The Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) on Tuesday handed over the first lot of the indigenously developed Infantry Protected Mobility Vehicles (IPMVs) to Chief of the Army Staff General Manoj Naravane at a ceremony in Pune on Tuesday, becoming the first private sector company in the country to produce and deliver wheeled armoured combat-ready vehicles for the armed forces, it said in a statement.
“In addition to supply, TASL will also provide 24x7 support to maintain the vehicles at the deployment locations,” the company stated.
The IPMV is a co-development project with Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
The vehicles inducted include quick reaction fighting vehicle medium, infantry protected mobility vehicle, ultra long range observation system developed by the TASL and monocoque hull multi-role mine protected armoured vehicle developed by Bharat Forge, the Army said in a statement.
Gen Naravane, accompanied by Vice Chief of the Army Staff Lt. Gen. Manoj Pande is on a two-day visit to Pune.
Stringent field trials
The vehicles have undergone stringent field trials in deserts as well as high altitude areas by the Army, the statement noted. The IPMVs also include TASL’s in-house designed and developed remote-controlled weapon station with thermal sights and external add-on armour protection panels developed by the Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory of the DRDO.
“The successful delivery of IPMVs is a major milestone for the TASL and the Indian defence manufacturing sector, as it marks the first commercial sale of a strategic platform that has been co-developed by the DRDO and a private player,” Sukaran Singh, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, TASL, explained.
The IPMVs have been developed and manufactured at the TASL’s Pune facility. They have been built on the strategic 8x8 Wheeled Armoured Platform (WhAP), indigenously designed and developed by the TASL along with the Vehicles Research & Development Establishment (VRDE), a unit of the DRDO.
