Larsen & Toubro announces tie-up with BAE Systems for all-terrain vehicles

Engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on Thursday announced a partnership with BAE Systems to bring articulated all-terrain vehicle (AATV), the BvS10, to the Indian market.

L&T will use the tie up to bid for the  AATV programme from the armed forces.

“Under the agreement, L&T is the prime bidder for the Indian market, with the support of BAE Systems Hägglunds, the Swedish manufacturer of the highly successful BvS10 vehicles,” L&T said in a statement.

Further, BAE Systems and L&T have upgraded the BvS10 to meet the specific requirements of the Indian armed forces.

The company said this new variant will be known as the “BvS10-Sindhu”.

The AATV programme aims to deliver vehicles from L&T’s Armoured Systems Complex, Hazira, along with integrated logistic support (ILS), the statement added.

“Our teaming with Larsen & Toubro gives us the opportunity to expand into the Indo-Pacific market,” said Tommy Gustafsson-Rask, managing director (MD) of BAE Systems. L&T, in turn, expects the partnership to synergise its strengths and meet the requirements of the Indian Army, said Arun Ramchandani, executive vice-president & head, L&T Defence. 

In FY23, L&T’s hi-tech manufacturing segment, which includes defence orders, saw an order inflow of Rs 15,762 crore. This is a 39.5 per cent year-on-year growth, mainly on account of higher domestic defence orders.