Ashok Leyland Defence and KMW sign MoU

Ashok Leyland Defence Systems Ltd. and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann GmbH & Co. KG, Munich, Germany, have concluded a Memorandum of Understanding during the International Defence Exhibition (IDEX) at Abu Dhabi to co-operate in the development of advanced defence systems for the Indian defence establishment as well as other defence forces worldwide. The scope of the co-operation will initially include the development of armoured wheeled vehicles, recovery vehicles, artillery and combat systems, bridge laying systems and other similar products. Ashok Leyland Defence Systems (ALDS), a newly formed company in which the Hinduja flagship, Ashok Leyland, has 26 pc equity, brings to this strategic alliance the expertise and experience of designing and developing Defence vehicles that has made Ashok Leyland the largest supplier of logistics vehicles to the Indian Army with over 60,000 of its Stallion vehicles forming the Army’s veritable logistics backbone. Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) will provide the technology and the technical assistance that will be required for the development of these Defence systems. A 170-year-old company, KMW leads the market for highly protected armoured wheeled and tracked vehicles. The armed forces of over 30 nations worldwide rely on their systems such as the MBT LEOPARD 2, the artillery system PzH 2000 or the highly protected DINGO 2. Dr. V. Sumantran, Chairman, Ashok Leyland Defence Systems, noted, “This strategic partnership seeks to harness the formidable skills of both companies, namely, the technological bandwidth of KMW and our approach to innovations aimed at cost advantage. For ALDS, this brings a new range of product opportunities with which we hope to fulfill India’s growing Defence needs and over time to address select overseas markets.” Frank Haun, CEO and President, KMW, said, ““This partnership with ALDS is a further consequent step in KMW’s strategy to internationalize its business. Along with ALDS, we are now able to jointly develop future Indian Defence solutions based on our proven and worldwide leading technologies.”