Defence and aerospace company Paramount Group has unveiled a new-generation eight-wheeled armoured vehicle in Astana, Kazakhstan, during the yearly Kazakhstan Defence Exhibition.
The Mbombe 8 infantry combat vehicle was designed to meet global demand for sophisticated and affordable military equipment that provided protection for land forces personnel in an era of unprecedented asymmetrical threats and conflict.
“This is a momentous occasion in the evolution of Paramount Group’s offering and we are very excited to develop this high-speed, long-range and low-profile 8x8 armoured vehicle,” said Paramount Group chairperson Ivor Ichikowitz.
He pointed out that, in less than a decade, Paramount had designed, developed and industrialised an armoured vehicle nearly every two years.
“We pioneered mine-resistant flat-floor technology which is central to the design of the new 8x8 platform. The development of Mbombe 8 has enabled Paramount Group to provide potential customers with a complete family of 4x4, 6x6 and 8x8 armoured fighting vehicles that share over 80% of common components to reduce life costs and [to ease] training and logistics,” said Paramount Group armoured vehicle business CEO Ben Jansen.
He added that the Mbombe 8 was based on the design of Paramount Group’s Mbombe 6 – an infantry combat vehicle that employed an inventive new form of protection, while keeping its profile to a minimum.
The Mbombe 8 also drew on Paramount Group’s experience of designing Marauder and Matador mine-resistant vehicles, which addressed the threats and operational requirements that were unique to the Commonwealth of Independent States, and represented the innovation and transfer of technology at the heart of the strategic industrial partnership between Paramount Group and its partners in Kazakhstan Paramount Engineering.