Turkey's Otokar has unveiled a new 6x6 wheeled armoured vehicle to contest a local competition.
The vehicle, known as Arma, was developed to target the Turkish Land Forces' Special Purpose Tactical Wheeled Armoured Vehicle (Ozel Maksatli Taktik Tekerlekli Zirhli Arac, OMTTZA) project. It is competing against two other vehicles in the shape of FNSS Defence Systems' Pars and HEMA Endustri's Anafarta, a variant of Patria's 6x6 Armoured Modular Vehicle (AMV).
The 6.428 m long, 2.708 m wide and 2.223 m high Arma has an 18,500 kg gross weight and a payload of 4,500 kg and carries a driver, commander and eight dismounts in its fully nuclear-, biological-, chemical- (NBC-) protected hull.
No details have been released on its ballistic protection, but since it is required to be amphibious, armouring is not expected to exceed STANAG 4569 Level II, but its relatively high 425 mm ground clearance should help achieve mine protection to Level IIIB or higher.
Mobility tests with prototypes to date have included around 10,000 km of running over varied terrain. Arma's front two axles are steerable enabling it to make a turning radius of 7.85 m and the vehicle rides on independent hydropneumatic suspension, offering respectable off-road mobility and comfort. It can negotiate a 45-degree approach and departure angles leading onto 60 per cent inclines and 30 per cent side-slopes. It can also cross 1.2 m-wide trenches and climb over 60 cm obstacles.
A 450 hp water-cooled turbo diesel capable of running on F-34 or F-54 fuel drives the wheels through an automatic gearbox and single-speed transfer box, giving it a top speed of 105 km/h and a power/weight ratio of 24.3 hp/tonne.
This also powers the onboard 24 V DC electrical system, which incorporates two maintenance-free 125 Ah batteries and a 3.3 kW converter.
Turkish Land Forces are expected to make a selection for its OMTTZA requirement by mid-2010 and subsequently procure 336 vehicles in a variety of versions: 30 for NBC reconnaissance, 36 radar carriers, 108 sensor carriers, 39 command vehicles and 108 fire-support vehicles, which could be armed with a manually operated 20 mm cannon.
Otokar is developing an 8x8 variant of Arma, which should be unveiled in the second half of 2010. The company was previously party to the development and construction of the 8x8 Yavuz version of the Singaporean Terrex 8x8 infantry carrier vehicle.
