The Mbombe 8 is at the vanguard of armoured vehicle technologies and has been developed to meet the increasing demand for multi-role, high mobility and mine hardened platforms, and for the changing demands of the global battlefield. Paramount Innovation and Design (a Paramount Group Business) has been responsible for the development and production of a broad range of advanced armoured and mine protected vehicles that are in operation around the world.

The development of Mbombe 8 has enabled Paramount Group to provide potential customers with a complete family of 4x4, 6x6 and 8x8 AFVs which share over 80% of common components to reduce through life costs and make for easier training and logistics. This commonality relates to both the driveline aggregates, as well as the fact that all three vehicles utilise a ‘conventional’ or ‘in-line’ automotive driveline configuration, positioning the powerpack at the front of the vehicle and along its centre line. This configuration results in far greater efficiency in terms of the transfer of power from the powerpack to the wheels, as the loss of power associated with a second transfer gearbox necessary for ‘unconventional’ drivelines, such as with side-engined vehicles, is eliminated.

The Mbombe 8 is world-leading in its class, this is a product that we are very proud of. We pioneered mine-resistant flat floor technology which is central to the design of the new 8x8 platform. Another important feature is the driveline commonality across our family of vehicles, as is the case with the Marauder XT (4x4), Mbombe 6 (6x6) and Mbombe 8. This presents a unique opportunity for the global market, affording a prospective end-user of all three vehicles significant savings in the areas of maintenance and logistical support.

The Mbombe 8 is based on the design of Paramount’s Mbombe 6 that employs an innovative new form of construction to give unprecedented levels of protection, while keeping profile to a minimum. The 8x8 also draws on the company’s experience of designing the highly effective and battle-tested Marauder and Matador mine-resistant vehicles.

Key features of the Mbombe 8 include:

• Gross weight of 28 tonnes and kerb weight of 19 tonnes

• Payload of 9 tonnes which covers weapon system, ammunition, crew and supplies

• Powered by a 6 cylinder engine turbo charged diesel engine

• Six speed automatic transmission

• Max speed of 110km/h

• Operating range: 800 km

• High levels of ballistic and mine protection: ballistic protection: STANAG 4569 Level 3+ and blast protection: STANAG 4569 Level 4a and 4b

• Wide range of turrets and weapon stations can be integrated e.g. the AU-220M remote turret armed with 57mm cannon and a 7.62 mm machine gun

• The cooling systems and driveline have been tested and proven in winter conditions of -55 Celsius and desert conditions of +55 Celsius

• Large internal volume due to position of powerpack

The first advanced prototype of the Mbombe 8 will soon start extensive mobility trails and production could be undertaken in South Africa or Kazakhstan.