The Vehicle Factory in Jabalpur is developing a new mine protected vehicle (MPV) for security forces which can withstand a blast of 20 kg TNT, a senior Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) official said.
The MPVs in service at present can withstand a blast of 10 kg TNT in the underbelly and upto 14 kg under tyres, OFB member (weapons, vehicles and equipment) Hari Mohan said.
Asked whether the OFB was working on strengthening the MPVs following the recent Maoist attack in which an MPV of security forces was blown up killing nine CRPF personnel, Mohan said the OFB was working on a new vehicle that would be better equipped.
"The new MPV being developed at the Vehicle Factory Jabalpur will be able to withstand a blast of 20 kg TNT," he said.
The new MPVs will also have blast attenuation seats that will reduce the potential for injury to occupants when the vehicle is subjected to a mine or similar explosion, he said.
Mohan said, "It was reported that the blast at Sukma was of 50 kg TNT, which even a tank cannot withstand. So the focus has to be on detection apart from strengthening of vehicles."
Nine CRPF personnel were killed in a blast by Maoists at Sukma in Chhattishgarh on March 13.
"A vehicle can be strengthened to a certain extent, but attackers can increase the strength of their explosives to a higher potential, so it is more imperative to focus on detection of explosives or mines to prevent loss of lives and equipment," he said.
Naxals had reportedly triggered the blast when the MPV went over the hidden landmine.
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