The Advanced Armoured Platform-Wheeled (AAP-Wh) under the Vikram VT 21 project was flagged off for field trials in Pune on April 25, marking a significant milestone in India’s indigenous defence manufacturing push.
The Vikram VT 21 project includes two platforms — wheeled (AAP-Wh) and tracked (AAP-Tr) — jointly developed by the Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (VRDE) under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), along with Bharat Forge Limited, Tata Advanced Systems Limited, and several MSMEs.
Senior officials including DRDO Chairman Dr. Samir V. Kamat, VRDE Director G. R. M. Rao, DG (ACE) Prateek Kishore, and Dr. (Ms) Chandrika Kaushik attended the event alongside Indian Army representatives.
Addressing the gathering, Dr. Samir. V. Kamat noted that this project is testament to the effectiveness of the Development Cum Production Partner (DCPP) model, in bringing together DRDO’s expertise and industry partners’ scale, to leapfrog platform design and development.
Highlighting the engineering achievement, Amit Kalyani, VC & JMD of Bharat Forge Ltd, stated that the Vikram is a feat of systems engineering that brings together a ruggedised vehicle chassis and unmanned turret.
The AAP-Wh platform was developed from concept to combat-ready stage in under three years, enabled by continuous collaboration among stakeholders. Having cleared the Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) for WH-AFV and FICV under the Ministry of Defence, the platform is now positioned for both domestic deployment and global export opportunities.