In a massive push for India's self-reliant defence manufacturing sector, the Indian Army has greenlit a sweeping, five-year modernisation plan worth more than ₹75,000 crore for its legacy Soviet-era armoured vehicles.
Moving away from the traditional method of short-term buying, this long-term approach gives the domestic defence industry the stability it needs to scale up production, improve supply networks, and develop cutting-edge technologies.
This ambitious initiative covers the Army’s core combat machines: the T-72 ‘Ajeya’ and T-90 ‘Bhishma’ main battle tanks, alongside the BMP Infantry Combat Vehicles (ICVs) and Armoured Recovery Vehicles (ARVs).
Instead of simply discarding and replacing these older platforms, the military is choosing to thoroughly rebuild and upgrade them. This strategy will vastly increase their lifespan and keep them battle-ready for future challenges.
The primary goal of this project is to restore every vehicle to what military officials term a “near-zero-hour and zero-kilometre” condition. To achieve this, engineers will replace exhausted electrical, mechanical, and electronic components with modern equivalents.
While the original heavy steel hulls will remain untouched, the internal machinery and combat systems will undergo a complete transformation to meet today's rigorous battlefield standards.
A groundbreaking feature of this upgrade is the pairing of the armoured fleet with drone technology.
Taking cues from modern warfare, particularly the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Indian Army will integrate unmanned aerial systems into these tanks.
This upgrade will allow tank crews to conduct intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions natively, vastly improving their battlefield awareness and strike accuracy.
Furthermore, the overhaul focuses on reducing India's reliance on foreign spare parts.
By swapping out older components with locally produced alternatives, this heavy investment is poised to drive massive demand within India's domestic defence industry, sparking greater production and localisation of critical subsystems at home.
The biggest physical share of the overhaul is dedicated to restoring 790 T-72 'Ajeya' tanks over the next five years, which will cost over ₹13,000 crore.
This monumental task will be executed by the Vehicle Factory Jabalpur (VFJ) under the Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited (AVNL), supported by a massive network of nearly 1,200 micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and startups.
AVNL has already proved its capability by successfully delivering two overhauled T-72 tanks in a pilot project earlier this year.
This extensive upgrade serves as a vital bridge, ensuring the T-72s remain a potent force until the Army begins inducting the highly anticipated Future Ready Combat Vehicle (FRCV) starting around 2030.
Similarly, the Army has cleared the phased upgrade of 200 T-90 'Bhishma' tanks across the same five-year timeline.
Valued at roughly ₹56,000 crore, this forms the most expensive financial portion of the modernisation drive and will drastically boost the fighting capabilities and availability of India's premier frontline main battle tanks.
In addition to the main battle tanks, 500 BMP Infantry Combat Vehicles will be modernised at a cost of just under ₹5,000 crore.
AVNL’s Ordnance Factory Medak, which already boasts over 90% indigenous production and support for BMPs, will handle this phase.
These enhancements will give the widely used infantry vehicles better mobility, reliability, and combat power on the ground.
Finally, the project includes ₹1,400 crore for restoring 230 Armoured Recovery Vehicles (ARVs) through Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) over five years.
These specialised machines are crucial for rescuing disabled or damaged tanks during live operations, making sure the Army's mechanised units remain mobile and effective.
Ultimately, this ₹75,000 crore commitment does more than just sharpen military readiness; it signals a major evolution in how India handles defence acquisitions.
By guaranteeing five years of steady orders, the government is answering long-standing requests from defence manufacturers for predictable demand.
This move empowers both public sector enterprises and private industry to confidently invest in automation, skilled labour, and indigenous supply chains, cementing India's self-reliance in military equipment maintenance.
