Ashok Leyland selects Lockheed Martin for defence vehicle programmes

Ashok Leyland Defence Systems (ALDS), has selected U.S. global security and aerospace company Lockheed Martin, for pursuit of its Indian Armed Forces Light Specialist Vehicle (LSV) and Light Armored Multipurpose (LAM) vehicle programmes.

Lockheed Martin’s High Mobility Vehicle or Common Vehicle Next Generation (CVNG) will provide the base platform for this development effort. With the Indian Armed Forces looking to rapidly modernise their protected wheeled vehicle fleet, there could be numerous additional opportunities for this development effort beyond the LSV and LAM programmes.

Ashok Leyland, flagship of the Hinduja Group, will serve as the prime contractor, and provide a high-quality, cost effective manufacturing hub for global requirements of these vehicles and variants. As a licensed manufacturer of the CVNG, this opens up a huge opportunity for ALDS to globally export this vehicle platform and its variants as a “Made in India” product.

Speaking on the occasion, Vinod K. Dasari, Managing Director of Ashok Leyland, noted, “As the largest provider of logistics vehicles to the Indian Army, Ashok Leyland has a strong portfolio in the defence sector. This partnership will not just further India’s ambitions under the ‘Make in India’ program, but help us provide robust and meaningful solutions to armed forces across new domains and geographies. We are buoyant about the defence segment, and expect our play to increase manifold.”