The Indian Army is acquiring 650 High Mobility Vehicles (HMV) with 6X6 configurations with material handling crane (MHC) capabilities. These vehicles are designed to assist in the movement of munitions and heavy equipment across difficult terrains, such as the mountainous areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh and Sikkim, as well as the desert terrains along the Pakistan border.
High Mobility Vehicles For Easing Logistics Movements
This comes only weeks after the Indian Army ordered Ashok Leyland’s high mobility 4×4 and 6×6 trucks for transporting artillery guns and howitzers valued at Rs 800 crore. Officials have emphasised the strategic value of these HMVs in increasing the army’s ability to move heavy ordnance over a variety of terrains.
The addition of material handling cranes will allow for faster loading and unloading of ammunition, eliminating manual labour. Previously, these functions were only present in Scania ammunition carrier trucks affiliated with the Bofors Artillery System, but these Scania trucks are getting old, and such capabilities in other vehicles like Tatra and KrAZ do not come with MHC installed.
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According to a request for information (RFI) issued by the army, these 66 HMVs would be built to tow a minimum weight of 20 tonnes and handle payloads of at least 8,000 kg. The RFI also underlines the platform’s adaptability, including future adaptations for troop transport, flatbed container carriage, and other specific functions.
The vehicles are expected to function well in adverse weather and be transportable by Indian Air Force planes such as the IL 76 and C 17, as well as broad-gauge railway military bogeys. Furthermore, the HMVs must not weigh more than 24,000 tonnes.
In terms of MHC capabilities, the RFI calls for an outreach payload capacity capable of carrying ammo pallets or big loads weighing at least 700 kg at a reach of 9 metres. Furthermore, the vehicles must be fitted with modern turbocharged diesel engines and have a service life of at least 15 years or 150,000 kilometres.
High Mobility Vehicles: Different Variants Of 8×8 HMV
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