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| BMP-3 (Wiki Info - Image: Wiki Commons) |
By Vivek Raghuvanshi
NEW DELHI — India and Russia did not discuss the BMP-3 infantry vehicle program during a Dec. 24 visit here by Russian President Vladimir Putin with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, despite the program being on the agenda, said Indian Defence Ministry sources.
Russian teams for the past two months have discussed the BMP-3 program with Indian Defence Ministry officials. The Russians have offered their advanced BMP-3 vehicles as an alternative for India’s indigenous $11 billion FutureInfantry Combat Vehicle (FICV) project.
The FICV has yet to take off, four years after it was conceived, and the Indian Army wants to replace its aging BMP-1 and BMP-2 infantry combat vehicles.
The big ticket BMP-3 program has not been shelved and is likely to be taken up later between the two countries, added the sources.
Read the full story at DefenseNews