Indian Army Favors American Stryker Over Indigenous WhAP 8×8 in Armored Vehicle Program

The Indian Army's evaluation of contenders for its 8×8 wheeled armored vehicle program has reportedly hit a roadblock, with sources suggesting a preference for the American Stryker over local offerings, including DRDO's WhAP 8×8. The Army reportedly considers the Stryker a more robust and mature platform compared to indigenous alternatives, citing superior design and protection.

This development contradicts DRDO's claims, which previously positioned their WhAP 8×8 as superior to the Stryker, Fuchs 2, and Piranha 3 based on a comparison chart. However, the Army's assessment seems to prioritize real-world performance over theoretical specifications.

In response to the Army's preference, discussions are underway between the US and India to explore a co-development program for a customized Stryker M1135 variant tailored to meet Indian requirements.

This setback for DRDO's WhAP 8×8 could potentially hinder India's efforts toward self-reliance in defense manufacturing. While the WhAP may have shown theoretical advantages, the Army's practical assessment highlights the importance of proven performance in the field.

The future of India's 8×8 program remains uncertain, with the final decision likely to have a significant impact on both the Army's capabilities and the country's pursuit of indigenous defense solutions.

 

[Akshat]

How requirements are different??
is their any evaluation done on the grounds??
so just few things to ask here Stryker's have done any field test here in India?
just Indian system have to go throw a lot moon trial sea trial and space trials!!
but foreign item they are just best... Earlier it was with Russian systems and now with western system that are outdated now!!
so corruption is everywhere

Has Striker been officially declared as the winner or something? No. What we can say for sure is that WhAP has been tested and hasn’t been ordered, which means it hasn’t met the minimum levels of requirements. And, for the version being circulated in the media, WhAP doesn’t even have a relevant counterpart. So whom would you even compare it with?

 

[RajuB]

There was no actual pitting of different vehicles against each other. So I do smell corruption from the import army. Import army's decision a big setback to indigenous product. If import army had given the requirements before hand the indigneous products would have been more aligned. What can one say, like the GOI forced Tejasmk1 on IAF, the same should be done on the top brass of import army.

Exactly. If Shri Manohar Parricker was not there. Tejas would not have been there nor would development of AMCA.

 

[Rajsm]

Am i the only one smelling corruption

Can't keep pushing Inferior products like Tejas on the Defense forces just to get Atamnirbharta Headlines.
Indian DPSU's exaggerate and lie about everything they produce and never deliver on time .
Plus I bet most parts of DRDO's WHAP are probably Imported . What percentage is really Indeginous !
??????

 

[Rajsm]

Am i the only one smelling corruption

Can't keep pushing Inferior products like Tejas on the Defense forces just to get Atamnirbharta Headlines.
Indian DPSU's exaggerate and lie about everything they produce and never deliver on time .
Plus I bet most parts of DRDO's WHAP are probably Imported . What percentage is really Indeginous !

Pl do comparative trials.Army need to change mindset and guide industry to perfect the product.
navy does it wonderfully through naval design bureau

Am i the only one smelling corruption

Can't keep pushing Inferior products like Tejas on the Defense forces just to get Atamnirbharta Headlines.
Indian DPSU's exaggerate and lie about everything they produce and never deliver on time .
Plus I bet most parts of DRDO's WHAP are probably Imported . What percentage is really Indeginous !
??????

 

[Ajath Shri]

At least run a trial to know the real picture. Results are pronounced without any test of Stryker in Indian terrain.

I can see you know everything!

For records, Tapas fares better than Israeli Drishti.

TAPAS is still work under progress. Dhristi is Indian version of HERMES UAV whic has operational history.

 

[Ajath Shri]

Has anyone in the world inducted Tapas? Arjun? WhAP? They are lying to even the MoD. That’s on record. They are utter failures.

ARJUN MBT has been inducted by IA . ARJUN MBT MK1 A is also planned for induction. ARJUN MBT 2 is under development and will be ready for induction once it's rolled out .

 

[sanjiv]

It happening again. Try not to get anything from US. They will offer and then delay to delay our program. Look at case of engines for fighter jets. For a small silly reason like Khalastani Panun they are holding multi billion deal.
Strategic relationship plays most important role than performance. We must develop it in house no matter what...

 

[Singh]

India will learn never from mistakes they want to offer something which is either inferior or equal to our armoured vehicles according to above observation charts still
no make in India only make pocket in the name of make in India and buy foreign goods

 

[Aravind]

Striker is more compact proven, but we should compare with mahindra armed vehicles because compared to striker, mahindra armed vehicle have a supirior desing. we should get the fighter jet and submariens tech from usa.

 

[Ashish Tripathi]

And for which performance parameters is Army favouring Stryker over domestic alternatives?
Even if marginally inferior domestic alternatives are better and should be forced.
Army has to improve thier mindset first

 

[Francesco Calle de rivas]

What these articles don't tell you is- only edited comments are put forward as news. The army said no adverse thing about whAp - the two platforms are for two different missions. No one in right mind would sue an assault rifle for sniping. It is a bit like that. This deosn't mean the whAp is bad - it is not required for the mission Stryker would undertake.

 

[J S Roy Choudhury]

Personally, I can't say which one is better. Based on the specs available, desi products seems superior, but then practical assessment is indeed required for understanding real world performance which we all lack here.

Why we have to fight over what army chooses to drive and arm themselves with? Either way, modernization is going on. It is the army that will put their life in risk it and if they trust Stryker over DRDO WHAP then let them be. Afterall, we just sit in chair and acts like we tested them in real life to make comparative analysis. We are busy having verbal fight here as if this Stryker or WHAP will be driven by us into battlefield against China. None of us are serving in Military, none of us drove those APCs in real life to make analysis..

"It is the army that will put their life in risk it" - The brave-hearts who put their life risk in it, will have no say in its procurement or assessment. The cream of corruption will go to other levels and other tables.

Preferences and fascinations are like child's wishes. Hard practicality demands that they be made to compete and compared on hard ground under extreme operational conditions and then select.

Even if they are at comparable levels, common sense demands that the indigenous product need to be selected, put to use and refined / upgraded based on user feedback. Because, the USA has a dubious record of controlling the end-use and spare supply of its products based on its political whims.

 

[Anurag]

Has Striker been officially declared as the winner or something? No. What we can say for sure is that WhAP has been tested and hasn’t been ordered, which means it hasn’t met the minimum levels of requirements. And, for the version being circulated in the media, WhAP doesn’t even have a relevant counterpart. So whom would you even compare it with?

As you already say they are under trials and not ordered and you know what they are still under trials by the army they will remain in trials for further few more years and everyone knows how army trials indigenous products!!
When one product is under trials and second is even not considered for even trials?? It is just automatically selected!!!
if in near future if army choose whap over Stryker I will always say that people who support defence comes to the rescue of the whap!!

 

[Dredd]

The fact the army never evaluated the stryker is more revealing as it's incompatible with high altitudes having low power engines. Army make evaluation based on advertisement and again s#1ted on everything local no matter how much better. They want a new more powerful engine. Army is destroying the Indian brand by its desire for over priced foreign Canadian terrorist junk.

they are asking stryker to upgrade engines, but didn't gave any feedback to tata/mahindra to improve the product and induct.

 

[Akshat]

ARJUN MBT has been inducted by IA . ARJUN MBT MK1 A is also planned for induction. ARJUN MBT 2 is under development and will be ready for induction once it's rolled out .

In what numbers? Army bought almost double the quantity of T90 just for repeat orders. And no, Mk2 is not under development.

 

[Akshat]

As you already say they are under trials and not ordered and you know what they are still under trials by the army they will remain in trials for further few more years and everyone knows how army trials indigenous products!!
When one product is under trials and second is even not considered for even trials?? It is just automatically selected!!!
if in near future if army choose whap over Stryker I will always say that people who support defence comes to the rescue of the whap!!

Automatically selected? By whom? When?

As for trials, everyone should know but no one knows on this platform how indigenous platforms are tested. Army puts them on super speed. Like the drones and armored vehicles. But whenever DRDO comes into the picture, the products are of junk quality and army can’t reject them and is forced to keep them under trials forever.

Like how everyone is coming to defend DRDO for WhAP while army has made it clear that it’s useless

 

[Akshat]

But did drdo just make whatever it feeks like or based on armys inputs?

Whatever it feels like. Army requirements have no bearing on what DRDO develops. ATAGS is a prime example.

 

[Anurag]

Automatically selected? By whom? When?

As for trials, everyone should know but no one knows on this platform how indigenous platforms are tested. Army puts them on super speed. Like the drones and armored vehicles. But whenever DRDO comes into the picture, the products are of junk quality and army can’t reject them and is forced to keep them under trials forever.

Like how everyone is coming to defend DRDO for WhAP while army has made it clear that it’s useless

I am not defending DRDO, as per article Army reports favoured the Stryker...
About super speed we can a lot of money on foreign proven items but while it comes to indigenous item thier are few things always considered by our army..

1. It should be world class item best in its own class and combat proven!!
2. It should be in the league of the world best already proven system but it's price should be less and just minimum!!
3. No coordination during the system development between the developing company and forces!!
4. Trials after trials just make them outdated product and they never get chance for the further refinements and to be a system of it's own class!!

 

[Calvin]

Let the army decide... It's their bodies and lives on the line... As for the import mafia or others who exploit national defense for personal gain, if any wrong doing is evident, then they should be investigated by impartial authorities, prosecuted and punished to the full extent according to military law if they are in the military or retired military, and by special counsel appointed by the president, in civil court - if they are civilians. We need to stop this profiteering yesterday..!

 

[Sushant]

Not just army paramilitary forces have also rejected it various design flaws in interiors. Not suitable for long patrols

 

[Sushant]

CRPF wants Kestrels now for patrolling naxal areas in good numbers... Even BSF can use for Bangla borders and in Manipur for riot hit Kuki militants areas..

BSF was not happy with its interiors not suitable for long patrols.

 

[Akshat]

I am not defending DRDO, as per article Army reports favoured the Stryker...
About super speed we can a lot of money on foreign proven items but while it comes to indigenous item thier are few things always considered by our army..

1. It should be world class item best in its own class and combat proven!!
2. It should be in the league of the world best already proven system but it's price should be less and just minimum!!
3. No coordination during the system development between the developing company and forces!!
4. Trials after trials just make them outdated product and they never get chance for the further refinements and to be a system of it's own class!!

Absolute lies. You are clearly speaking based on lies from WhatsApp.

Tapas is a world class drone? The specs IAF and army asked for said 20 hours of endurance. No Long endurance drone in the world has an endurance of less than 24 hours but our army allowed much less. Similarly, AK rifles had a jamming rate of 0.02% and Insas had a rate of 3%. But our army still used it.

2. IAF is paying almost as much money for Tejas as US pays for F35 per unit. Arjun costs twice of T90. Insas rifle costed well over twice of AK.

So no, army never asks for bare minimum prices. It in fact pays way more on junk DRDO weapons than on foreign weapons.

3. As for trials. When the product never meets the original specs, how is the army supposed to induct them? But they can’t refuse either. Then people like you will come crying. So the trials just keep on going. Won’t you allege corruption if Army actually throws ATAGS out of high it deserves to be? It should have been thrown out right on the first day.

And as for coordination. Why should army give any preferential treatment to DRDO? When they said the gun should be compatible with existing GTVs of 16 tons, why should they interfere at all after that? Why doesn’t DRDO listen to them? Whose fault is this fiasco?

 

[Anurag]

Absolute lies. You are clearly speaking based on lies from WhatsApp.

Tapas is a world class drone? The specs IAF and army asked for said 20 hours of endurance. No Long endurance drone in the world has an endurance of less than 24 hours but our army allowed much less. Similarly, AK rifles had a jamming rate of 0.02% and Insas had a rate of 3%. But our army still used it.

2. IAF is paying almost as much money for Tejas as US pays for F35 per unit. Arjun costs twice of T90. Insas rifle costed well over twice of AK.

So no, army never asks for bare minimum prices. It in fact pays way more on junk DRDO weapons than on foreign weapons.

3. As for trials. When the product never meets the original specs, how is the army supposed to induct them? But they can’t refuse either. Then people like you will come crying. So the trials just keep on going. Won’t you allege corruption if Army actually throws ATAGS out of high it deserves to be? It should have been thrown out right on the first day.

And as for coordination. Why should army give any preferential treatment to DRDO? When they said the gun should be compatible with existing GTVs of 16 tons, why should they interfere at all after that? Why doesn’t DRDO listen to them? Whose fault is this fiasco?

Are you completely blinded person where I talked about tapas???
I think you read too much from WhatsApp that's why you are confused here!!
What a failure of lies you are just don't know what to say as you want to compare between F-35 and Tejas so listen F-35 program costed US 1.58$ trillion dollars(630 planes)!!
How much we spend on Tejas??? You can atleast calculate this simple math!!
About Arjun program how much Arjun we procured while it was better in the field trials from T-90??
But if atags are really failure then why Armenia purchased??
corruption itself in the place that's why orders are not placed yet!!!
And which world class drones you are talking about that work in Indian conditions??? Name any of them please???

 

[M S Chatterji]

Army mindset is amazing. Trying to help our industry to the fullest. The sole problem is the developer DRDO.

Too much blame on DRDO is not good. Yes, they have faults but the Army is showing greater faults in its procurement system. Moreover, the Army can become a full partner in any hardware development than to find faults in the end.

 

[RG]

No surprise, Import lobby is strong, these reports are generation to implement certain agenda. Does Army plan to use all the capabilities and spend all money into super duper products, where most of capabilities will not be used 90% of the time. Time to think High low mix as well, to extend the rupee.