Proven MR400 Solution and Electric Hub Drive Development

Texelis used DSEI 2021 in London last week to showcase its proven MR400 mobility solution for strategic, mobile military protected vehicles.

The MR400 comprises a full vehicle driveline, including axle, powerpack, suspension, steering, cooling, exhaust and electrical systems. This Texelis mobility solution delivers exceptional off-road mobility, coupled with air transportability, while simultaneously supporting high levels of protection and a significant payload capacity.

Derived from the solution designed for the French lightweight 4×4 VBMR vehicle as part of the SCORPION programme, the MR400 is a de-risked mobility solution for customers seeking ambitious, high performance mobility for integration on 4×4 armoured vehicles for military or security applications. As part of the VBMR programme, the MR400 has undergone thousands of hours of testbed and on-road trials, and is currently in production in Limoges, from where the company will also provide spares for the French programme for the next 30 years.

Customers looking to tackle the mobility challenges of the coming decade in partnership with Texelis will also benefit from high levels of localisation as part of domestic vehicle programmes.

The Texelis mobility solution includes technology from industrial partners Cummins, Allison Transmission, PowerLine, Michelin, KONI and Hutchinson.

“Our work on the VBMR programme has allowed us to refine our capabilities in vehicle mobility and our facility is fully equipped for a ten-year production run and 30-year supporting role for the French SCORPION programme,” commented Jean Vandel, Managing Director at Texelis Defence. “Now we are bringing this expertise to the world, with a proven, reliable and modular solution that is available to test drive on the track in France […] The growth of the urban battlefield and need for armoured vehicles to be highly protected while air transportable has driven a revolution in mobility – and Texelis is at the forefront of this innovative work.”

The company also highlighted its development of the new in-wheel Electric Hub Drive in partnership with QinetiQ (see 25 May report Texelis and QinetiQ Partner for Electric Hub Drive Effort | MOENCH PUBLISHING GROUP (monch.com), a break-through technology for the military vehicle market, offering vehicle OEMs more freedom and flexibility than ever before to design the best vehicles for tomorrow’s battlefield.