Dhanush howitzer during Republic Day Parade 2017

The Ashok Leyland FAT 6×6 is an all-terrain military truck developed and produced by Indian automobile manufacturer

Ashok Leyland Ashok Leyland is an Indian multinational automotive manufacturer, headquartered in Chennai. It is owned by the Hinduja Group. It was founded in 1948 as Ashok Motors and became Ashok Leyland in the year 1955. Ashok Leyland is the second-most ...

. Designed for towing heavy artillery guns, it will replace the aging fleet of

Scania SBAT111S The Scania SBA111, designated Terrängbil 30 (''Tgb 30''), is a military all-wheel drive cross-country truck designed and manufactured by Scania division of Saab-Scania for the Swedish Armed Forces. Full name is ''Sp''ecial ''B''ulldog ''A''l ...

used by the Indian Army.

Development

In 1986, when the Indian Army purchased 410 FH77B Bofors howitzers, they also ordered 660 SBAT111S trucks. 30 years later, these trucks had become obsolete and the Army looked for a replacement. Ashok Leyland is one of the biggest suppliers of logistics vehicles to Indian Army; the company's

Stallion A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...

truck has over 60,000 units in service with Indian Army. Thus, the development of FAT or Field Artillery Tractor was started as a private venture to replace the ageing fleet of Scania trucks.

Design & features

The truck is designed on Leyland's "Super Stallion" platform. It is powered by Ashok Leyland's in-house developed 8-litre Neptune series engine that gives of power and 1,400 Nm of torque at 1,300 rpm. This is mated to an 8-speed manual transmission (2-speed transfer case). The truck runs on full-time 6-wheel drive system with all axles having differential lock. The FAT 6x6's towing capacity is rated at 8 tonnes. The driver's cabin can hold four people and the crew cabin just behind it can hold six. The cargo bay is fitted with a 2.7 tonne crane for loading/unloading ammunition and other equipment. There is a roof hatch for observation, emergency exit and firing. At the front, the truck has a 10 tonne self-recovery winch. Other features include a fire and smoke detection unit, an infrared

rear-view camera A backup camera (also called a reversing camera or rear-view camera) is a special type of video camera that is produced specifically for the purpose of being attached to the rear of a vehicle to aid in backing up and to alleviate the rear blind ...

and Indeginised Rotex central tire inflation system. For driver's comfort, cab is equipped with HVAC.

Production

In March 2016, Ashok Leyland won a contract for supplying 450 units of the FAT 6x6 along with other "Super Stallion" vehicles and 825 units of "Ambulance 4x4" to the army. The total order was worth ₹800 crore. In 2017, the first batch of trucks was delivered.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashok Leyland FAT 6x6 Military trucks of India Ashok Leyland Defence Systems trucks Six-wheeled vehicles Artillery tractors