SOURCE: IDRW.ORG TEAM
Mahindra’s version of the Wheeled Armored Amphibious Platform (WhAP), developed in collaboration with DRDO (Defense Research and Development Organization), is making significant progress as it heads towards user trials conducted by the Indian Army.
The Mahindra-DRDO WhAP is part of a broader initiative to enhance India’s defense capabilities through indigenous manufacturing and technology transfer. While it shares the basic design of the TATA-DRDO WhAP, Mahindra’s version incorporates several distinctive features, differentiating it from its counterpart.
DRDO has extended technology transfer for the WhAP platform to at least three companies, with Larsen & Toubro (L&T) also actively working on its own 8×8 variant of the Amphibious Wheeled Armored Vehicle. Last year, L&T showcased a scale model of its WhAP variant at the Defense Expo 2022, announcing that the fabrication of the prototype was already underway. The rollout of L&T’s WhAP is expected in 2023, after which it will be offered for internal trials to the Indian Army.
The Indian Army’s interest in wheeled armored vehicles like WhAP is evident in its procurement of Infantry Protected Mobility Vehicles (IPMV) manufactured by Tata. These vehicles are a modified version of the WhAP and have been acquired in limited numbers. Tata has also supplied WhAP vehicles to the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
While the Indian Army has not yet placed a major order for WhAP, it is actively evaluating offerings from all three companies involved in its development, including Mahindra, Tata, and L&T. Additionally, there is potential competition from Bharat Forge, which is working on the Terrex Infantry Carrier Vehicle (ICV), developed by ST Engineering of Singapore and Timoney Technology of Ireland.
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