Army Chief General MM Naravane on July 2, 2021, inducted the first lot of 12 Short Span Bridging System into the Indian Army during a ceremony held at Cariappa Parade Ground, Delhi Cantt. A total of 100 of these systems will be inducted into the Army over the next two years.
Dr G Satheesh Reddy, Chairman DRDO and Secretary Department of Defence R&D was present at the occasion. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the Indian Army, DRDO, and the industry on the successful induction of the system.
About Short Span Bridging System
•As a part of ‘Make in India’ campaign, these Short Span Bridging System will assist the army troops to overcome geographical obstacles like canals and small rivers in case of operations along the western borders.
Short Span Bridging System: Cost and development
•The Project Short Span Bridging system costing Rs 492 crore has been designed by DRDO and Indian Army engineers and manufactured by Larsen and Toubro Limited.
•The system comprised the development of two prototypes of SSBS-10m on Tatra 8×8 re-engineered chassis and two prototypes of SSBS-5m on Tatra 6×6 chassis.
How will Short Span Bridging System benefit?
•The SSBS-10m will play a significant role in bridging the gaps up to 9.5m thus enabling faster movement of the troops. So far, the army had bridging systems that were 5 meters wide and 15 meters long.
•The system can carry tanks up to 70 tons over different types of water obstacles. The system can be launched within 8 to 10 minutes with 4 soldiers at work.
•One of the unique features of the newly inducted bridging system is its compatibility with existing bridging systems that boosts its capability to navigate through any water obstacles along the western borders.
Source: Jagran Josh
