Defence Ministry Set to Approve 1,700 FRCV Tanks and 7 Advanced Stealth Frigates Worth Rs 1.2 Lakh Crores

In a move to bolster its military capabilities amid ongoing tensions with China, the Indian Defence Ministry is poised to approve two major projects: the procurement of 1,700 Future Ready Combat Vehicles (FRCVs) to replace its aging T-72 tanks and the construction of seven advanced stealth frigates.

A high-level meeting chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is scheduled for today at South Block, where top officials including the Chief of Defence Staff, the three service chiefs, the Defence Secretary, and other key personnel will deliberate on these critical procurements.

The Indian Navy is seeking to acquire seven new warships under Project 17 Bravo, envisioned as the most sophisticated stealth frigates ever built in India, surpassing even the Nilgiri-class frigates currently under construction. The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) is expected to greenlight a tender worth an estimated Rs 70,000 crore, to be awarded to Indian shipyards, including private sector players, under the 'Make in India' initiative.

The tender will likely involve major shipbuilders like Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited, Goa Shipyard Limited, and Larsen & Toubro, among others. To expedite the project and avoid delays, it is anticipated that the tender will be split between two shipyards.

Concurrently, the Indian Army is looking to replace its Russian-origin T-72 tanks with 1,700 indigenously built FRCVs under the Make-1 procedure of the Defence Acquisition Procedure. The tanks are required to have over 60% indigenous content, with major companies like Bharat Forge and Larsen & Toubro expected to participate in the tender. The Army aims to phase out the FRCV project, with each phase involving the construction of approximately 600 tanks.

The overall FRCV project is estimated to cost over Rs 50,000 crore and is aimed at modernizing the Army's Armoured Regiments. In addition, the Army is also expected to propose the acquisition of around 100 BMP-2 infantry combat vehicles during the meeting.

These ambitious procurement plans underscore India's commitment to strengthening its defence capabilities in the face of regional security challenges. By focusing on indigenous manufacturing under the 'Make in India' initiative, the government is also promoting self-reliance in the defence sector and boosting the domestic economy.

 

[Raj]

Airforce didn't attended this meeting or not even asked single item to purchase.

 

[sanket]

MRFA should have been Fast tracked

 

[Anant]

1. P-17B is estimated to be eight ships, not seven.

2. Whoever came up with the figure for Rs. 50,000 crore for 1700 new MBTs as part of the FRCV project needs a reality check. That figure comes to around 3.51 million USD per tank, which is a ridiculously low figure. For reference, a T-90 costs upwards of 5 million USD, an Abrams costs somewhere around 14 million USD, a Leopard 2A8 costs around 32 million USD. Those are domestic costs, so export prices would be even higher.

3. Considering how old the BMP-2 platform is getting, you'd hope the Army would have made efforts to accelerate the FICV project rather than purchasing more BMP-2s.

 

[Rajeev Ranjan]

India Miss Parikar & George kind of DM, NDA 2 doesnot have any significant thing to showcase, NDA3 does not look promising too.

 

[kumar]

So, doors opened for mass manufacture of T14-armata.

 

[Anant]

So, doors opened for mass manufacture of T14-armata.

Not happening. The T-14 isn't getting manufactured in Russia itself, let alone being exported. Honestly, at this point, the Su-57 probably has a better chance to score export orders than the T-14.

 

[Dredd]

Airforce didn't attended this meeting or not even asked single item to purchase.

our IAF is content with 51 flying squadron and 6th gen aircraft flying.. They don't need any attention till 2040.

 

[Dredd]

1. P-17B is estimated to be eight ships, not seven.

2. Whoever came up with the figure for Rs. 50,000 crore for 1700 new MBTs as part of the FRCV project needs a reality check. That figure comes to around 3.51 million USD per tank, which is a ridiculously low figure. For reference, a T-90 costs upwards of 5 million USD, an Abrams costs somewhere around 14 million USD, a Leopard 2A8 costs around 32 million USD. Those are domestic costs, so export prices would be even higher.

3. Considering how old the BMP-2 platform is getting, you'd hope the Army would have made efforts to accelerate the FICV project rather than purchasing more BMP-2s.

So Leopard 2A8 costs as much as JF-17 Block 2 or Tejas Mk1 and they get destroyed by 3rd gen ATGM whoch costs $15000

 

[Anant]

So Leopard 2A8 costs as much as JF-17 Block 2 or Tejas Mk1 and they get destroyed by 3rd gen ATGM whoch costs $15000

Not exactly. Firstly, the JF-17 or Tejas cost there is the cost price, not the sales price. The Leopard cost there is the sales price. Secondly, the aircraft costs there are for barebones aircraft, and does not include weaponry, spares, etc. The tank figure includes all those things.

Finally, if a Leopard 2 can be destroyed by a cheap ATGM, an aircraft can also be shot down by an equally cheap MANPADS.

 

[ASHOK CARROL]

These frigates must be armed with6 brahmos 290 km , 6, 450 km 4, , 800 km Brahmos missiles , =16 Brahmos , 8-12 ROCKET Launched torpedoes with 400-600 m range and 64-96 vertically launched SSAMs , MRSAM , LRSAM. THE CIWS needs to be replaced with new generation turrets capable of firing 10,000 rounds.

 

[Anant]

Airforce didn't attended this meeting or not even asked single item to purchase.

Eh, they asked for, and received, ridiculously overpriced AL-31 engines.

 

[Dredd]

Not exactly. Firstly, the JF-17 or Tejas cost there is the cost price, not the sales price. The Leopard cost there is the sales price. Secondly, the aircraft costs there are for barebones aircraft, and does not include weaponry, spares, etc. The tank figure includes all those things.

Finally, if a Leopard 2 can be destroyed by a cheap ATGM, an aircraft can also be shot down by an equally cheap MANPADS.

I am interested in knowing what technology Leopard have that make it costs a bomb.

 

[Anant]

our IAF is content with 51 flying squadron and 6th gen aircraft flying.. They don't need any attention till 2040.

51 flying squadrons? Do we even have those many if we add up all types of aircraft, let alone fighters? In any case, the IAF did get ridiculously overpriced AL-31 engines this time around.

 

[Anant]

These frigates must be armed with6 brahmos 290 km , 6, 450 km 4, , 800 km Brahmos missiles , =16 Brahmos , 8-12 ROCKET Launched torpedoes with 400-600 m range and 64-96 vertically launched SSAMs , MRSAM , LRSAM. THE CIWS needs to be replaced with new generation turrets capable of firing 10,000 rounds.

That would be too large for a frigate. Instead of that, I would say we should go for 8 medium-ranged BrahMos (450 km variants), 4 long-ranged BrahMos (800-900 km variants), 12-16 SMART ASW missile tubes, plus 64 VLS cells for SAMs (32 Barak 8s plus 32 VL-SRSAMs). Finally, throw in the standard 6 torpedo tubes for HWTs. Also, while our existing CIWS systems may not be able to be upgraded to the point of having 10,000 rounds, it does need to be increased beyond the present 2,000-3.000 rounds, and the number of systems needs to go up to 6 or so.

 

[Sandeep]

India Miss Parikar & George kind of DM, NDA 2 doesnot have any significant thing to showcase, NDA3 does not look promising too.

The defence minister is placing huge indigenous orders at every meeting. Our imports have reduced substantially and our indigenous parts, technology, weapons etc is increasing which will continue to do so. The government has only ordered some foreign and critical technology if it was needed urgently and essential.

Major orders for planes, jets, artillery, ammunition, shells, nuclear submarines, diesel submarines, carrier jet, frigates, destroyers, trainer planes, missiles, BMD shield, more nuclear missiles, IT infrastructure, communications systems, EW, surveillance drones, kamikaze drones, soft and hard kill anti drone devices, ICV, APC, light tanks, medium and heavy tanks etc etc. All have either been developed, close to finishing and making progress.

 

[kumar]

Not happening. The T-14 isn't getting manufactured in Russia itself, let alone being exported. Honestly, at this point, the Su-57 probably has a better chance to score export orders than the T-14.

Then with IA obsession with weight, no other tank in the world will qualify.

 

[kurtwallis wallis]

So, doors opened for mass manufacture of T14-armata.

Or is it NGMBT-FMBT Arjun MK2 developments???

 

[Sandeep]

It’s great that major orders are going to be placed which benefits our economy, growth and provide jobs and it will increase our national security.

Unless we can’t develop any advanced technology, platforms or weapons or it will take too long and that weapon is needed immediately then imports will be made with a G2G system and procedure like with the S400 or Rafale jets that we imported directly as they were desperately needed.

India needs to focus on developing our indigenous tank, light tank and more stealth frigates. These three items are very important and we need to design, develop and manufacture them with at least 90% Indian content or above.

Ideally we should be increasing the size of our frigates so that they can carry more indigenous missiles, equipment and technology. Our current frigates are a medium size ship but it can’t hold a lot of missiles and in a heavy saturated attack the ship might struggle to intercept all of them as we won’t be able to reload the missiles in time. In P17B it would be great if they can somehow increase the amount of missiles they can install. They should consider increasing the size of the ship or stretch the ship so more missiles can be carried and deployed.

 

[KVS]

That would be too large for a frigate. Instead of that, I would say we should go for 8 medium-ranged BrahMos (450 km variants), 4 long-ranged BrahMos (800-900 km variants), 12-16 SMART ASW missile tubes, plus 64 VLS cells for SAMs (32 Barak 8s plus 32 VL-SRSAMs). Finally, throw in the standard 6 torpedo tubes for HWTs. Also, while our existing CIWS systems may not be able to be upgraded to the point of having 10,000 rounds, it does need to be increased beyond the present 2,000-3.000 rounds, and the number of systems needs to go up to 6 or so.

Hey,
Your specification also looks too much for a frigate to hold. I believe such an armament cluster is possible only in destroyers or cruisers!🙂