Chennai, Aug 24 (IANS): Commercial vehicles major Ashok Leyland Ltd on Friday announced bagging a defence tender in the tracked vehicle space.

In a statement issued here, the company -- the largest supplier of wheeled military vehicles to the Indian Army -- said it will collaborate with the Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE), Chennai for the manufacture, assembly and testing of a lightweight clutch for the design and development of weight optimized 1500 hp Automatic Transmission for Main Battle Tanks.

According to Amandeep Singh, Head (Defence) in Ashok Leyland, the tender win marks yet another milestone of starting work on tracked vehicles that Indian soldiers use.

"We are proud that we are the only vehicle manufacturer in India having indigenously designed, developed and manufactured power packs beyond 350 hp. The tracked combat vehicle opportunity also exists in several other countries which use Russian-made combat vehicles," Singh was quoted as saying in the statement.

The statement was silent on the value of the tender.