India clears acquisition of Futuristic Infantry Combat Vehicle

India’s Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, has approved the procurement of the Futuristic Infantry Combat Vehicle (FICV) for the Indian Army.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in a statement that the procurement, approved through the provision of an ‘Acceptance of Necessity’ (AoN) status under the ‘Buy (Indian)’ category, includes the tracked version of the FICV for the Mechanised Infantry Regiment of the Indian Army.

The MoD added that the FICV should be amphibious and equip a manned turret with the future combat system (FCS), and fire-and-forget top-attack anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs).

The FICV must be inducted with an automatic cannon of at least 30 mm calibre, a co-axial machine gun, and a stabilised remote control weapon station (RCWS) with a 12.7 mm machine gun.

The FICV must be equipped with active protection and laser warning systems, and it must have a carrying capacity of 11 soldiers.