Kalyani Group’s flagship company, Bharat Forge Limited, and U.S. based AM General LLC, announced today at DEFEXPO 2016 their team to bid for India’s Light Specialist Vehicle (LSV) program using AM General’s battle-tested HMMWV as the LSV’s base platform with final build and production to take place in India.
The teaming between world renowned Light Tactical Vehicle provider AM General and Bharat Forge known for Manufacturing Excellence will lead to providing cost effective and best-in-class mobility solutions for Indian Armed Forces, said Baba N. Kalyani, Chairman and Managing Director, Bharat Forge.
AM General is pleased to be teamed with The Kalyani Group’s Bharat Forge to bring our proven light tactical vehicle solutions to India for military and paramilitary requirements, said AM General President and CEO, Andy Hove. “Bharat Forge has proven to be a world-class manufacturer, and we look forward to working together with them to deliver combat-proven mobility solutions to customers in India.”
The Indian Army has stipulated in its information request that the LSV needs to be capable of performing reconnaissance and patrol roles for all arms, provide space and cross mobility in all terrains (including high altitude and deserts) to small parties/teams (approximately six) and operate independently in the battle field. The team of Bharat Forge and AM General is uniquely qualified to fulfill all the requirements of the LSV program.
AM General’s unparalleled experience in designing and manufacturing military vehicle platforms and Kalyani Group’s engineering excellence and off-shore manufacturing capabilities together will provide significant discriminators in addressing the Indian Army’s LSV requirement.
Additionally, with the Indian Armed Forces looking to rapidly modernize their protected wheeled vehicle fleet, there could be numerous additional opportunities for this team effort beyond the LSV program.
About Bharat Forge
Bharat Forge Limited, the Pune based flagship company of the USD $2.5 billion Kalyani Group is a global forging conglomerate. It is the largest exporter of auto components from India and leading chassis component manufacturer in the world. With Manufacturing and Engineering facilities spread worldwide, Bharat Forge has capability to meet global demands of its customers. The company’s USP lies in the full service supply capabilities that it has developed, from product conceptualization to validation with high technology, engineering & manufacturing capability across several critical sectors such as Automotive, Power, Oil & Gas, Rail & Marine, Construction & Mining, Defence & Aerospace. The focus areas in Defence are Artillery Systems, Precision Ammunition, Armoured Vehicle Upgrades, Protected Vehicles and Homeland Security. Bharat Forge has been a traditional supplier, over past 35 years, of components and subsystems to Indian Defence, including a wide range of safety and critical components.
About AM General
AM General has six decades of experience and is recognized as a world leader in the design, engineering, manufacturing and support of Light Tactical Vehicles, having produced and sustained more than 300,000 vehicles for military and homeland security forces in over 60 countries. AM General’s Right Hand Drive is an expanded-capability HMMWV re-engineered for the 70-plus countries where vehicles are driven on the left side of the road. Strict Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) processes throughout development resulted in the best right hand drive light tactical vehicle available today. Built to the same rigid performance requirement of the U.S. military, it delivers the quality, mobility, and durability valued by the 60 nations already operating HMMWVs in their military and homeland security forces.
AM General’s growing Commercial business includes its wholly owned subsidiary, Mobility Ventures, designer and manufacturer of the acclaimed MV-1, the only American made vehicle specifically engineered from the ground up in support of wheelchair users and people with disabilities. AM General is also proud to have been selected by Mercedes-Benz to be its only contract manufacturer in the United States, producing the R-Class vehicle in Mishawaka, Indiana. Please see more information about AM General at www.amgeneral.com.