DRDO to be part of Future Ready Combat Vehicle project: Army

[Water Car Engineer]

NEW DELHI: The Indian Army today said there is a plan to incorporate DRDO as a technological partner in the proposed Future Ready Combat Vehicle (FRCV) project, which had raised eyebrows among officials of the premier defence research agency of the country.

Stating that the army plans to adopt a novel approach for designing and developing its future category of battle tanks, sources said that a recent tender issued by the Directorate General of Mechanised Forces (DGMF) aims to identify and seek willingness of established tank designers, design bureaus and agencies to participate in a design competition.

"The FRCV is planned to be developed on a modular concept so as to support the subsequent development of at least 10 different variants, including light tanks, trawls, etc.," the army sources said.

The development of FRCV, aimed at replacing the T-72 fleet of tanks, is proposed to be Service HQ driven and managed by a dedicated FRCV Project Management Team (F-PMT), they added.

"Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is planned to be incorporated in the project as technological partner, for expert inputs in the FRCV development," it said weeks after senior officials of the agency had expressed surprise at the army's move to invite proposals as it was already working on technology for a futuristic tank -- the Future Main Battle Tank (FMBT).

The proposed approach will involve three stages -- Design Phase, Prototype Development Phase and Production Phase, the sources said.

In the design phase, "reputed" tank designers will be asked to design a futuristic battle tank as part of a design competition. The FRCV will be a combat vehicle platform which will form the base for the development of a 'Family of Vehicles'.

The design competition will be conducted under the aegis of the F-PMT by a Design Selection Committee, consisting of domain experts, representatives from defence agencies and experts from DRDO and academia (including IITs).

In the second phase, the prototype will be developed based on the selected design. The user, the Design Agency and DRDO, will remain closely associated with the entire prototype development phase.

Bulk production will be undertaken in India by a nominated Indian Production Agency (PA), which may well be one of the Development Agencies (DAs).

The primary condition for the competition says that the winning design(s) will become the property of the Indian government and the winning designer will be required to continue to work on the project till the Production Stage.

Read more at:
DRDO to be part of Future Ready Combat Vehicle project: Army - The Economic Times

 

[Water Car Engineer]

Shouldnt the winning designs go to the Indian manufacturer, not the government?

 

[Stephen Cohen]

@Omega007

This is great news ; Finally DRDO can get it right
They have a lot of experience and knowledge from the Arjun programme

Now they can take it to the next level

 

[Indian Patriot]

The Indian Army today said there is a plan to incorporate DRDO as a technological partner in the proposed Future Ready Combat Vehicle (FRCV) project

That means by the time the first prototype rolls out it will be in the year 2050.

Shouldnt the winning designs go to the Indian manufacturer, not the government?

What they probably mean is that the design will be the intellectual property of Indian government. In other words Indian government will have sole copyright. But that is a later thing, by the time the design comes out many things would have changed.

 

[Water Car Engineer]

What they probably mean is that the design will be the intellectual property of Indian government. In other words Indian government will have sole copyright. But that is a later thing, by the time the design comes out many things would have changed.

I know, but what is the Indian gov going to do with the IP of the tank design? They're simply going to let go to waste. Let the production agency get it, which is most probably going to be an Indian private company. Let the Kalyanis, TATAs, etc. make further marks, etc. out of it. Let them market it abroad, etc.

 

[Indian Patriot]

I know, but what is the Indian gov going to do with the IP of the tank design? Let the production agency get it, which is most probably going to be an Indian private company. Let the Kalyanis, TATAs, etc. make further marks, etc. out of it.

Even I hope it is private firms like L&T, TATA, Mahindra, Kalyani etc. who are the main builders. I won't pretend I know for sure but my guess is GOI is keeping the IP rights of the design so they have the final say on who can buy the tank (foreign buyers).

But if GOI (defence PSUs) wants the rights of the design so they can modify it or add something else to it then God save the project.

 

[Omega007]

Even I hope it is private firms like L&T, TATA, Mahindra, Kalyani etc. who are the main builders. I won't pretend I know for sure but my guess is GOI is keeping the IP rights of the design so they have the final say on who can buy the tank (foreign buyers).

But if GOI (defence PSUs) wants the rights of the design so they can modify it or add something else to it then God save the project.

No,your crack whore mum saves the project,lolzz.

 

[Stephen Cohen]

That means by the time the first prototype rolls out it will be in the year 2050.

No they will get a maximum of 10 or 12 years say 2027

After 2027 ; T 72 tanks will be lined up for the scrapyard

This will help in creating a THREE way Joint venture

DRDO -Indian Private sector and A foreign collaborator like Russians

This is DRDO's BEST chance to come good

 

[halupridol]

Does this mean,,,no more Arjun mk2 thn already ordered?

 

[Stephen Cohen]

Does this mean,,,no more Arjun mk2 thn already ordered?

Yes that is true

 

[halupridol]

Yes that is true

well,,then its about time for Arjun project to be suspended.

 

[Stephen Cohen]

well,,then its about time for Arjun project to be suspended.

DRDO will complete all the 73 odd modifications asked from them
and then move on to this FRCV

Armata's has arrived with a BANG

You cant ignore it ; China will definitely buy it

So we must at least try on our own to get somewhat close to Armata

 

[Echo_419]

No,your crack whore mum saves the project,lolzz.

Delete karde yeh don't stoop down to his lvl
On topic
Pvt participation should be encouraged

DRDO will complete all the 73 odd modifications asked from them
and then move on to this FRCV

Armata's has arrived with a BANG

You cant ignore it ; China will definitely buy it

So we must at least try on our own to get somewhat close to Armata

Nope Chinese aren't buying that thing

 

[Omega007]

Delete karde yeh don't stoop down to his lvl

DUde,it's good entertainment,you know.Even I need a punching bag to vent out my steam over,and he's just that...........a perfect punching bag.

On topic
Pvt participation should be encouraged

Of course but their participation should be kept limited as the manufacturers and lead system instigators,at least till the time they have gained adequate expertise to engage in their own R&D.

 

[Indian Patriot]

This is DRDO's BEST chance to come good

So you mean for decades DRDO was simply wasting public money?

Does this mean,,,no more Arjun mk2 thn already ordered?

By the grace of heavens, no. The army will finally be able to get rid of arjun and get some good tanks which are not designed by DRDO.

DRDO will complete all the 73 odd modifications asked from them
and then move on to this FRCV

What is the point of that if you are ultimately going for ARMATA/ FRCV?

Its like you are sending your maruti 800 to garage for modifications when you have money to buy a BMW. What is the logic of operating both arjun and FRCV when the FRCV is, at least on paper, a much superior platform?