New Delhi, The Ministry of Defence (MoD) will procure 693 armament upgrades of infantry combat vehicle BMP2. The defence ministry on March 13 signed a contract with Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited (AVNL) for the procurement of 693 Armament Upgrades of Infantry Combat Vehicle BMP2 to BMP2M”, according to an official statement.

The ministry in a statement said, “This upgrade includes night enablement, gunner main sight, commander panoramic sight and fire control system (FCS) with automatic target tracker under Buy (Indian-Indigenously Designed Developed and Manufactured) Category.”

The AVNL has developed an “indigenised solution for providing existing BMP 2/2K with night fighting capabilities and FCS based on the integration of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Chennai-developed sight and FCS,” it said.

The AVNL will produce the “armament upgrades with equipment and sub-systems sourced from indigenous manufacturers”, this will further strengthen the indigenous defence manufacturing ecosystem and accrue the benefits of the increasing self-reliance in this field, the ministry said.