Operational Requirement Leads to Indian ICV Upgrade Programme

Geopolitics takes a look at the Indian Army’s quest to upgrade its Infantry Combat Vehicle (ICV) fleet with anti-tank guided missile systems and new engines

India's unique geography and the terrain features have led to its Army making use of Infantry Combat Vehicles (ICV) on its western border with archrival Pakistan and this situation may continue in the future too. These operational requirements of the Indian Army have led to its plans to upgrade its existing ICVs — the soviet-origin Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty-2 (BMP-2/2K) — in its Mechanised Forces inventory.

To this effect, in March 2016, the Indian Army issued a Request for Information — two in number to meet different types of requirements — to upgrade its 1,500 BMP-2/2K ICV fleet with (a) anti-tank guided missile systems and (b) new engines. According to Indian Army officials, they would have an initial requirement of approximately 10,000 to 15,000 anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs), followed by an annual requirement of 1500 to 3000 ATMGs.

According to the two RFIs, global vendors responding to these requirements of the Indian Army should be ready to part with critical technologies and produce the upgraded components in India. "The two requirements will be processed in accordance with DPP 2016 now that it has been promulgated. When the RFIs were issued, we were yet to have the DPP-2016, hence the RFIs had the clause that the Requests for Proposals (RFPs) could be issued under an earlier DPP," an Army officer said.