Indian Armed Forces Launch Search for New Logistical Support Vehicles
The Indian armed forces are seeking a new logistical support deal worth up to RS 50,000 crore (just over $6 million). The major procurement is in the request for information (RFI) stage and will be mainly used to procure new lorries and trucks, with an 5,000 vehicles planned as a cross-branch procurement and a further 2,500 for the Indian Army, expected to be ordered over a period of 5 to 6 years. The 5,000 vehicle requirement includes two payload capacities of 5 tons and 7.5 tons and are set to be used in various terrains across deployment areas of the Indian armed forces. The operational areas of the Indian Army are complex and varied with the new trucks set to be operating in harsh environments such as India’s northern borders with Pakistan and China. The 2,500 trucks for the Indian Army are set to weigh in at 2.5 tons.
Three manufactures are in the running for the order, TATA Advanced Systems, Bharat Forge and Ashok Leyland. The Indian army currently uses a mixture of lorries and trucks including the Ashok Leyland Stallion 4×4, over 60,000 have been produced since they were introduced into service in 2010. As part of the procurement request the new vehicles must meet a series of requirements which include being able to traverse a class 18 bridge, be transportable by railway, transport up to 34 troops and have a minimum fuel consumption of 5km per litre. Along with these factors the vehicles must have a engine life span of at least 150,000km or a 15 year lifespan. Logistics support vehicles capable of operating in difficult terrain and environments are key to the Indian armed forces abilty to operate in contested regions which have seen recent clashes such as Arunachal Pradesh in 2022 and Ladakh in 2020.
TATA are likely to propose variants of their LPTA 713 4X4, substantial numbers of these are already in service. It’s unclear what Bharat Forge will propose while Ashok Leyland will probably offer the latest version of their 4×4, the Stallion MkIV, which has a payload of 5 to 7.5 tons and can be configured to carry 22 troops.
The reasoning behind the search for new logistical support for the Indian armed forces is part of an ongoing programme of updating and modernising the transportation infrastructure of the Indian military. The next stage of the effort will be to launch a request for proposals to which industry will respond.