On January 11, 2013, NSSF Savunma Sistemleri, a leading company in the land vehicle sector of the Turkish defense industry, presented the amphibious armored combat earthmover (Amfibik Zırhlı Muharebe İstihkam İş Makinesi, AZMIM) to the public at a specially held ceremony. The ceremony was attended by the Minister of National Defense of Turkey Ismet Yilmaz. Also attending the ceremony were Deputy Minister of National Defense Hasan Kemal Yardimci, Commander of the Ground Forces Logistics Service, Lieutenant General Adem Huduti, other senior defense industry officials and officials.
The contract for the design, development and production of AZMIM was signed on March 10, 2009 between the Defense Industry Subsecretariat (SSM) and NSSF Savunma Sistemleri, and came into effect on June 15, 2009. AZMIM is the second Turkish MoD's ground vehicle project following the mobile amphibious bridge (SYHK) also made by NSSF. After almost four years, the AZMIM armored amphibious earth-moving vehicle was presented to the public. Today it is the only amphibious armored engineering bulldozer in the world.
AZMIM is a floating armored tracked earthmoving machine designed to prepare river banks for a ferry. It is capable of bulldozing, rough grading, earthmoving, haulage and clearing operations. Unlike conventional earth-moving machines, AZMIM has the ability to load normal soil into its counterweight and dispose of it at the end of the work. Conventional machines use a mounted metal or reinforced concrete counterweight to prevent the machine from tipping over. Thanks to the hydraulic suspension, the front of the AZMIM can be lifted up or down so that either the blade or the counterweight touches the ground. As a result, excavation and bulldozing operations are carried out more efficiently. These activities can be carried out while the car is in motion.
The most important feature of the AACE is its amphibiousness. The crew of the car consists of two people. In addition, AZMIM is equipped with modern electronic systems such as day / night cameras, multifunctional LCD monitor and air conditioning. The AZMIM body is made of aluminum alloy to provide the vehicle with positive buoyancy and at the same time ballistic protection. All machine drives are hydraulic. The vehicle is equipped with smoke grenade launchers.
AZMIM is equipped with an Allison automatic transmission and a Caterpillar diesel engine. The vehicle is capable of speeds up to 45 km / h on land, which provides it with the ability to move in battle formations without the need for transportation. On the water, it develops a speed of up to 1.5 meters per second thanks to two water-jet engines rotating at 360 °. The car is air transportable.
NSSF has committed to supply 12 floating dozers, including one prototype for testing and qualification. Production is slated to begin by the end of 2013. According to the Turkish Deputy Defense Minister, she is also going to export this car. He also added: "The Turkish defense industry, in particular land vehicles, can be number 1 in the world."
