Armour manufacturer secures new development contract

Global armour manufacturer NP Aerospace has been awarded a development contract by Volvo Defense.

It is now set to develop, manufacture and supply composite armoured cabs as a militarised versions of Volvo’s FMX Series trucks from its Coventry headquarters.

As part of the contract, which was won through a competitive bid in October 2022, NP Aerospace has developed a solution to create fully armoured truck cabs which meets specific NATO requirements for blast, ballistic and artillery shell splinter protection.

Truck cabs will be fully integrated in Coventry, before being delivered to Volvo Defense in
Gothenburg, Sweden.. NP Aerospace will conduct ballistic testing of the solution later this year, before commencing with prototype developments for Volvo Defense to trial during 2024.

Peter Hardisty, NP Aerospace managing director & senior vice President, comments: “The ability to offer STANAG Level 3 protection on a single front axle truck is a sector leading innovation. We believe this delivers modularity and flexibility which will benefit end customer requirements; whilst offering space to cater for CBRN 1 ventilation systems, radio equipment, and WRM 2 systems.

“We are pleased to be working with Volvo Defense as survivability partner. It is a significant step for both companies as we extend our capabilities into armoured truck cab programmes.”

Roger Brorsson, Volvo Defense product director, said: “We selected NP Aerospace due to their vehicle armour design and manufacturing capability gained across numerous complex vehicle programmes working with large defence organisations. We are excited to be able to showcase our first armoured truck cab prototype at DSEI – the result of hard work and dedication of both teams over the last ten months to meet an aggressive timescale.”