Defence Ministry signs contract worth Rs 802 crore to procure military equipment

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The Ministry of Defence has inked two contracts worth a total of Rs 802 crore to procure military equipment. The procurements were made under the Buy (Indian-IDDM) category on January 4, 2024, in New Delhi.

Per the contracts, the Defence Ministry will procure Qty-697 Bogie Open Military (BOM) Wagons for Rs 473 crore from M/s Jupiter Wagons Limited and Qty-56 Mechanical Minefield Marking Equipment (MMME) Mark II for Rs 329 crore from M/s BEML Ltd.

The BOM Wagons and MMME will be produced with equipment and sub-systems sourced from indigenous manufacturers, giving a boost to the indigenous manufacturing and participation of the private sector in defence production, realising the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat, the ministry said in a release.

Bogie Open Military (BOM) wagons, designed by Research Design and Standard Organization (RDSO), are special wagons used by the Indian Army to mobilise Army units. BOM wagons are used to transport light vehicles, artillery guns, BMPs, engineering equipment, etc. from their peacetime locations to operational areas.

“This critical rolling stock will ensure speedy and simultaneous induction of units and equipment into operational areas during any conflict situation besides, facilitating their peacetime movement for Military exercise and movement of units from one station to another,” the ministry noted.

The MMME has been designed to operate cross country with a complete load of stores and carry out marking of minefields with minimal time and manpower employment. Marking of all minefields is a mandatory requirement as per amended Protocol-II on convention in certain conventional weapons to which India is a signatory.

“The equipment is based on an in-service high mobility vehicle having advanced mechanical and electrical systems, which will reduce the timings for minefield marking during operations and will enhance the operational capability of the Indian Army,” the Defence Ministry said.