- Contract worth Rs 1,056 crore

- 1,300 Light Specialist Vehicles (LSV) to be supplied in the next four years

Mahindra Defence Systems Limited (MDS), a subsidiary of Mahindra and Mahindra has received a contract from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for manufacturing Armoured Tactical Vehicles (LSV) for the Indian Army for their recce and weapon carrier requirements.

Competitive bids were invited by MoD from several Indian Companies and the test vehicles were put through the rigorous and elaborate trial procedure in different terrains including high altitude, deserts, and plains. Mahindra states that LSV has been designed and developed by MDS keeping in mind the exact standards and requirement of the Indian Army. The contract is worth Rs 1,056 crore and the vehicles are slated to be introduced in a span of four years commencing from 2021.

The LSV is a modern fighting vehicle and will act as a medium of carriage for machine guns, automatic grenade launchers, and anti-tank guided missiles. These vehicles are agile with all-round protection against small arms fire and will assist small independent detachments which are required to operate this weapon platform in the operational area.

S P Shukla, Chairman, Mahindra Defence Systems Limited, said,“This contract truly signifies success of Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative. It is the first major contract for the advanced armoured tactical vehicles that are designed and developed by private sector in India with intellectual property rights within the country. This contract paves the way for large scale adoption of Indian platforms with indigenous capabilities.”