Ashok Leyland Defence Systems, a joint venture company manufacturing specialized tactical and armoured vehicles, unveiled at DEFEXPO 2012 the first of the range of COLT tactical vehicles, the Light Tactical Vehicle (4×4). The vehicle has been developed through the company’s strategic partnership with Panhard General Defense, France. In addition, a new range of product concepts and systems developed with Krauss Maffei Wegmann Gmbh (KMW), Germany, were also unveiled.
“India’s Defence sector is seeking greater participation from the private sector to shore up the nation’s defences, and Ashok Leyland Defence stands poised to leverage technologies and partnerships to provide tactical and armoured solutions to address our country’s defence requirements,” said Dr. V. Sumantran, Chairman, Ashok Leyland Defence Systems. “Our product range will offer state-of-the-art performance while achieving high levels of local content and cost competitiveness. Today, we are proud to unveil the COLT 4×4 Light Tactical Vehicle which offers superior protection, improved agility and enhanced performance typical of our new range of vehicles”.
The COLT LTV, jointly developed by Ashok Leyland Defence and Panhard General Defense, has excellent mobility owing to a power-to-weight ratio of over 34 hp per tonne. It is equipped with a high performance chassis, a unique suspension system and an innovative patented armoured hull.
Essentially designed to carry out protected tactical liaison missions, the LTV can fill a large array of roles such as escort, patrol and command vehicles. It is battle-proven and over 2,000 units are deployed across 15 countries.
Ashok Leyland Defence is also engaged in developing a range of armoured vehicles with military payloads ranging from 1.5 to 16 tonnes on the COLT, Stallion and Super Stallion platforms that will address requirements for light specialist vehicles (LSVs), light bullet-proof vehicles (LBPVs), light artillery machines (LAMs), mine-protected vehicles (MPVs), field artillery tractors, multi-barrel rocket launchers (MBRLs) and other special applications.
Ashok Leyland also unveiled the Super Stallion 8×8 high mobility vehicle (HMV) and, with that, the expansion of its range of logistics vehicles. Also displayed for the first time was a new face-lifted version of the very popular Stallion in 6×6 configuration with a new high power engine and auto transmission.
“The HMV 8×8 Super Stallion is our new top-of-the-range offering – a contemporary technology product that is proudly indigenous. This heavier Super Stallion platform builds on the heritage of the Stallion, of which more than 65,000 vehicles are deployed by the Indian Army. Stallions form the veritable backbone of their logistics operations, and we cherish our role as their largest supplier of logistics vehicles,” said Mr. Nitin Seth, Executive Director – Defence Business, Ashok Leyland.
“This experience, as well as experience in some of our new export markets has allowed us to factor customer feedback to achieve the significant improvements to the product,” he added.
The Super Stallion HMV 8×8 is propelled by a state-of-the-art powerful 360 hp (265 kW) Neptune engine that can crank up a torque of 1400 Nm. Hub reduction axles ensure better ground clearance and grip for its 8 wheels in sand, and the Central Tyre Inflation System (CITS) enables inflating or deflating tyres even when on the move.
The Stallion 6×6 is significantly upgraded in form and function compared to its earlier version. It has a more powerful 165 kW Common Rail Diesel engine that is capable of 800 Nm of torque to operate in demanding, mountainous terrain. Ease of use is addressed by the automatic transmission that is matched to the new engine. It is also equipped with a modern, face-lifted cabin that is ergonomic, air-conditioned with bucket seats and fitted with a driver-friendly information display cluster panel.
The Stallion 6×6 can be used as troop carrier, water and fuel bowser, LRV and as the base vehicle to mount communication equipment and command control posts. It is already performing with the Royal Thai Army and is also operational in Honduras and South Africa.
Fleet management system
Both the platforms are supported by a fleet management system (FMS) to ensure increased operational efficiency and fleet uptime. Fleet managers can track fleet usage, fuel usage and service complaints and plan scheduled preventive as well as corrective maintenance, in addition to being informed about availability status of vehicles in the fleet. The simple and easy-to-use interface helps fleet managers, drivers and maintenance crews to log in vehicle data and generate relevant reports. Driver and mechanic training programmes can also be monitored through these dashboards. The entire FMS system can also be offered in a fully operational turnkey basis.
A comprehensive range of customer services is also on offer that include service camps, mobile and driver trainings. Model rooms have been set up across the country for regular technical seminars, field service campaigns and the mammoth task of ‘training the trainers’ for operation/maintenance of the Indian Army’s Stallion fleet. A mobile parts store, positioned in the Eastern Command, ensures easy availability of genuine spares that not only helps in getting the vehicle back on the road faster but keeps it going longer.