Mahindra Defence begins rolling out Armado specialist vehicle for armed forces

Mahindra Defence Systems (MDS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Mahindra & Mahindra, has begun rolling out the Armado, an armoured light specialist vehicle which has been indigenously designed and developed.

In a tweet this morning, S P Shuka, chairman of Mahindra Aerospace, Mahindra Defence and president of the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM), said: “Mahindra #Defence commences production & deliveries of Armado – India’s 1st Specialist Vehicle designed, developed & built in the country for our armed forces. We are fully dedicated to serve the nation through our products & services. Jai Hind”.

In March 2021, Mahindra Defence Systems had been awarded a major contract for the manufacture of Armoured Tactical Vehicles (LSV) for the Indian Army for their recce and weapon carrier requirements. 

Designed for multiple operational roles

The Armado is designed to be a modular type vehicle which can be upgraded or configured to suit a wide variety of operational roles, according to MDS. The Armado offers ballistic protection up to B7, Stanag Level II. 

The Armado can be used in counter-terrorist operations such as patrolling high-intensity areas, special forces operations and quick reaction teams. Other uses cases for the ALSV includes being a weapon carrier, a reconnaissance vehicle, a border security vehicle as well as being used in raids in open or desert terrain.

The Armado is powered by a 3.2-litre, turbocharged, direct-injection diesel engine that can also run on NATO-grade diesel. The engine develops 215hp and 500Nm of torque and power is delivered to all four wheels via a 4-speed automatic gearbox. The Armado has a claimed top speed of over 120kph and a 0-60kph time of 12 seconds, and has a payload capacity of 1,000kg. 

The Armado features Bilstein independent suspension for all four corners and gets 318/80-R17 tyres. The tyres can also run without air or a puncture for up to 50km and the Armado also gets a centralised tyre inflation system. It gets a power steering system and, interestingly, can be configured to be either left-hand drive or right-hand drive. 

The Armado has a seating capacity of six passengers, including the driver, and can be configured to seat up to eight. It also gets a public address (PA) system, GPS, automatic grenade launcher, electric winch, HF/UHF/VHF radio as well as a self-cleaning-type exhaust scavenging and air filtration system for extremely dusty climates.

With inputs from Satwik Khare, Autocar India

All images: courtesy SP Shukla/Twitter