Vehicle integrator and armour manufacturer NP Aerospace has entered into full-rate production (FRP) with its upgraded armoured Toyota Land Cruiser LC300 vehicle, the company announced on 19 January 2026.
NP Aerospace acquired the IP for the armoured Land Cruiser from Jankel Armouring Ltd in 2024 as that company went into administration. Since then, NP Aerospace has applied its vehicle engineering and integration, production and supply chain skill sets to the vehicle and in October 2025 launched its LC300 product as a significantly refined and upgraded NP Aerospace platform.
With current contracted orders and the future product sales pipeline, NP Aerospace is expecting to produce over 100 LC300 vehicles over the next 12-18 months.
The NP Aerospace LC300, the company asserts, delivers “unprecedented levels of protection, functionality and reliability based upon many years of user feedback” and is being sought after and ordered by numerous global defence ministries and non-government organisations (NGOs). Having qualified the LC300 to the latest Edition 3 of the international Association of Test Laboratories for Attack Resistant Materials and Constructions (VPAM) Bullet Resistant Vehicle (BRV) and Explosive Resistant Vehicle (ERV) (VR7) standards as well as PAS 300 ballistic and blast and PAS 301 vehicle performance criteria, NP Aerospace has ensured the platform provides optimum protection while remaining road-legal for NATO and European-based NGO customers, maximising the export potential to wider international user groups. The vehicle was the very first to be certified to VPAM VR7 BRV and ERV with a 2 m side blast with a third row of seats in accordance with Edition 3, which uses biofidelic dummies to understand the true impacts to the vehicle occupants.
As well as entire armoured vehicle products such as the LC300, NP Aerospace also provides add-on or appliqué armour systems such as internal spall liners; external appliqué armour; and seating systems to counter a range of ballistic and blast threats.
David Petheram, managing director and senior vice president for NP Aerospace Vehicle Systems, Services and Spares, was quoted in a company press release as stating, “We’ve worked very hard to ensure our newly upgraded armoured LC300 is suitably prepared in all regards to enter full-rate production this month. Specifically, our integration, production and supply chain skill sets have been applied to this project to optimise the benefits to the procurer, the fleet manager and the user. What we now have is an excellent platform when viewed from all perspectives and we’re pleased to be able to offer it to global markets. The civilian armoured vehicle market offers great growth potential and is a significant area of focus for us as we continue to expand our team.”
