Indian vehicle manufacturer Tata Motors has supplied 585 military vehicles to African countries for use in the United Nation’s Minusma mission in Mali.
Tata began delivering the vehicles last year – a process which took about five months. The vehicles sold to Minusma are all-wheel-drive vehicles and were delivered to Mali’s neighbours for use in the Minisma mission.
Some of the vehicles sold to Minusma are believed to include fuel tankers, ambulances, refrigerator trucks, water tankers, 4×4 busses, 4×4 logistics trucks and light recovery vehicles.
Tata has for years been selling vehicles to African militaries, such as the Uganda People’s Defence Force, Djibouti, Tanzania and Mozambican military.
A representative from Tata said that the company has a whole range of vehicles available to meet requirements, from busses to armoured personnel carriers, and that the company has a good presence in all of Africa, with agents/dealers in countries like Mozambique, Angola, Malawi, Kenya, DRC, Sudan, Djibouti, Senegal, Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast etc.
The Indian armed forces is Tata’s largest military customer and recently awarded the company a contract to supply 1 200 high mobility 6×6 trucks for the Indian Army – the largest single order awarded to a private Indian land systems supplier by the Indian Army. The contract is worth around $150 million.
Tata Motors on 10 July said it planned to double its revenue from its defence business over the next three years to $600 million. It generated some $316 million in revenue from defence contracts over the last three years, representing 3% of total revenue. Future contracts it is bidding for include 700 light armoured vehicles and 100 wheeled armoured personnel carriers for the Indian military.
Tata recently unveiled its new Kestrel 8×8 Light Armoured Multipurpose Vehicle., featuring a detachable crew pod and V-shaped hull.
