Tata Motors tie-up to make armed vehicles for the Indian Army

Tata Motors has announced its strategic partnership with Bharat Forge Limited and General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) in the defence segment. Tata will be building Future Infantry Combat Vehicles (FICV) for the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) program. Bharat Forge and US based GLDS which will contribute to the alliance through its expertise in designing combat vehicle platforms.

Tata Motors will head the conglomerate in its expertise in design and development of mobility solutions while General Dynamics will be an SOSI (system of systems integrator). The FICV will be a high mobility armoured battle vehicle. The project aims at keeping the Indian infantry at par with new advancements in weapons systems. MoD’s plans are to make the FICV a 18-20 ton compact, tracked and amphibious vehicle.

On the systems front the FICV will be equipped with anti-tank guided missiles with a range greater than 4kms. The vehicle will be able to carry a crew of three and eight combat ready soldiers. Currently the Indian Army is running 2610 Russian BMP series of armed vehicles which have been in operation since 1980 and MoD plans on replacing these with the new FICVs.    

Ravi Pisharody, Executive Director, Commercial Vehicles, Tata Motors Ltd., said, “Defence particularly needs partners with long-term commitments to see products and solutions through multiple generations of evolution, and we at Tata Motors are proud to have joined hands with Bharat Forge and General Dynamics Land Systems, for a complete FICV solution for the Indian armed forces. Through this partnership we will be better positioned to help the country realize its ‘Make in India’ vision, for the first completely indigenized combat vehicle, at the same time cater to the opportunities available right here in India.”