Hinduja Group flagship Ashok Leyland was "gung ho" about its defence business and would focus only on mobility of defence products, a top official said today.

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The heavy commercial vehicle maker has showcased six advanced products and technology solutions at the DefExpo organised by Ministry of Defence at Thiruvadanthai about 40 kms from Chennai.

"We are gung ho about our defence business. We are going

to focus only on mobility. That means we will not manufacture

submarines, missiles. You know, we have been the largest

provider in transportation (business)," Ashok Leyland,

Managing Director, Vinod K Dasari told reporters here.

Stating that the defence business constitute about Rs 800

crore to the group as a whole, he said, there was enough scope

in this sector which would enable the company to reach Rs

5,000 crore 'cumulatively' over the next five years.

"Number of tenders and the level of activity (in defence

business) have gone up a lot", he said to a query on the

opportunities available in the domestic market.The four-day DefExpo is focused on the theme India: The

Emerging Defence Manufacturing hub, scheduled to be

inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi tomorrow.

Some of the products showcased by Ashok Leyland are Light

Specialist Vehicle 4x4, logistics vehicle -- Guru 715, medium

bullet proof vehicle 4x4, high mobility vehicle Super Stallion

8x8, power pack for artillery guns -- technology solution for

Indian army and tracked vehicles -- repower, upgrade solutions

for tracked vehicles.

The local content in the manufacturing of light

specialist vehicles was 98 percent, Dasari said.

"This year's DefExpo is to showcase India, as a major hub

of defence production in the world. Ashok Leyland is proud to

be leading in this area for almost three decades and we plan

to be at the forefront of designing and making in India by

expanding our range of vehicles", he said.

Ashok Leyland has developed capabilities which will help

the company to bid for 20-25 percent of the tenders of the

Indian Army against the one per cent earlier, he said.

The six advanced products were formally unveiled by

Mahadevi Bilebal, wife of the late Lance Nayak Hanumanthappa

Koppad, who was posthumously awarded the Sena medal and Veer

Chakra Captain Raghunath Singh at the company's stall in

DefExpo.