The Defence Ministry on Thursday signed two contracts worth ₹802 crore towards equipment for the Army. They include 697 Bogie Open Military (BOM) wagons at a cost of ₹473 crore with Jupiter Wagons Limited and 56 Mechanical Minefield Marking Equipment (MMME)-Mark II at a cost of ₹329 crore with Bharat Earth Movers Limited under the Buy (Indian-IDDM) category.
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“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, realizing the vision of atmanirbhar bharat,” a Ministry statement said.
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BOM wagons, designed by the Research Design and Standard Organisation are specialist wagons used by the Indian Army for mobilisation of Army units. BOM wagons are used to transport light vehicles, artillery guns, 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 exercises, and movement of units from one station to another, the statement said.
Marking of all minefields is a mandatory requirement according to the amended Protocol-II in certain conventional weapons to which India is a signatory. The 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 Ministry said. “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 Army,” the statement said.