The first batch of next-generation Armoured Engineer Reconnaissance Vehicles (AERV), indigenously designed and developed by DRDO, and manufactured by the Pune unit of Bharat Electronics Limited, was formally inducted into the Indian Army by Chief of Army Staff Gen. Manoj Mukund Naravane.
AERV is manufactured by BEL at Pune with more than 90% indigenous content. It is a versatile BMP-IIK amphibious Infantry Combat Vehicle (ICV) fitted with instruments for water reconnaissance, land reconnaissance, navigation and data backup.
According to BEL, “AERV is capable of measuring soil bearing capacity on riverbanks to determine if they are motorable for military vehicles on Go-No Go basis (critical parameters for bridge laying), dry and wet gaps in day and night conditions, slopes and height of river banks or canals.”
AERVs can navigate terrain using Military Grid Co-ordinate System, measure and plot underwater beds and water currents of rivers or canals, store data from various instruments on Control Console for further analysis and decision-making.
