Ashok's FAT 4x4 has been ordered by the Indian Army for towing howitzers and carrying munitions. (Photo: Ashok)
Indian commercial vehicle maker Ashok Leyland has won an INR800 crore ($97.5 million) contract to supply 4x4 and 6x6 logistics support vehicles for towing light and medium guns and ammunition carriage.
The order is part of a rapid procurement launched in January with vehicles destined to serve in medium 155mm artillery and air defence regiments along the Chinese border.
Under the requirement the larger platforms must have an 8t payload capacity, ammunition handling crane, a winch and a mount for a light machine gun. Deliveries are expected to be completed before mid-2024.
India hunts for thousands of general service trucks
Indian Army issues a spree of tenders for vehicles and equipment
The FAT 4x4 and GTV 6x6 are specialised vehicles employed by artillery regiments for towing light and medium guns, respectively, according to the company. The number ordered under the contract was undisclosed but when the RfP was released it was for 252 high-mobility artillery tractors.
Ashok Leyland president for defence business, Amandeep Singh, said the company has invested in development of mobility platforms ranging from 4x4, 6x6, 8x8, 10x10 and 12x12 for various applications and operational requirements of the Indian Armed Forces,
Thales launched Storm-H in 2012 as an EW system equipping individual dismounted troops, and a decade later revealed details to develop the improved and more powerful Storm 2.
Drones and military ground vehicles are increasingly being designed to operate together as a single platform or even to convert crewed systems to automated ones.
The acquisition, which is part of the country’s broader defence package worth DKK58 billion (US$9.2 billion), goes against the grain with many other European countries opting for the US’s popular Patriot platform.
The UK’s Land Mobility Programme (LMP) seems set to be delayed once again but industry is jockeying for position to partner in what would be one of the biggest ever buys for the British Army.
AM General’s Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) A2 is in low-rate initial production and the company is looking for export orders, notably the UK’s Land Mobility Programme (LMP), to add to a recent approval for Canada to buy vehicles.
The UK’s Land Mobility Programme (LMP) to replace thousands of vehicles is in flux as the tender for the Light Mobility Vehicle segment planned for November is set to be missed. IDV Robotics’ Dr Geoff Davis is calling for the UK government to focus broadly on indigenous capability for procurement and to do it faster.
Connect with us on socials
