The Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Thursday inked two contracts for the procurement of Qty-697 Bogie Open Military (BOM) Wagons at a cost of Rs 473 crore with M/s Jupiter Wagons Limited and for the procurement of Qty-56 Mechanical Minefield Marking Equipment (MMME) Mark II at a cost of Rs 329 crores with M/s BEML Ltd, under Buy (Indian-IDDM) category.
The BOM Wagons and MMME will be produced with equipment and sub-system 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 MoD said in a press release.
Bogie Open Military (BOM) wagons, designed by the Research Design and Standard Organisation (RDSO) are specialist wagons used by the Indian Army for mobilisation of the 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.
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. 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.
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.