Ministry of Defence Signs Rs 1,561 Crore Deal with Heavy Vehicles Factory for 47 T-72 Bridge Laying Tanks.

Defence

In January 2025, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) finalized a Rs 1,561-crore agreement with the Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF) based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu (TN), a unit of Armoured Vehicle Nigam Limited (AVNL). The deal is for the acquisition of 47 T-72 Bridge Laying Tanks (BLTs) for the Indian Army (IA).


      - The contract was signed by senior officials from the Ministry of Defence (MoD), Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF), and Armoured Vehicle Nigam Limited (AVNL), with Rajesh Kumar Singh, Secretary of the MoD, in attendance.

      - The T-72 Bridge Laying Tanks (BLTs) are produced by Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF) under a license from Russia.

     

Main Point :-   (i) The deal falls under the Buy IDDM (Indian-Indigenously Designed, Developed, and Manufactured) procurement category, as per India's Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2016.

      (ii) The T-72 BLTs are crucial equipment used by the Mechanised Forces of the Indian Army (IA) to deploy bridges during both offensive and defensive operations.

(iii) The T-72 BLT, also known as BLT T-72, is equipped with a scissors-type bridge that can be deployed in two configurations: a 20-meter span supporting vehicles up to 60 tons and a 22-meter span supporting vehicles up to 70 tons.
About MoD

Minister : Rajnath Singh
Headquarters : New Delhi
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