MKU-India’s Armour Expert

The history of war has always revolved around the race between arms and armour. This competition between the destructor and the protector has led to technologies that we have today in the sphere of ballistics. In India, we are lucky to have a protector who protects our soldiers in the frontline from the bullets of our enemies. This savior is none other than our armour expert i.e MKU limited.

Set up in 1985 to build fiber-reinforced plastic products for our Indian Army, MKU now provides protection to over 20 lakh soldiers and 2000 platforms worldwide. Its products are used by 230 forces in over 100 countries worldwide including the United Nations and NATO. MKU contributes a significant portion of India’s defence exports.

History Of MKU

MKU stands for M kumar udyog (Named after its founder). It was created in 1985 to cater the specific demands of plastic products of indian army. It supplied its first batch of fiber reinforced helmets for Indian Army in 1989.

As the company grew, it entered various other sectors such as footwear and plywood. These subsequently became separate units.

After the 1999 Kargil war, Ministry of defence realised the requirement of advance ballistic protection. This led MKU to enter ballistic product market.

Products

MUKUT

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MUKUT is the only helmet that comes with just 10 mm of blunt trauma. It has a Bolt free Helmet shell for overall uniform protection, better situational awareness. It is compatible with almost all modern head-mounted devices.

The revolutionary RHT  (Reduced Helmet Trauma)  Technology within the MUKUT helmet shell strengthens it to protect the head from resultant head injuries when hit by a high-velocity projectile. It offers behind armour blunt trauma (BABT) of less than 10mm which is nearly 40%* lower in comparison to a standard helmet.

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The No Holes and No-Drill technology used in MUKUT helmets ensure no compromised areas in the helmet shell providing uniform protection all over the ballistic shell perimeter, thus eliminating the risk of lethal injuries due to secondary fragments as compared to traditional bolted helmets in situations where the high-velocity projectiles hit the bolts.

Besides MUKUT, MKU also produces various other helmets such as PASGT, CVC, ACH, HCBH etc. Read more about them here

Body Armour

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MKU manufactures a wide range of body armours ranging from STANAG level I to STANAG level IV. MKU has vests for all purposes such as vests for police, military, concealable vests, etc.

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MKU has its research & development facilities in India and Germany for the development of ballistic technologies. MKU has its own In-house Ballistic testing laboratory in Germany which can test up to STANAG Level IV including various other prevalent testing standards, globally. Recently, It launched a new technology called “GEN-6” which offers a substantial reduction in the weight and thickness of personal body armour by 40% and 30% respectively.

Orders

MKU has recently secured orders from Indian Army to supply 1.59 lakh MUKUT ballistic helmets to the Indian army. The deal is estimated to be worth around Rs 180 crore. These helmets would replace the Patka helmets.

MKU has established India as a leading producer of ballistic technologies. Today India’s most of the defence exports consists of ballistic protection equipment. Ironically, despite having such a wonderful manufacturing ecosystem in India, Indian troops still do not have sufficient bulletproof vests. The government should work on this deficiency as soon as possible.