The Armoured Engineer Reconnaissance Vehicle (AERV) is an Indian

military engineering vehicle A military engineering vehicle is a vehicle built for construction work or for the transportation of combat engineers on the battlefield. These vehicles may be modified civilian equipment (such as the armoured bulldozers that many nations field) ...

developed by

Defence Research and Development Organisation The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) (IAST: ''Raksā Anūsandhān Evam Vikās Sangaṭhan'') is the premier agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development in Ministry of Defence of the Government of India, ...

(DRDO) in coordination with C-TEC, as per General Staff Qualitative Requirements (GSQRs) of the Indian Army for enabling the combat engineers to conduct recce operations.

Development

AERV is manufactured by

Ordnance Factory Medak Ordnance Factory Medak (OFMK) (Hindi: आयुध निर्माणी मेदक), previously called Ordnance Factory Project Medak (OFPM) while in its development stage, is a factory owned by Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited , a company tha ...

, now comes under

Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited (AVANI) is an Indian state-owned defence company, headquartered in Avadi, Chennai, India established in 2021 as part of the restructuring and corporatisation of the Ordnance Factory Board into seven different Pu ...

(AVANI). The AERV is based on BMP-2 Sarath's hull (license produced variant of Russian

BMP-2 The BMP-2 (''Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty'', , literally "combat machine/vehicle (of the) infantry") is an amphibious infantry fighting vehicle introduced in the 1980s in the Soviet Union, following on from the BMP-1 of the 1960s. Development hist ...

) and is designed to carry out terrestrial and riverbed survey to facilitate construction of assault bridges across water obstacles in both offensive and defensive operations in plains, desert and riverine terrain. It has no gun and is fitted with specialized equipment, including an echo-sounder, a water current meter, a laser range finder and GPS. On the left rear of the hull, a marking system with 40 rods is fitted. AERV is developed by

Vehicle Research and Development Establishment Vehicle Research and Development Establishment (VRDE) is a laboratory of the Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO) located at Vahannagar near Ahmednagar. Its primary function is research and development of various light tracked, wh ...

(VRDE) and

Research & Development Establishment (Engineers) Research & Development Establishment (Engineers) (R&DE(E) or R&DE(Engrs)) is a laboratory of the Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO). Located in Pune, Maharashtra, India. its primary function is development of mobility equipment ...

. While

Bharat Electronics Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) is an Indian Government-owned aerospace and defence electronics company. It primarily manufactures advanced electronic products for ground and aerospace applications. BEL is one of nine PSUs under the Ministry ...

is manufacturing 14 major electronics and sensors.

Operational history

On 22 December 2021,

Indian Army Corps of Engineers The Indian Army Corps of Engineers is a combat support arm which provides combat engineering support, develops infrastructure for armed forces and other defence organisations and maintains connectivity along the borders, besides helping the civil ...

formally inducted AERV in Pune. Indian Army ordered 53 units of AERV that upon induction will be deployed on the Western front.

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20131116233034/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Army/Galleries/Mod/Logistics/Engineers/0616.jpg.html * https://web.archive.org/web/20160304061033/http://www.drdo.gov.in/drdo/Hindi/dpi/combat.htm * http://articles.janes.com/articles/Janes-Military-Vehicles-and-Logistics/Armoured-Engineer-Reconnaissance-Vehicle-AERV-India.html Military vehicles of India Military engineering vehicles {{India-mil-stub