NEW DELHI \u2014\u00a0The two consortia\u00a0competing to provide India’s new\u00a0battlefield management system\u00a0(BMS) have submitted their detailed project reports and the Defence Ministry will order prototypes within six months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The proposed\u00a0India’s homegrown <\/span>$6 billion battlefield management <\/span>system will (BMS) proposed to <\/span>be built in the “Make in India” category and reserved only for domestic companies. The\u00a0has been accelerated within one year of issuing of the Expression of Interest.<\/span>two development agencies,\u00a0(DAs) <\/span>Tata Power SED with\u00a0Larsen & Toubro, and state-owned Bharat Electronics with\u00a0Rolta India,combine who have formed a consortium to compete for the program have<\/span> submitted their detailed project reports (DPR) <\/span>last month, said a Defence Ministry source. in the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n The reports will be vetted by the Indian <\/span>Army’s Integrated Project Management Team (IMPT) <\/span>and the MoD will then finally <\/span>issue orders for development of the BMS prototypes\u00a0of the BMS <\/span>within six months, said the MoD source, as effort is made to hasten creation of the system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The development agenciesDAs<\/span> will choose overseas their <\/span>partners for technical assistance\u00a0from overseas defense compaies to seek technical tie ups <\/span>but the tender will only be awarded to the domestic companies under the Make in India\u00a0category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under the <\/span>Make in India, category, <\/span>the government will <\/span>funds 80 percent of the towards the cost of the<\/span> prototype development and the development agencies cover the rest.\u00a0rest 20 per cent will be funded by the DAsThe cost towards development of the <\/span>Prototype development is estimated at about is likely to be around <\/span>$300 million, said an executive of a domestic company participating in the consortium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After the <\/span>trials\u00a0of the BMS, a <\/span>final production will be given to a the <\/span>shortlisted agency; \u00a0and <\/span>it could take up to two years to reach production for the <\/span>stage, said the MoD source.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The pace at which the ambitious BMS program lying on the desk for years has taken off is a <\/span>significant in India’s defense industry,” said Nitin Mehta, a defense analyst.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once fully developed and proved, battlefield management systems\u00a0the BMS systems <\/span>will be critical elements of the Army’s network-centric warfare program of the Indian Army <\/span>and will link network the<\/span> infantry level troops on the battlefield to the command headquarters.\u00a0It\u00a0will also network links the <\/span>ground troops with the various Army command headquarters and integrate all elements in a battlegroup,\u00a0through rugged computers, that will <\/span>providing\u00a0real time tactical scenarios. by integration of all elements in a battle group.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n The BMS system <\/span>will be cap<\/span>able to receive and transmit data, voice and images from multiple sources, including radar, cameras, laser range-finders and\u00a0ground sensors, allowing the which will equip the infantry <\/span>soldier on the battlefield to get <\/span>access to real time information simultaneously with the command headquarters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n