Army developing prototype armored escort vehicle

[spiderweb6969]

Philippines made Armoured vehicle from sgtbilko of http://pdff.sytes.net/index.php?showtopic=4320

Armor Level : Equivalent to Simba APC
Mobility : Equivalent to Humvee (with shorter turning radius), 4X4
Maintenance : Commercially available parts, low cost (no foreign dependence on parts)
Design & Manufacture : 100% Filippino (same guys who made the kalakian) 
Cost : 1/3 compared to imported

[Pachada]

Army developing prototype armored escort vehicle
By James Mananghaya
The Philippine Star 03/17/2007

 A bantam armored military vehicle smaller than the US made-Humvee and tougher than the British-made Simba tank is being developed by the Philippine Army.

Army Capt. Dennis Caña of the Army’s research and development branch, said the all-terrain military vehicle would have a higher maneuverability than an ordinary armored vehicle because of its small size.

"It can go where a Humvee can go," he told The STAR. "It’s small but is even tougher than a Simba."

The prototype packs a lot of power and could be used for armor support to troops in harsh terrain like marshlands, he added.

Caña said that the development of the prototype started in 2005 and was carried out under the Self Reliant Defense Posture Law.

It would be very feasible for the Armed Forces as it would cost less to operate and maintain, he added.

The prototype could be fitted with a .50 caliber machine gun or a Gatling gun, and could even be eventually mounted with rocket launchers, Caña said.

Engineer Finzen Yu, whose family owns Steelcraft, which manufactured the prototype, told The STAR following a test drive that the armed vehicle consumes less fuel and is easy to maintain.

"You can buy spare parts from any auto supply store," he said. "Tune up and change oil would cost around P2,500, compared to the Simba."

The prototype military vehicle would cost only some P6 million, which is more than 80 percent of the price of the British made Simba armored personnel carrier, Yu said.

Steelcraft was the Filipino company that made the prototype of the "Kalakian," another armored vehicle named after the male water buffalo. This never rolled into production.

The project was the brainchild of Army chief Lt. Gen. Romeo Tolentino, who has also introduced some modifications to the US M16 assault rifle.

[Pachada]

I think this is the photo of the prototype(not sure) :

http://pdff.sytes.net/index.php?showtopic=4320

http://www.geocities.com/mx8armor/IMG_1743.jpg

[Adroth]

Engineer Finzen Yu, whose family owns Steelcraft, which manufactured the prototype, told The STAR following a test drive that the armed vehicle consumes less fuel and is easy to maintain.

The Kalakian makers are still in the game. 

The project was the brainchild of Army chief Lt. Gen. Romeo Tolentino, who has also introduced some modifications to the US M16 assault rifle.

Hmm .  . . I wonder how this compares with the MSSR. Like MBLT, Tolentino is a competition shooter.

[israeli]

it is good to know that the AFP is finally giving enough attention to R&D activities.

[el_commandante]

they should also add FLIR,

just wishing

[phichanad]

JUST TO SHARE GUYS, POSTED BY SGTBILKO AT THE PDFF FORUM:

Take a look a this!

Armor Level : Equivalent to Simba APC
Mobility : Equivalent to Humvee (with shorter turning radius), 4X4
Maintenance : Commercially available parts, low cost (no foreign dependence on parts)
Design & Manufacture : 100% Filipino (same guys who made the kalakian)  
Cost : 1/3 compared to imported  




Brake test @100kph

[Adroth]

Engineer Finzen Yu, whose family owns Steelcraft, which manufactured the prototype, told The STAR following a test drive that the armed vehicle consumes less fuel and is easy to maintain.

Hmmm . . . I wonder what engine this thing has under the hood. AFAIK, the less powerful the engine, the less fuel it will consume.

Will leave this to anak-ni-sarge to comment upon.

[The Reaper]

Turbo-diesels are pretty good... lotsa torque for a small vehicle; dependable, easy to work with on the field; and, it has great gas mileage, i.e. easy on the pocket with regards to fuel consumption...

First impressions? Looks like a winner to me. Just gotta wait for more info on testing and capabilities.

[dstryer23]

I really hope this will usher the start of wholly Pilipino owned and designed armored vehicle, I also hope the government and the military will support this initiative and we will see this in our arsenal and will not end up like the kalakian and Hari Digma.Like I said lets start small and simple then gradually go to more hightech things.

Way to go Army!!!!

[commanderrobot]

Instead of buying 1 1/4 ton trucks we should jus spend the money that we are supposed to spend on 671 trucks on mass producing the prototype. Or is this suggestion too late already? if its better than a humvee then why not? How much exactly is the price of one unit of an american made humvee? thanks...

[Adroth]

Instead of buying 1 1/4 ton trucks we should jus spend the money that we are supposed to spend on 671 trucks on mass producing the prototype. Or is this suggestion too late already? if its better than a humvee then why not? How much exactly is the price of one unit of an american made humvee? thanks...

IMHO, the Research and Development budget should be a separate from the operations budget.

The 671 trucks represent the AFP's needs at the moment. We need proven platforms to fulfill those needs.

What happens if the prototype ends up having problems? Should the soldiers in the field go without mobility until  Steelcraft figures out how to fix the problems?

I'm all for developing our self-defense capabilities. But we should not compromise existing capabilities in the process. We should not put all our eggs in one basket.

[commanderrobot]

Yung nga lang ang kinakatakutan ko. Sana maganda ang build nang Prototype na ito. If we have left overs from the money we spend on mass producing this vehicle (if its successful) we should spend the remainder of the money on armaments for the vehicle. We should see if we can develop an AIFV or APC version of this

[Adroth]

Mobility : Equivalent to Humvee (with shorter turning radius), 4X4

This is an interesting claim: "Equivalent mobility"

Will the vehicle have the same kind, if not superior, suspension system?

The Humvee has a centralized tire inflation system, which allows it to adapt its tires to the road conditions. Will this new Steelcraft vehicle have the same capability?

Will this vehicle have provision for a schnorkel system. The Humvee does, which allows the vehicle to traverse rivers with most of the body submerged.

Supposedly, one of the advantages of the Simba over the V-150 was that its angled bottom made it better able to survive land mines. Will this vehicle preserve this design feature?

[The Reaper]

Kinda similar...



French VBL


Indonesian P2