Defence Land Systems India (DLSI) has delivered its first mine protected vehicle India (MPV-I) to the Jharkhand Police recently. Brig. (Retd) Khutub Hai, MD & CEO, handed over the keys to B.B. Pradhan, Additional Director General of Police, Jharkhand Police, commencing fulfillment of the State’s order of six MPVIs. DLSI is a joint venture enterprise between Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd (74 per cent) and global defence and security company BAE Systems PLC (26 per cent).

Hai said, “This is a proud moment for DLSI as this is the first such vehicle of its kind indigenously manufactured by the private sector industry being delivered to the police forces in the country. I assure the ADGP, Jharkhand Police that the MPV-I will meet all the stated parameters and we hope it will greatly enhance the operational effectiveness of the police forces in Naxal-affected areas of the country.”

In order to ensure smooth induction of these vehicles, into the force, DLSI is also training a fleet of drivers and mechanics of the Jharkhand Police force to ensure optimum use of the vehicle. Moreover, DLSI will also provide complete life cycle support to the police for these vehicles.

It is built with technology and product capability transfer from BAE Systems in South Africa, the MPV-I. The vehicle combines excellent ballistic and blast protection capabilities. Built on Ural Chassis it incorporates a ‘V’ shaped mono hull chassis which directs the force of the blast away from the occupants, has been tested to withstand the highest level of protection available in the country. In addition to the enhanced protection, the 6x6 vehicle has a powerful engine that ensures high mobility and can carry an entire operational team, making it ideally suited for anti-terrorist and anti-Naxal operations. DLSI has commenced serial production at Prithla, near Faridabad which has a present installed capacity of 100 MPV-I per annum.