Standard SUV
No ballistic protection.
- Ballistic protection
- None
- Weight & dynamics
- Factory
- Passive safety
- Full airbags & ADAS
- Appearance
- Standard
- Seats & payload
- Factory
- Typical role
- Daily use
The Concept
A-KIP® Anti-Kidnapping Protection
A-KIP® is an enhanced lightweight ballistic protection solution, designed and manufactured in-house at TRASCO. Certified ballistic glass and ballistic steel, combined with advanced composites, protect large areas of the passenger cabin to VPAM-PM 4 or VPAM-PM 6.
The concept was conceived to protect the most valuable of assets – human life. Where fully armored vehicles announce themselves, the A-KIP® Defender blends in with normal traffic: virtually indistinguishable from a standard model.
As the balance between a standard SUV and a fully armored vehicle, A-KIP® complements armored fleets rather than replacing them – a mobile protection platform that adds operational flexibility and mission capability for professional users, ready for rapid deployment and daily service alike.
Lightweight by the numbers
Within the permitted total weight.
Suspension and brakes stay factory standard.
Special ballistic composites are light enough for the Defender to stay within its gross vehicle weight rating – the GVWR, the maximum total weight the vehicle is approved for. Suspension, brakes and electric support systems therefore need no upgrades.
0 kg
Payload reduction with the VPAM 4 standard package – nothing more.
0 kg
Payload reduction with the VPAM 6 standard package.
0 %
Airbags and driver assistance systems (ADAS) fully retained – crash-tested.
0
Suspension or brake upgrades required.
Class B driver’s license – no special permit required. No additional driver training and no maintenance beyond the standard service schedule.
TRASCO A-KIP® – engineered to twelve goals
Maximum protection
within defined parameters.
From the outset, we identified and defined a clear set of objectives to maximize occupant protection while operating within the following parameters:
- Original GVWR
- Driving dynamics
- Usable payload
- Low maintenance
- Operating costs
- Original appearance
- License class B
- Model diversity
- IVA compliance
- Flexibility
- Passive safety
- Daily usability
The Defender A-KIP® was developed to complement, not substitute fully armored vehicles by providing increased operational flexibility and expanded mission capability for professional users. This is achieved through non-intrusive enhanced protection integrated into a robust platform, while fully retaining the vehicle’s original structural integrity, performance envelope, and core operational characteristics.
The spectrum
Between series production and full armor.
A-KIP® establishes a class of its own – the cost-efficient, flexible protection platform between an unprotected SUV and a fully armored special vehicle.
Protection is not a single decision – it is a scale. At one end stands the unmodified series vehicle: full payload, full agility, no ballistic protection. At the other stands the fully armored special vehicle: maximum certified protection, paid for with substantial weight, reduced payload and an appearance that is often recognizable as armored.
Most operators are presented with only these two extremes. A-KIP® exists because that is a false choice. It adds VPAM 4 or VPAM 6 protection with certified materials to the critical areas of the passenger cabin while the vehicle stays within its original gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) – so driving dynamics, brakes, airbags, ADAS, seating and usable payload remain those of the series Defender. It is engineered to complement fully armored vehicles, not to replace them.
The table below places the three classes side by side – what each one offers, and where its limits lie.
| Compared | Standard SUV No ballistic protection. | Defender A-KIP® Cabin protected with certified materials – series weight and dynamics kept. | Fully armored vehicle Maximum protection – substantial weight. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ballistic protection | None | VPAM 4 / VPAM 6 cabin protection, certified materials | Highest certified levels |
| Weight & dynamics | Factory | Within original GVWR – factory dynamics and brakes retained | Substantial added weight – upgraded chassis and brakes |
| Passive safety | Full airbags & ADAS | Full airbags & ADAS retained | Often restricted by the conversion |
| Appearance | Standard | Virtually indistinguishable from standard | Often recognizable as armored |
| Seats & payload | Factory | Four to six seats – usable payload retained | Often significantly reduced |
| Typical role | Daily use | Discreet protected mobility – authorities, escort, VIP | Head-of-state & highest-risk transport |
Defender A-KIP®
Cabin protected with certified materials – series weight and dynamics kept.
- Ballistic protection
- VPAM 4 / VPAM 6 cabin protection, certified materials
- Weight & dynamics
- Within original GVWR – factory dynamics and brakes retained
- Passive safety
- Full airbags & ADAS retained
- Appearance
- Virtually indistinguishable from standard
- Seats & payload
- Four to six seats – usable payload retained
- Typical role
- Discreet protected mobility – authorities, escort, VIP
Fully armored vehicle
Maximum protection – substantial weight.
- Ballistic protection
- Highest certified levels
- Weight & dynamics
- Substantial added weight – upgraded chassis and brakes
- Passive safety
- Often restricted by the conversion
- Appearance
- Often recognizable as armored
- Seats & payload
- Often significantly reduced
- Typical role
- Head-of-state & highest-risk transport
Operational roles
One platform. Many missions.
Convoy security
Protected lead and follow vehicle in convoys and motorcades.
Perimeter & site protection
Mobile protected position for checkpoints, borders and critical infrastructure.
Protective escort
Discreet escort for principals – governmental and private.
Operational support
Rapidly deployable platform for police and security operations.
High-value transport
Discreet protected logistics for valuables and sensitive goods.
The simplest way to explain it
A protective vest for the vehicle.
Like a ballistic vest and helmet for an officer, A-KIP® adds a protective layer of certified materials exactly where it matters – doors, glass and cabin zones – while everything else about the vehicle stays as the factory built it.
Capability retained
Everything the Defender can do – it still does.
A-KIP® changes neither suspension nor brakes and stays within the original gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR). The capability that makes the Defender a working vehicle remains available – protected.
Off-road geometry – manufacturer figures
Defender 110 Defender 130
Approach angle 38° 37.5°
Breakover angle 28° 27.8°
Departure angle 40° 28.5°
Ground clearance 291 mm 290 mm
Wading depth 900 mm 900 mm
Standard Defender in off-road height (electronic air suspension) – figures by the manufacturer. The extended rear body of the 130 reduces its departure angle.
A different class of protected mobility.
Armored limousines answer a different mission – representative transport at the highest protection levels. As an operational platform, the protected Defender holds four advantages:
Protected Defender vs. armored limousine
Defender A-KIP® Armored limousine
Terrain Full off-road geometry – kerbs, tracks, unpaved and flooded routes Bound to paved roads and cleared routes
Ground clearance Up to 291 mm, adjustable air suspension Typically around 100–150 mm, fixed
Discretion in a fleet Visible as a normal working vehicle among standard fleet Defenders Recognizable as a protected principal vehicle
Payload & crew Usable payload and up to six seats retained Payload largely consumed by armor weight
Discretion as protection
“Our inconspicuous in-house designed and manufactured A-KIP® concept was conceived to help protect the most valuable of assets, human life. Discretion is often the best form of defense.”
Allan Petty · Sales Director Europe, TRASCO
Materials
Glass. Steel. Composites.
Transparent areas are protected with certified bullet-resistant glass; opaque areas with ballistic steel and special composite materials – each tested and certified by government-approved German VPAM test laboratories according to VPAM-PM 2007.
Protection & Certification