Paramount unveiled today the Mbombe at the African Aerospace and Defense 2010 (AAD) Expo. Mbombe is a 6×6 Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) implementing a flat hull (rather than the traditional V-shape invented in South Africa). The honeycomb flat hull enables much lower silhouette, compared to contemporary MRAPs claimed to offer better protection against IEDs than many vehicles currently used by NATO forces in Afghanistan.
Mbombe offers ballistic protection meeting STANAG Level 4 Level IV with modular upgrade meeting specific threat levels. The vehicle is designed to withstand explosions of 10kg of TNT anywhere under the hull or under any wheel station, without rupture. The vehicle is also well protected against roadside IEDs, with the capability of defeating 50kg of TNT at 5m. The passengers and crew are seated on blast energy absorbing seats, to prevent the risk from blast.
The vehicle on display was fitted with a dual feed 30mm cannon and integrated machine gun mounted in an overhead weapon station. Paramount plans to introduce a family of vehicles based on eth Mbombe, including an armored personnel carrier, armored combat support vehicle (with cannons acting as direct support weapons), command vehicle, and ambulance.
