HOT WHEELS: TOWARDS A HIGHLY MOBILE ARMY

While the Indian Army has a significantly large fleet of trucks and utility vehicles, there is a need to further augment the capabilities by adding latest vehicles with better fuel-efficiency, faster speeds, larger wheelbases and enhanced axle-load bearing capacities

- AMARTYA SINHA

It is a widely endorsed fact that rapid mobilisation of troops and equipment play a pivotal role in deciding a nation’s fate in the opening hours of a war. Trucks, all-terrain vehicles, utility vehicles and armoured cars along with engineering and support vehicles aide in rapidly mobilising infantrymen and weapon systems in the tactical-level battlefield. Being a nation, which has a wide plethora of geographic terrains and surrounded by a hostile neighbourhood spread across a vast expanse, India needs to maintain pace with the emerging geopolitical realities of South Asia. From the sandy deserts of Thar in the West to the mighty Himalayas in the North and Northeast, the Indian Army faces a massive challenge in managing logistics during unprecedented flareups on the borders. At a time when the union government has decided to raise IBGs (Integrated Battle Groups) on the Western and North-eastern theatres, the requirement for cutting-edge and high-capacity mobility solutions is on the rise. While the Indian Army has a significantly large fleet of trucks and utility vehicles, there is a need to further augment the capabilities by adding latest vehicles with better fuel-efficiency, faster speeds, larger wheelbases and enhanced axle-load bearing capacities.

Utility vehicles