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DRDO WhAP
The DRDO Wheeled Armoured Platform (WhAP) is a family of eight-wheeled armoured personnel carriers co-developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation and private industry. It is being developed to replace ageing in-service armoured personnel carriers of the Indian Army.
The first generation of the WhAP was developed Tata Advanced Systems as Tata Kestrel while the second generation is being developed by Mahindra Defence Systems.
The Tata Motors reportedly won a bid for the development of an Infantry Combat Vehicle in 2012 beating competitors including Larsen & Toubro and Timoney Technology Limited of Ireland. DRDO funded 50% of the project and introduced the tentative technical specifications of the product. The cost of the vehicle was expected to be around ₹23 crore (equivalent to ₹32 crore or US$3.4 million in 2023). The vehicle after completing the development within 18 months underwent initial mobility trials in early 2014, amphibious trials with hydrojet trials in the summer of 2015 and firing trials in October 2015. This was followed by extreme weather summer trials at Pokhran, Rajasthan in 2016.
The National Centre for Automotive Testing (NCAT) at VRDE and a vehicle track at the Mechanized Infantry Regimental Centre (MIRC), Ahmednagar, were used for on-road and off-road mobility trials under developmental trials. In NCAT’s high speed track, the vehicle’s performance was tested in two modes, 8×8 and 8×4. It recorded a maximum speed of 104 km/h (65 mph), had an average fuel consumption of 1.3 km/l, and a range of 478 km (297 mi) with full tank diesel. Off-road mobility trials in 8×8 mode including cross-country running with gradient climbing was satisfactorily conducted at MIRC ‘A’ vehicle track followed by cross-country running with gradient climbing at NCAT.
During the DefExpo 2014 exhibition in February in New Delhi, Tata Kestrel was introduced as an indigenous Wheeled Armoured Amphibious Platform concept with an eight-wheel drive configuration. The vehicle was developed in cooperation with the Defence Research and Development Organisation based on modular designs to incorporate further upgrades efficiently. The vehicle on display in 2014 was equipped with two Kongsberg supplied weapon mounts.
In the Defence Expo 2022 convention, the WhAP was showcased by Tata at the Helipad Exhibition Centre.
Kestrel equipped with the BMP-2 turret was introduced and demonstrated at DefExpo 2016.
The vehicle, renamed as WhAP ICV with a BMP-2 turret, was again displayed at DefExpo 2018. WhAP with BMP-2 also participated in live public demonstrations during the exhibition. DRDO also exhibited a WhAP configured with the UT30MK2 unmanned turret from Elbit Systems.
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DRDO WhAP
The DRDO Wheeled Armoured Platform (WhAP) is a family of eight-wheeled armoured personnel carriers co-developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation and private industry. It is being developed to replace ageing in-service armoured personnel carriers of the Indian Army.
The first generation of the WhAP was developed Tata Advanced Systems as Tata Kestrel while the second generation is being developed by Mahindra Defence Systems.
The Tata Motors reportedly won a bid for the development of an Infantry Combat Vehicle in 2012 beating competitors including Larsen & Toubro and Timoney Technology Limited of Ireland. DRDO funded 50% of the project and introduced the tentative technical specifications of the product. The cost of the vehicle was expected to be around ₹23 crore (equivalent to ₹32 crore or US$3.4 million in 2023). The vehicle after completing the development within 18 months underwent initial mobility trials in early 2014, amphibious trials with hydrojet trials in the summer of 2015 and firing trials in October 2015. This was followed by extreme weather summer trials at Pokhran, Rajasthan in 2016.
The National Centre for Automotive Testing (NCAT) at VRDE and a vehicle track at the Mechanized Infantry Regimental Centre (MIRC), Ahmednagar, were used for on-road and off-road mobility trials under developmental trials. In NCAT’s high speed track, the vehicle’s performance was tested in two modes, 8×8 and 8×4. It recorded a maximum speed of 104 km/h (65 mph), had an average fuel consumption of 1.3 km/l, and a range of 478 km (297 mi) with full tank diesel. Off-road mobility trials in 8×8 mode including cross-country running with gradient climbing was satisfactorily conducted at MIRC ‘A’ vehicle track followed by cross-country running with gradient climbing at NCAT.
During the DefExpo 2014 exhibition in February in New Delhi, Tata Kestrel was introduced as an indigenous Wheeled Armoured Amphibious Platform concept with an eight-wheel drive configuration. The vehicle was developed in cooperation with the Defence Research and Development Organisation based on modular designs to incorporate further upgrades efficiently. The vehicle on display in 2014 was equipped with two Kongsberg supplied weapon mounts.
In the Defence Expo 2022 convention, the WhAP was showcased by Tata at the Helipad Exhibition Centre.
Kestrel equipped with the BMP-2 turret was introduced and demonstrated at DefExpo 2016.
The vehicle, renamed as WhAP ICV with a BMP-2 turret, was again displayed at DefExpo 2018. WhAP with BMP-2 also participated in live public demonstrations during the exhibition. DRDO also exhibited a WhAP configured with the UT30MK2 unmanned turret from Elbit Systems.