testing and trails, the IA will at some stage be involved to carry out user trails of this type.




On the FICV front, the revised EoI (drafted with full IA participation and an improved weighting system) will be reissued within the coming months meaning there should (finally) be some forward momentum with this mammoth project.



got this post from

@abingdonboy
 

Yumdoot

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http://ajaishukla.blogspot.in/2015/07/after-5-year-delay-tender-issued-in-rs.html
Friday, 17 July 2015


By Ajai Shukla
Business Standard, 17th July 15


After five years of delay, the army’s proposal to build a “Future Infantry Combat Vehicle” (FICV), an armoured vehicle for carrying infantrymen into battle, has been resuscitated on Thursday.

The ministry of defence summoned representatives from 10 Indian companies and handed each an “expression of interest” (EoI), which asks for proposals for building a FICV that will eventually replace the army’s 2,600 BMP-2 infantry carriers for an estimated Rs 50,000 crore.

The EoIs were issued to Mahindra; Bharat Forge; Larsen & Toubro; Punj Lloyd; Tata Power; Tata Motors; Pipavav Defence; Rolta India; Titagarh Wagons, and the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB).

They have been given 90 days to respond to the EoI with detailed proposals. This will involve forming consortia with Indian and foreign vendors, and conceiving and proposing the design of an FICV that would best suit the army’s requirements.

Two vendors will be shortlisted, and they will then evolve and submit a detailed project report (DPR), comprising of a detailed technical and financial proposal. The better design will be chosen by an “integrated project management team” (IPMT), comprising of experts from various defence ministry departments.

This is the second time the FICV project has been launched under the “Make” category of the Defence Procurement Procedure of 2008 (DPP-2008). An EoI issued in 2010 to four vendors (L&T, Tata, Mahindra, OFB) evoked responses, but was cancelled in 2012 because the defence ministry could not decide on the parameters for short-listing the two winning vendors.

With the ministry taking three years to re-issue the EoI, the FICV project has lost five years already.

The “Make” category involves going to Indian industry to develop “high technology, complex systems”. Under this, the defence ministry will funds 80 per cent of the cost of developing the two FICV prototypes, with short-listed vendors paying the remaining 20 per cent.

There is apprehension that issuing the EoI to so many prospective vendors has muddied the waters, making it difficult for the IPMT to down-select two winning proposals. “In 2012, the defence ministry was unable to select two winning proposals out of four. It will have an even more difficult time selecting the winners from 10. They should have been more discriminating in issuing the EoI”, says an executive from one of the companies involved.

There is surprise also that the EoI has been issued under the DPP-2008, even though DPP-2013 currently operates and DPP-2015 is being finalised. “The army obtained the ministry’s acceptance under DPP-2008, so they are sticking with that, even though there are much more enlightened rules operating now. This needs to change”, says a prospective vendor.

The FICV has been conceived as a multi-role platform that must perform three roles. It must be a battle-taxi for the infantry to keep pace with armour (tanks) in advance. Second, the guns on board provide fire-support to assaulting infantry after they dismount and charge at the enemy. Third, and most ambitiously, the FICV should hold its own on the mechanised battlefield, even against heavily armed tanks.

The FICV is required to have amphibious capability, allowing it to cross canals, rivers and stretches of sea; it must be air portable, i.e. capable of being transported in an aircraft’s cargo hold, or slung under a helicopter with chains. It must fire anti-tank missiles, and be armed with a cannon and machine guns that are operated through state of the art sensors and all weather surveillance devices.”
A points to note, wait, watch and then infer, from the above :p:

There is surprise also that the EoI has been issued under the DPP-2008, even though DPP-2013 currently operates and DPP-2015 is being finalised. “The army obtained the ministry’s acceptance under DPP-2008, so they are sticking with that, even though there are much more enlightened rules operating now. This needs to change”, says a prospective vendor.
 
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