India’s response to the Hummer. Presenting the M&M Axe.
Image from Militaryphotos.net

Mahindra and Mahindra recently tested the Mahindra Axe, a multipurpose vehicle developed to replace the againg “Windy 505″ for the Indian Army.

Raj Khalsa, over at Militaryphotos has a detailed article about the Axe.

Developed in a mere 36 months to fulfill the Indian Army “Light Specialist Vehicle” a la ‘mini-Humvee’ requirement, the rugged Mahindra Axe, unlike for example, the Arjun MBT, had Indian army involved in its design process from the get go.

Specs haven’t been made public yet, but it has been tested with a variety of indigenous engines raging from 150hp to 300hp to 400hp. The Axe will come in both open and hard-top versions, capable of mounting light artillery.

It’s currently undergoing army user trials in various terrains and weather conditions. The vehicle is stated for production in 2008, and will be produced in large amounts to sufficiently “dot the armyscape.” Later, a civilian spin-off of the model will be sold

The IA officially confirmed previous news reports and confirmed the whole program a couple days ago without officially ‘confirming’ it by loudly and visibly “road testing” two prototypes not so discretely affixed with “ARMY TRIAL” signs in the Gurgaon suburb of Delhi, which were caught on camera by car enthusiasts

Brigadier Khutub A Hai, CEO, Mahindra defence systems, confirmed that a civilian version will soon be in the showrooms.

What makes this piece of news interesting is the fact that Mahindra already has a presence in the US and if the Axe takes off, it might serve the huge “wanna-drive-military-vehicles on road” market here.

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