NIMR gets tough with steel-armoured combat vehicle

NIMR, part of the Emirates Defence Industries Company, will begin producing the N35 Multi-Role Protected Vehicle next year.

The N35 features a 'crew citadel' that protects passengers from mines, IEDs and ballistic threats. Courtesy NIMR Automotive
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A new combat vehicle resistant to blasts from mines and IEDs will help the Abu Dhabi-based manufacturer NIMR Automotive expand into the heavy armour market, the company said yesterday.

NIMR, part of the Emirates Defence Industries Company, will begin producing the N35 Multi-Role Protected Vehicle next year.

Its steel-armoured hull can be provided with “scalable levels of ballistic, mine blast and IED protection”, the firm said.

“The 4x4 and 6x6 variants complement our existing range, allowing NIMR to expand beyond our traditional light-medium weight vehicle category into the more highly protected, higher payload categories. Initial production and trials have already begun with series production scheduled from Q4 2016,” said the NIMR chief executive Fahad Harhara. The N35 features a “crew citadel” that protects passengers from mine, IED and ballistic threats, according to the brochure of the 4x4 version. It can be used for patrols and as an ambulance as well as for combat.

In March, the company also launched a light-medium weight open-top 4×4 reconnaissance vehicle, the Ajban SOV and in February it won a Dh1.2 billion purchase and development deal from the UAE Armed Forces for up to 1,000 of its vehicles.

Defence spending in the Middle East and North Africa is expected to hit US$150 billion this year, up from $148bn last year and $136bn in 2013, according to the defence consultancy IHS Jane’s.

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