India Eyes US Combat Vehicles To Replace Aging Russian BMPS

U.S. soldiers from the 2nd Infantry Division, Stryker Battalion Combat Team, participated in a combined drill with South Korean soldiers from the 25th Infantry Division, Army TIGER Demonstration brigade, at the trainingy 13, 2023, in Paju, South Korea. Sources say India is looking to jointly manufacture Stryker in field on Januarfantry fighting vehicles with the U.S.

The U.S. and India are engaged in talks to jointly manufacture the latest generation of Stryker armored infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs or infantry combat vehicles ) as New Delhi looks to replace the aging Russian-made ICVs.

"India and the US are now in an 'advanced stage of talks' for the proposed joint manufacture of the latest generation of Stryker armoured infantry combat vehicles (ICVs) as part of their defense-industrial cooperation roadmap," Indian newspaper The Times of India reported on Monday.

In a strategic move, the U.S. has recently proposed showcasing the Stryker's capabilities in India's challenging high-altitude regions. Sources told The Times of India that the Indian defense ministry is currently evaluating a detailed three-phase plan for the project.

"If the Stryker project is finalized, the existing Indian capabilities in IFVs will be taken into account," a source told the newspaper. "Strykers will have to be customized and technologically configured for Indian terrain, including operations in high-altitude areas like eastern Ladakh and Sikkim."

The potential joint-production of the Stryker armored vehicle was one of the primary topics of discussion during U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan's visit to New Delhi from June 17 to 18, Indian media outlet The Print reported on Monday.

India has relied on the Russian-built Boyevaya Mashina Pyekhoty-II (BMP-II) as an IFV, but the Indian Army is now looking to replace with these with more advanced vehicles.

China and India now view each other as geopolitical rivals, with Washington supporting New Delhi as a counterbalance to Beijing in the Indo-Pacific region. The two countries have been in a military standoff since 2020, which saw their first armed clash in over four decades.

In June of that year, a violent skirmish between Indian and Chinese patrols in a Himalayan ravine marked the first deadly clash along the disputed border in nearly 50 years. The encounter resulted in the deaths of 20 Indian troops and at least four Chinese soldiers.

Since 2020 at least 50,000 soldiers from both sides have been stationed face-to-face in the east of the Indian region of Ladakh. The deployment extends far beyond these immediate numbers, with the Indian Army reportedly having between 150,000 and 200,000 soldiers along its border with China.

The People's Liberation Army is said to have a comparable number of troops across the border, with up to 200,000 soldiers from the Xinjiang and Tibet Military Regions.

China has deployed a large number of IFVs in eastern Ladakh, Janes Group, a defense affairs platform, reported on Tuesday.

India's proposed plan to reequip with Strykers is set to begin with a limited purchase of the vehicles directly from the U.S. through its Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. This initial step would be followed by joint-production in India and culminate in the co-development of advanced versions of the ICV.

One expert believes Strykers may be ideal for India as evidenced by the vehicle's performance in the Russia-Ukraine war.

"The U.S.' willingness to demonstrate the Stryker's mobility and firepower in high-altitude areas, especially after its reasonable performance in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, may be key reasons for India to proceed with this project," Swasti Rao, an associate fellow at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, told Newsweek.

However, the success of this plan hinges on the Stryker meeting the stringent operational requirements of the Indian Army's mechanized infantry battalions. Additionally, the project must achieve a high level of indigenization and would involve the transfer of critical technologies to an Indian partner, in either the public defense sector or a private company.

In a bid to solidify this deal, the U.S. is vigorously promoting the Strykers.

Ahead of Sullivan's visit to India, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin highlighted the potential "coproduction of armored vehicles with India" at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore earlier this month, underscoring growing defense ties. The U.S. has already secured Indian defense contracts worth approximately $22 billion since 2007.

While the Stryker project is still under discussion, India and the U.S. are on the verge of finalizing two major deals in this financial year. One involves acquiring 31 armed MQ-9B high-altitude, long-endurance drones and associated equipment for $3.9 billion.

The other deal is the co-production of GE-F414 jet engines by General Electric and Hindustan Aeronautics for India's Tejas Mark Two fighters, featuring an 80 percent transfer of technology, valued at around $1 billion.

The Indian Army is in dire need of new ICVs to replace its aging fleet of over 2,000 Russian-origin BMP-II vehicles. The Indian Ministry of Defence is also pushing for indigenous projects to fulfill this requirement.

"The army also needs ICVs capable of amphibious operations in large numbers. Strykers are not amphibious," another source stated, according to The Times of India.

India has maintained a multi-aligned foreign policy posture while reducing dependence on Russia for weapon supply since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war.

"India has not signed a new defense contract with Russia after the war in Ukraine, but in the same period, has unprecedentedly enhanced its defense industrial relationship with Western partners, especially France and the U.S.," Rao told Newsweek. "The convergence between India and especially the US is driven by common interests in China and in the Indo-Pacific."

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