The Sarvatra is a development of the Research and Development Establishment (R&DE) of the DRDO. The bridge can be over a water and land obstacles to provide 75 meters of bridge-length for battle tanks, supply convoys and troops. The system consists of a light aluminum alloy scissors bridge and was approved for production in March 2000 after 200 tank crossing trials. One complete set of the multi span mobile bridging system includes five truck-mounted units with a bridge-span of 15 meters each. The system is designed to take the weight of the Arjun, by far the heaviest vehicle in the Army’s inventory. According to the Sarvatra Project Director Dr P.K. Venkatachalam, a microprocessor based control system are among reduces the number of personnel required to deploy and operationalize the bridge. The Sarvatra project was sanctioned in 1994 and completed development in October 1999 at a total cost of Rs 230 million. The bridging equipment is carried on a Tatra Kolos chassis and the system is built by Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML) at their Mysore complex. Exercise Sangharsh scheduled for the first half of  the year will see the first deployment of the system. DRDO is developing a newer version of the Sarvatra with 20 meter long spans.

Salient Features

Load Class: MLC-70

Single Span Length: 15/20 m

Multi-Span Capability: 75/100 m

Roadway Width: 3.45 m during transportation; 4 m during use

Span Height: 2.6 m to 6 m

Construction time: 15 minutes

Crew: 1 driver + 3