Technology and aerospace company Paramount Group has developed a new add-on armour for its next-generation Mbombe 4 Infantry Fighting Vehicle.

The add-on armour has resulted in some of the highest levels of protection that can be achieved globally by an armoured vehicle in its class, the company states.

The Mbombe 4 was first launched in 2019, designed for local manufacturing within customer countries, in response to governments wanting to develop their own defence industrial capabilities.

The vehicle has successfully completed a series of extreme trials with several armed forces around the world, with notable customers including the United Arab Emirates and India, the latter having a localised variant called Kalyani M4.

Paramount specialises in the creation of portable manufacturing facilities through technology and skills transfer. The group has produced a range of advanced armoured and mine protected vehicles.

The Mbombe 4 performs with a burst speed of 140 km/h, has an 800 km operating range and benefits from an independent suspension system, which is designed to optimally meet the increasing demand for outstanding protection with mobility.

Paramount says the vehicle is already recognised as one of the best protected armoured vehicles in the world, adding that newly tested and certified add-on armour increases the vehicle’s protection to cover all Level 3 threats within North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) Stanag 4569, the Nato standards agreement.

Designed to be quickly replaceable in the field, the add-on armour provides a lightweight shielding system that adds the least possible weight to the vehicle, while providing maximum security against multi-hit ballistic threats, artillery shell fragments and close proximity improvised explosive device explosions.

Importantly, the design includes the same full levels of protection for the engine and engine bay, without decreasing the effectiveness of the engine cooling system.

This development of enhanced add-on armour is the latest in a series of significant announcements regarding the exceptional performance of the Mbombe 4 and its rollout across strategic partner countries globally.

“Providing next-generation survivability and mission efficiency is a cornerstone of our Land Systems division. We are dedicated to continually researching and developing highly-customised solutions to meeting the asymmetrical security challenges of 2021 and into the next decades.

“This is a mission imperative to our business and one that has ensured steady growth in our partnerships worldwide,” says Paramount Land Systems executive John Craig.