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Armoured Vehicles: Setting up an Industrial Base in India

Sub Title : A brief on the proceedings of the roundtable discussion on Armoured Vehicles in India held at CLAWS

Issues Details : Vol 18 Issue 4 Sep – Oct 2024

Author : Editorail Team

Page No. : 11

Category : Military Technology

: October 8, 2024

Held at the Chanakya, Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS), the roundtable discussion on the captioned subject attracted participation from all the stakeholders led by the Indian Army. It also included leaders from the Defence Industry, R&D and members of academia. Hosted by CLAWS, the event was organised by South Asia Defence & Strategic Review, a Delhi based journal on matters related to defence and strategy. Society for Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) partnered as an industry federation and the event thus drew members from the entire ecosystem.

Within the ambit of the theme – ‘Armoured Vehicles in India’ – emphasis was on standardisation and setting up a comprehensive industrial base in India for armoured platforms of all types.

The Inaugural Session set the stage for the day long discussions as it dealt with contours of modern warfare, the role of mechanised forces and armoured platforms in the Tactical Battle Area (TBA). Lt Gen Dushyant Singh, DG CLAWS and Dr Satheesh Reddy, former Chairman DRDO, gave an overview of future wars, conduct of operations and the role played by technologies in the TBA. DCOAS (CD) dwelt upon Indian Army’s plans to build capability in the wake of changing battlefields. DG AC spoke of his vision of the Indian Mechanised Forces 2047 and the roadmap to get there. DCOAS (IS &C) stressed upon survivability, emphasized the need for standardization and the need for all arms to acquire mobility. Indian defence industry was represented by Col Bhatia, DG SIDM and Mr Arun Ramchandani, EVP, L&T. Both the speakers highlighted the strides made by the defence industry and were very optimistic about the industry rising up to the challenge of making India self-reliant in defence.

Takeaways at a Glance

Session 1 was about the need for protected mobility for all arms in future wars and thus the imperative to standardize it where possible. Chaired by Lt Gen Vivek Kashyap, DGAC, the session’s biggest takeaway was the need to ensure survivability for all in the TBA given the changing and enhanced threat scenario. It was evident that the need for mobility was different for different components of combat elements, be it the Infantry, Armour or Artillery, but everyone needs enhanced protection in the TBA to survive and fight. In the modern TBA, since linearity does not really exist, elements in the rear areas too can be targeted easily and thus need to find ways to enhance survivability.

Mr JD Patil (of L&T) shared his experiences of how he and his company have contributed to the needs of the Indian defence services and how the industry has evolved in India.

Session 2 was about Tank technologies as the main the theme, and speakers from the Army and defence industry made some crisp presentations. Chaired by Lt Gen Sanjay Verma, former DGWE, the session started with suggestions for improving the acquisition and procurement processes in India. Maj Gen SS Slaria, YSM, ADG AC, made an impressive presentation on QRs and technologies that the IA is looking for in its future tanks. He also brought out the commonalities in tech in tanks (and carrier vehicles) regardless of the type (light or Med).

DDG Mech Inf followed with technologies specific to IFVs and why we need them in the modern battlefield.

Signature management, Active protection and mobility being the cornerstones of survivability in the TBA, industry presentations addressed precisely those aspects. Col Alex Jacob presented Saab’s Laser warning System capable of warning the crew as their vehicle is under attack. He followed it up with Barracuda’s state-of-the-art camouflage nets and explained the advantage that 3D nets bring in. Vinod Nair of Allison Transmission made a presentation on the high-tech transmission systems which Allison provides for heavy duty vehicles and Allison’s initiatives in India including exports from India. He also spoke about the systems currently in use in Indian platforms.

Sessions 3 and 4 focussed on standardisation in Armoured platforms across the board and all types and the way forward for setting up a comprehensive industrial base for Alpha vehicles in India. Discussants in the two sessions represented the complete ecosystem- Senior officers from different directorates, industry representatives from India and abroad and R&D led by CVRDE indulged in animated discussions which prompted a strong interactive response from the audience as well. Lt Gen Vipul Shinghal, DCIDS(DoT) and Lt Gen Arun Sahni, former C-in-C, SW Command chaired the two sessions.

There was near consensus on the suggestion of ensuring standardization in Armoured vehicles and their derivatives across the board. Standardisation however, must be applied to Systems, subsystems and components used in the platforms, and not the complete platform as such. This would need detailed and thorough coordination amongst all the stakeholders and the entire ecosystem, starting with the User who must coordinate their requirements for a variety of platforms that they need.

Indian conditions in terms of terrain and climate being peculiar, Indian army needs platforms that suit our geographical and tactical requirements. Thus there is a definite need to design and develop our own platforms.

An Industrial base for producing Indian platforms will be a much needed and awaited asset-an initiative that will make the country self-reliant as well. Indian public and private sector industries must be encouraged to set up such facilities with active help from the end user, DRDO and the government.

Transfer of IP was another issue that was discussed in detail as a large number of technologies reside abroad. Foreign OEMs are reluctant to part with the IPs for obvious reasons. The acquisition policy thus should not dictate the transfer of IP for every component and system/subsystem. It was suggested by a majority that the IP for the platform designed and developed in India should be with the lead integrator and that should suffice. This then led to a discussion on the requirement of Indian Content which is extremely difficult to achieve and thus is a hinderance as an ingredient of the policy. The policy needs to be realistic in terms of Indian content.