04 GREAT REASONS WHY MENA MUST INDUCT MAHINDRA ALSV IN ITS MILITARY FLEET

The HMMWV vehicles manufactured by AM General of United States were extensively used by the armies across the world due to its capability to intervene in tracked and untracked terrain with swift effectiveness, particularly during Gulf War of early 90s. These vehicles were a formidable force for contingents operating in both urban and rural warfare till 2000. A similar platform owned by an OEM in totality including automotive and ballistic component is the need of the hour and is eagerly awaited for the vacuum left behind by the popular HMMWV.

Mahindra Advanced Light Strike vehicle

In 2023 the Indian Ministry of Defence placed an order for 1300 Units of Armored Mahindra Advanced Light Strike Vehicles for its units engaged in combatting terrorism in various parts of the country. This order value of USD 156 Millions did not come easy for the Mahindra group. A user trial of the vehicle in grueling mountains, plains and deserts were conducted for an extended period of 18 months followed by ballistic trials. Mahindra Advanced Light Strike Vehicle emerged victorious amongst all the OEMs which participated in the trials.

Technical Specifications of Mahindra ALSV

Mahindra ALSV is powered by a 3.2 L six-cylinder engine which generate a power of 215 HP at 3600 RPM and a peak torque of 500 Nm. The vehicle has a sitting capacity of 6 or 8 persons in two types of sitting configurations. The vehicle is air transportable and armored to STAGNAG 4569 Level 1 which can be further upgraded to STAGNAG 4569 Level 2. The vehicle has a Gross Vehicle Weight of 4750 Kg and has a payload capacity of 1 Ton plus.

Why Middle East and  North African (MENA) countries must consider inducting Mahindra Advanced Light Strike Vehicle in their armies?

The Mahindra ALSV offers some unique features which are best designed to meet the challenges and suit the environment and terrain conditions of these countries.

1. Terrain: Mahindra ALSV has been successfully trail evaluated in the desert terrain of the Indian sub-continent in extreme summer conditions. The terrain and climatic conditions of the MENA region is quite similar to the desert terrain of western part of India.
2. Light and Compact: The maneuverability of Mahindra ALSV makes it suitable for urban warfare which is a typical requirement for the governments facing the conflicts in the MENA region. Even India as deployed a good number of ALSVs in the urban areas of Jammu and Kashmir where is it conducting anti-terror operations.
3. Multi Weapon platform: Mahindra ALSV is a versatile vehicle capable of mounting anti-tank, anti-aircraft, anti-drone and light mortars, making it a vehicle which can be deployed for multiple roles in conventional and sub conventional warfare. The recent display of Mahindra ALSV on the republic day parade of India with an anti-tank weapon is a testimony of this fact.
4. Ballistic Protection: As stated above this vehicle offers protection of STAGNAG 4569 Level 1 but it can offer protection till STAGNAG Level 2, making it available for deployment in the areas of maximum threat. This is the highest level of protection that a vehicle of this category can offer to its occupants.

Product Support

It is an extremely critical consideration that if the OEM of Mahindra ALSV plans to take this variant at global platform, then it must carefully strategize the product support for the complete life cycle. Service support of Mahindra ALSV needs to be carefully planned before pitching this vehicle to global customers. The Indian Armed forces have learnt this lesson the harder way where frequent changes of motor regulations have rendered models less than ten years old redundant leading to unavailability of spares. Hence all the procurement documents of Indian Ministry of Defence has a feature of availability of spares in physical stock rather than a written commitment of the manufacturer for the entire life cycle of the product. Besides this, countries planning to purchase Mahindra ALSV must ensure presence of a local dealer or representative who can be consulted to provide after sales service. If a carefully planned and effectively executed product support of Mahindra ALSV till its complete life cycle is available then this vehicle has all the necessary characteristics of making a global mark.

Conclusion

Mahindra Advanced Light Strike vehicle has inherently all the necessary features to make a global mark, however the challenges of service and product support needs to be carefully deliberated by the manufacturer, multiple countries in MENA region have experienced challenges in maintenance and servicing of the imported vehicles especially for military use on account of low or no availability of product support. Some countries have even resorted to the mandatory regulation of local manufacturing of all the global brands and take the ownership of product support throughout the life cycle of the product, which seemingly a smart move has slowed down the procurement process of emergency goods. However, in the long run this is a very intelligent move

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