Mahindra Marksman light armored vehicles delivered to Delhi airport security unit.

Mahindra Marksman is India’s first armoured capsule-based light bulletproof vehicle to provide protection to the personnel of defence, paramilitary and police forces against small arms fire and grenade attacks. It has the capability to be used in counterterrorism as well as conventional roles.

Mahindra Marksman delivered to the security unit of Delhi Airport (Picture source: Anvit Srivastava)

The Marksman was first sold to Mumbai Police's Force One. After Mahindra sold several Marksman vehicles to Chile, Carabinier officials have expressed concerns about its flaws like bad visibility and its questionable performance off-road.

The Marksman uses a 2.5L CRDE engine which is BS3 compliant. With 105 bhp of power on tap at 3,800 rpm and 228Nm of torque between 1,800-2,200 rpm, the engine is good enough to haul the 3,200 kg (2,600 kg unladen + 600 kg of payload) vehicle. The Marksman can hit a top speed of 120 km/h. The car can seat 6 (driver, co-driver + 4). The car has a 5-speed manual gearbox and 4 wheel drive. Air conditioning is available as an option. All vehicles come with standard alloy wheels.

Regarding the protection, the sides can withstand three direct hits of 7.62×51mm NATO Ball M80, 7.62×39mm Ball PS and 5.56×45mm Ball M 193 at a distance of 10m at 90° angle attack. The top can withstand three direct hits of above ammunition at a distance of 10m at 45° angle attack. The floor is protected against two DM 51(German norm) hand grenades detonated under the vehicle simultaneously. The cupola has a machine gun mount with 270° traverse and protection. There are seven crew firing ports, a rearview camera and a TV screen for the driver and co-driver to see the dead zone behind the vehicle.