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| BMP-3 (Wiki Info - Image: Wiki Commons) |
By VIVEK RAGHUVANSHI
NEW DELHI — Russia is hoping to persuade India to shelve its $10 billion homemade Futuristic Infantry Combat Vehicle (FICV) project and instead buy Russian BMP-3 vehicles, according to an Indian Defence Ministry source.
Russia has offered to transfer BMP-3 combat vehicle technology to India if India cancels the FICV project, which has yet to take off four years after it was conceived. Russian President Vladimir Putin will likely make the offer during summit talks with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Dec. 24, the source added.
An Indian Army officer said buying BMP-3s on a license-production basis would make better sense because the FICV likely won’t be inducted in the next 10 years. In the meantime, India’s existing Russian-made infantry combat vehicles — BMP-1s and -2s — need upgrades, he said.
Read the full story at DefenseNews