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Defence News - India / Russia
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| Friday, December
21, 2012, 01:26 PM |
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| Russia
offers to India to transfer technology of BMP-3 AIFV armoured infantry fighting
vehicle. |
Russia
has offered to transfer BMP-3
combat vehicle technology to India if India cancels its project, an Indian
Defense Ministry source said. This has more sense for India, as its homemade
Futuristic Infantry Combat Vehicle (FICV) can be commissioned no earlier
than in ten years’ time.
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The
FICV project was approved four years ago and has seen practically no progress
since that. It envisages the production of 2,600 vehicles to replace the
older BMP-2 combat vehicles. The project costs about ten billion dollars,
while the government will fund 80 percent of development costs.
At the present moment, India has in arsenal about 1,500 BMP-2 combat vehicles.
Indian defense forces have a large inventory of former Soviet and Russian
weaponry, which they want to replace or upgrade soon. It is estimated
that this market is worth more than $30 billion. And while Russia wants
India to upgrade this inventory, the users — the Indian Army, Air
Force and Navy — want to replace the weaponry with supplies from
the U.S. and other Western nations.
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BMP-2 armoured
infantry fighting vehicle of Indian army. |
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