BEML-DRDO pact: To develop key mobility systems for Army; boost to ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ in defence sector

BEML Limited has signed three licensing agreements with the Defence Research and Development Organisation’s vehicles research and development establishment (VRDE) to manufacture critical support and mobility systems for the army’s armoured corps, the state-run company said on Monday. Under the deal, Bharat Earth Movers Limited will indigenously produce the unit maintenance vehicle (UMV) and unit repair vehicle (URV) for the MBT Arjun tank, as well as a 70-tonne tank transporter trailer featuring an advanced hydraulic suspension system. The agreements were formally handed over by Samir V Kamat, secretary, department of defence R&D and chairman, DRDO, to Sanjay Som, director (mining & construction), BEML Ltd., during a ceremony held at VRDE in Ahmednagar on 7 June. The event was attended by G Ramamohana Rao, director, VRDE, Prateek Kishor, director general (armament and combat engineering), along with senior DRDO scientists and industry representatives.BEML, in a statement, called the collaboration a key step forward in boosting army’s operational strength with fully indigenous, next-generation systems.The company further added that the move is in line with the government’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative, aimed at achieving self-reliance in vital defence technologies.