Indian Army looks to fast track BMP-2 upgrade to cover for delayed FICV

The Indian Army plans to fast track the upgrade of 1,000-1,200 of its ageing, licence-built Russian BMP-2/2K 'Sarath' infantry combat vehicles (ICVs) to BMP-2M standard by enhancing their offensive capabilities and fitting them with more powerful engines.
The estimated INR130 billion (USD2 billion) BMP-2 retrofit has acquired operational urgency after the long-delayed INR1 trillion Future ICV (FICV) programme, now delayed by over five years, was postponed once more.
In late September the Ministry of Defence (MoD) deferred the long-extended deadline for 10 Indian companies to submit their project reports for the FICV project by three months to mid-January 2016. It did so at the behest of the potential vendors, which were seeking clarification on the FICV project with regard to several of its overall qualitative requirements (QRs).

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