New Delhi: The Indian Army has selected city-based OshoCorp Global Private Limited, among several other companies, for developing and likely supply of 85,000 125mm specialised ammunition for its main battle tanks under an industry-funded project. This deal, when awarded to one of the competing companies, will be worth at least $310 million.

The army has accorded project sanction order for development and supply of 125mm Armour-Piercing Fin-Stabilized Discarding Sabot (APFSDS) for its mainstay battle tanks under the ‘Make II‘ guidelines of Defence Procurement Procedure, according to a company statement. The selection process was completed over a three-year period.

The 125mm APFSDS is the primary ammunition of battle tanks, utilised for destruction of enemy tanks, according to OshoCorp Global chief executive officer Ashutosh Khate.

“The advent of superior protection technologies now available globally, results in improved protection levels of Armoured Fighting Vehicles (AFVs). The aspect of Depth of Penetration (DoP), which defines the terminal effects of the ammunition, is a major consideration to defeat the enhanced protection levels of AFVs,” Khate said.

“We will be developing and manufacturing an improved APFSDS ammunition with minimum DoP of 530mm and higher, in order to enhance the lethality, within the existing ‘safety’, ‘consistency’, and ‘shelf life’ criteria. This ammunition will be fired from the existing barrels, presently fitted on the T-72 and T-90 tanks.”

Khate said OshoCorp Global’s design and engineering team has been working on development of 125mm APFSDS ammunition project under the end-user requirements and confident to manufacture the same as per the ‘Make II’ guidelines regarding indigenous content.

“Initially, there is need to develop up to 250 rounds each for T-72, T-90 tank platforms for trial and approval. Subsequently, (once approved) we have to produce 85,000 rounds of ammunition. This project is being executed by OshoCorp’s weapons and ammunition division “vSalute“,” he said.

The project will help India towards self-reliance in specialised ammunition manufacturing technology and fulfill Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s vision of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat‘.

OshoCorp Global’s special projects head Colonel P. K. Juneja said the current project cost was likely Rs 2,300 crore (~$310 million, in today’s currency conversion) and it has huge potential to generate future domestic and export business, which can be many times more than the current project cost.

He said ammunition is a continuous requirement and the current demand is based on backlog. In the export market, countries using T-72and T-90 tanks can benefit by purchasing India-made 125mm APFSDS ammunition.

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