Tata LPTA

The Indian Army is one of the biggest users of Tatra trucks in the world with over 10,000 trucks of various types in service. Because of their high-operational flexibility and functional adaptability they formed the backbone of army's tactical & mobilisation capability. These trucks were license-produced in India by BEML, a public sector company. Following the Tatra bribery scam, a ban was imposed on Tatra and the supply of these trucks stopped. Thus, the development of multi axle tactical trucks was started by Tata to meet Army's requirements.[8]

The vehicles have cab over engine modular design. The cab can hold two crew and four passengers. There are 2 roof hatches for firing, observation and emergency exit. The trucks are equipped with a hydraulic crane for loading/unloading equipments. They also come with Central tire inflation system which inflates/deflates tyres according to terrain requirements. For driver's comfort, cab is equipped with HVAC. There is a self recovery winch in the front as well.[9]

The 6×6 and 8×8 variants are powered by a Cummins ISLe engine developing 375 horsepower while the 12×12 variant comes with a Cummins ISXe engine with a maximum of 525 horsepower. 4×4, 6×6, 8×8 variants are mated to a 10 speed (9F+1R) manual transmission while the 12×12 variant comes with an automatic transmission.[6]

In July 2015, Tata won a contract for supplying 1,239 trucks of 6×6 variant to the Indian Army. In March 2016, an additional order for 619 more trucks was placed. The total order was worth 1300 crores making it the biggest order to a local private supplier.[10]

The 8×8 variant has been selected to be the platform for SPYDER Short Range Surface to Air Missiles. Tata has also proposed the 12×12 variant for Nirbhay missile Transporter erector launcher and 8×8 for Pinaka MBRL.

Around 15,000 trucks of 4×4 variant are also in service with Indian Army, all manufactured by the Vehicle Factory Jabalpur (VFJ).