The Mbombe 6 is a mine-protected, high-mobility

armoured fighting vehicle An armoured fighting vehicle (British English) or armored fighting vehicle (American English) (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by vehicle armour, armour, generally combining operational mobility with Offensive (military), offensive a ...

produced by

Paramount Group Paramount Group is a South African aerospace and defense group, operating in the global internal security and peacekeeping industries. Established in 1994, it offers a range of military aircraft, armored vehicles, maritime systems, equipment, an ...

from

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

that was launched in 2010. "Mbombe" is named after an African warrior.

Vehicle specifications

The Mbombe 6's unladen weight is 16 tonnes. Its maximum combat weight is 27 tonnes with a crew of 11. It has 6x6 wheel drive for use on different kinds of terrain. Its maximum speed is 100 km/h; its

range Range may refer to: Geography * Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra) ** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands * Range, a term used to i ...

is 700 km. The Mbombe 6 has a 300 kW Cummins ISBe4

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine ...

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ge ...

and an Allison 6 speed

automatic transmission An automatic transmission (AT) or automatic gearbox is a multi-speed transmission (mechanics), transmission used in motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gears under normal driving conditions. The 1904 ...

Armour

The Mbombe 6

hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

meets

STANAG 4569 NATO AEP-55 STANAG 4569 is a NATO Standardization Agreement covering the standards for the "Protection Levels for Occupants of Logistic and Light Armored Vehicles". The standard covers strikes from kinetic energy, artillery and Improvised explosiv ...

Level 4, which means the vehicle can withstand a 10 kg

TNT Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...

blast under its hull or any wheel station. As standard, the Mbombe 6 can protect its crew against

Rocket-propelled grenade A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG), also known colloquially as a rocket launcher, is a Shoulder-fired missile, shoulder-fired anti-tank weapon that launches rockets equipped with a Shaped charge, shaped-charge explosive warhead. Most RPGs can ...

s, while additional modules protect against

IEDs An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mechan ...

, up to 50 kg TNT at 5 metres.

Armament

The Mbombe 6 is armed with a heavy machine gun or an

autocannon An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a automatic firearm, fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber ( or more) armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary ammunition, incendiary shell (projectile), shells, ...

. The Mbombe 6 can be fitted with day and

night vision Night vision is the ability to see in low-light conditions, either naturally with scotopic vision or through a night-vision device. Night vision requires both sufficient spectral range and sufficient intensity range. Humans have poor night v ...

equipment.

Functions

The Mbombe 6 can be configured as an

Armoured Personnel Carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...

Combat Vehicle A ground combat vehicle, also known as a land assault vehicle or simply a combat vehicle or an assault vehicle, is a land-based military vehicle intended to be used for combat operations. They differ from non-combat military vehicles such as M ...

, Command Vehicle or

ambulance An ambulance is a medically-equipped vehicle used to transport patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport. Ambulances are used to respond to ...

Operators

* : 50 on order. * : Barys is a Kazakh version of the Mbombe * : Unknown number delivered to Libya from Jordan in 2019. * * : Unknown number in use by the

Ecuadorian Army The Ecuadorian Army () is the land component of the Ecuadorian Armed Forces. Its 25,650 active soldiers are deployed in relation to its military doctrine. The contemporary Ecuadorian Army incorporates many jungle and special forces infantry un ...

. * : License-produced version of Mbombe, equipped with RTWS is being used by

Ukrainian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) are the Military, military forces of Ukraine. All military and security forces, including the Armed Forces, are under the command of the president of Ukraine and subject to oversight by a permanent Verkhovna Rad ...

Variants

Official variant: *APC *Armoured ambulance *Infantry fire support vehicle *Anti-armour fire support vehicle

Kalyani M4

The ''Kalyani M4'' is a prototype developed by India's Kalyani Group.

References

External links

Mbombe 6 specifications in Paramount Group website
{{Modern IFV and APC Armoured fighting vehicles of the post–Cold War period Armoured personnel carriers of South Africa Military vehicles introduced in the 2010s Six-wheeled vehicles Wheeled armoured fighting vehicles