The Leading conglomerate JSW Group has entered into the defence sector and has acquired a majority stake in an extreme off-road vehicle company Gecko Motors Pvt Ltd. Its vertical — JSW Defence and Aerospace — has bought the stake in the company that has been renamed as JSW Gecko Motors Pvt Ltd (JSW Gecko).
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As per the press release JSW Gecko, has secured an order worth Rs 250 crore from the defence ministry for the manufacture and supply of 96 Specialist Mobility Vehicles branded as ATOR N1200. The vehicles are being manufactured at JSW Gecko’s newly set-up manufacturing unit in Chandigarh, Punjab and will be supplied to the Armed Forces by June 2024. The vehicle has also been showcased by Indian Army during the Republic Day parade of 2024.
The ATOR N1200 is an indigenised version of the SHERP N1200 amphibious extreme mobility vehicle, designed by UK-based Copato Ltd. Copato has entered into a joint venture pact with JSW Defence and JSW Gecko along with technology supply license agreement for the manufacture of the Specialist Mobility Vehicles in India.
ATOR N 1200: Go anywhere ATV
The ATOR N1200 is an all-terrain 4 wheel drive vehicle & its true go-anywhere vehicle. Be it dense forests, shaky grounds, gravel, peat, marsh, swamps, snow, ice, lake or river, the ATV can drive everywhere. The ATV has been designed and developed by Quadro International of Ukraine.
The ATOR is based on a load frame made entirely of Docol high strength steel which can resist deformation of 1000 Mega Pascal which makes it virtually indestructible. The vehicle’s frame has a flat bottom to skid over obstacles and resist bashes. Its all parts have a zinc coating that is claimed to extend serviceable life by 30 years.
ATOR is 3.984m long, 2.57m wide and has height of 2.846m. It has massive tyres having height of 1.8m which contributes more than half the height of ATV.
Its massive wheels allow it to tackle and climb obstacles and paddle it over swamps and water bodies. ATOR can reach a top speed of 40km/h on land and up to 6km/h on water.
The vehicle weighs 2400kg and has a 1200kg payload and can tow a further 2350kg. It can accommodate up to 8 passengers in addition to the drive. The vehicle is powered by a compact three-cylinder 1.5-litre engine which is extremely reliable and can operate from -40 degrees to +40 degrees. It can generate max power of 55bhp and max torque of 190Nm. It also features a Renault sourced 6-speed manual transmission.
It has a 95-litre main tank plus four fuel canisters of 58 litres each giving it a total capacity of 232 litres and an operating range of 61 hours.
ATOR has ground clearance of 600mm. However, no water wading depth is quoted for this ATV because it floats! It’s truly amphibious. The tyres of ATV serves as flotation devices and their prominent ribs work as paddles to swim through rivers, ponds, marshes and swamps. ATOR also does not get any suspension & it’s tyres soak up all the bumps.
You will be surprised to know that driver cabin doesn’t have steering wheel. Instead it has 2 levers which controls left & right wheels. This type of steering is called Skid Steering which is commonly seen in construction machines. The levers act both as steering & brakes. The ATV costs nearly ₹2 Crore in India.
ATOR N1200 in Indian Army
Looking at the build quality and design, it’s very clear that the ATOR N1200 is true go anywhere ATV. Indian Army is dire need of such ATVs because they operate in difficult terrains of high-altitude mountainous region of LAC & desert. The acquisition of the ATV will significantly boost the logistic capability of Indian Army.