At a ceremony in Pune on Tuesday, Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) handed over the first batch of indigenously developed Infantry Protected Mobility Vehicles (IPMVs) to Chief of the Army Staff General Manoj Naravane, making it the first private sector company in the country to produce and deliver wheeled armoured combat-ready vehicles for the armed forces, according to a statement.
“TASL will provide 24×7 support to maintain the vehicles at the deployment locations in addition to supplies,” the business claimed. The IPMV is a collaboration between the Defence Research and Development Organisation and the IPMV (DRDO).
The Army said in a statement that the vehicles inducted include the fast reaction combat vehicle medium, infantry protected mobility vehicle, TASL’s ultra long range observation system, and Bharat Forge’s monocoque hull multi-role mine protected armoured vehicle.
Gen. Naravane is in Pune for a two-day visit with Vice Chief of the Army Staff Lt. Gen. Manoj Pande.
Extensive field tests
The Army put the vehicles through rigorous field tests in deserts and high altitude zones, according to the statement. The IPMVs also incorporate a remote-controlled weapon station with thermal sights conceived and developed by TASL, as well as external add-on armour protection panels created by the Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory of the DRDO.
“The successful delivery of IPMVs is a huge milestone for TASL and the Indian defence manufacturing sector, as it marks the first commercial sale of a strategic platform co-developed by the DRDO and a private partner,” TASL Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Sukaran Singh noted.
The IPMVs were designed and built at the TASL factory in Pune. They are based on the strategic 8×8 Wheeled Armoured Platform (WhAP), which was designed and developed by the TASL in collaboration with the DRDO’s Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (VRDE).
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