Hyderabad-based BDL to supply Konkurs-M missiles to Indian Army

Hyderabad, Feb 2 (IANS) Hyderabad-based Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL) will manufacture and supply Konkurs-M anti-tank guided missiles to the Indian Army.

BDL and the Indian Army on Wednesday signed a contract worth Rs 3,131.82 crore for manufacture and supply of Konkurs-M. The contract will be executed in three years.

According to BDL Chairman and Managing Director Commodore Siddharth Mishra (Retd), Konkurs-M is being manufactured by BDL under license agreement with a Russian OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer). He stated that the missile has been indigenised up to maximum extent. BDL is also offering Konkurs-M missile for export to friendly foreign countries.

Konkurs-M is a second-generation, mechanised infantry anti-tank guided missile, to destroy armoured vehicles equipped with Explosive Reactive Armour. The missile can be launched either from a BMP-II tank or from a ground launcher. It has a range between 75 to 4,000 metres with a flight time of 19 seconds.

BDL has augmented its manufacturing capacity to meet the domestic as well as overseas demand for Konkurs-M. As a part of its global outreach, BDL is also offering man portable anti-tank guided missiles, Nag, Milan-2T and Amogha, in addition to Konkurs-M, for exports.

The order book position of BDL stands at Rs 11,400 crore net including the Konkurs-M contract.

BDL is laying a lot of thrust on indigenisation of its products manufactured under transfer of technology with foreign OEMs. The public sector defence manufacturer said the Atmanirbhar Bharat mission has given momentum to the indigenisation efforts of the company.

BDL is also strengthening its in-house R & D capabilities to take up product innovation in order to mitigate Indian armed forces' product dependency on foreign countries.