CHENNAI: Armoured Vehicles Nigam Ltd (AVNL) has bagged two contracts worth a combined Rs 2,565.46 crore from the Indian Army to overhaul 40 T-90 main battle tanks and 100 BMP-II infantry combat vehicles, underscoring its expanding role in India’s defence manufacturing ecosystem.
The Avadi-headquartered Defence Public Sector Undertaking is responsible for entire Product Life Cycle PLC covering manufacturing, sustenance, upgrading and extending the life of India’s armoured platforms, including main battle tanks, infantry combat vehicles, recovery vehicles and their variants.
The contracts cover complete restoration, system upgrades and performance enhancements to extend and ensure the service life and reliability of the platforms. AVNL with present capacity for overhauling of 120 Units of T-Series Tanks and has undertaken program to augment the capacity 230 Units of T-Series tanks to meet the growing demand of Indian Army, sources told TNIE.
“This initiative will maximise the utilisation of existing assets, reduce import dependence and directly boost the combat effectiveness of the Army’s mechanised forces,” an official source said.
While next-generation platforms such as the Future Infantry Combat Vehicle (FICV) and indigenous light tank projects are under development, keeping the T-90s and BMP-IIs fully operational ensures continuous readiness across strike and pivot formations.