ARMA 6x6
The modular wheeled tactical armored personnel carrier ARMA is designed and developed by the Turkish company Otokar. The 6x6 vehicle platform was presented at Eurosatory 2010 in Paris in June 2010. The amphibian can carry a crew of 10, including a commander, a driver and eight soldiers.
The armored personnel carrier has flexible mobility and provides a high level of mine and ballistic protection. The modular design allows the use of various configurations of weapons and equipment to meet modern combat requirements and other tactical tasks. ARMA is expected to be more cost-effective than its competitors and possess superior technical and tactical capabilities.
Otokar is a subsidiary of Turkey's largest conglomerate Koç Group. Otokar's product range includes various types of armored and unarmored tactical vehicles. Most recently, the company acted as the general contractor for the ALTAY project, Turkey's first national main tank.
ARMA 6x6 was developed under the program of tactical wheeled armored vehicles for special purposes (Ozel Maksatli Taktik Tekerlekli Zirhli Arac, OMTTZA) for the Turkish ground forces. The development of the armored vehicle began in 2007 and was fully funded by Otokar. It competed with two other Pars armored personnel carriers from FNSS Defense Systems and Patria in the 6x6 version of Anafarta from HEMA Endustris Anafarta.
The company took responsibility for the design concept, qualification, process validation, detailed design, computer simulation and prototype testing of the vehicle. The prototype traveled about 10,000 km and was tested on various terrains. ARMA is now fully ready for mass production.
The first $ 10.6 million ARMA export order was placed in December 2010. In June 2011, Otokar received an additional export contract worth $ 63.2 million. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2012.
Design and protection
The ARMA 6x6 variant is 6.428 m long, 2.708 m wide and 2.223 m high. The total mass of the armored personnel carrier is 18.500 kg, and the carrying capacity is 4.500 kg. Spacious interior volume is created by placing the engine at the front of the vehicle. This architecture achieves high ergonomics and efficiency of the internal volume.
ARMA provides high mine and ballistic protection thanks to its armored capsule. The hull is also fully protected from biological and chemical weapons, equipped with special seats, which, along with a ground clearance of 425 mm, reduce the negative impact on the crew and the landing force from the explosion of mines. At the same time, the exact data on its ballistic protection has not been published, but, as expected from the amphibian, the booking will not exceed level II of the STANAG 4569 standard, and given the relatively high ground clearance, mine protection should reach level IIIB or even higher. The standard arrangement of ARMA 6x6 includes an air conditioner.
Armament
ARMA is armed with a 12.7mm machine gun mounted on a pivot support. It can also be equipped with a wide range of hand and remote controlled weapons.
Engine and mobility
The car is powered by a 450 hp water-cooled turbodiesel engine using F-34 or F-54 fuel. Able to reach a speed of 105 km / h on the highway, a cruising range of 700 km. The transmission consists of an automatic transmission and a single-stage transfer case. ARMA is equipped with longitudinal and lateral differential locks, wheel reduction gears and independent hydropneumatic suspension, providing increased cross-country ability and mobility, as well as a high level of safety and comfort for the crew. The 6x6 version has a specific power of 24.3 hp / t, the 8x8 version - 18.7 hp / t. The engine also powers a 3.3kW converter and two 125Ah batteries, which are part of the 24V DC onboard electrical system.
The armored personnel carrier can move on flat tires and is also equipped with a central wheel inflation system as standard. ARMA can switch between 6x6 and 6x4 modes depending on the terrain. Thanks to the two front steering axles, the turning radius is 7.8 meters. The overcome angles of entry and exit are 45 °, the rise is 60% and the maximum lateral slope is 30%, the height of the vertical obstacle to be overcome is 60 cm, the width of the trench is 1.2 meters. ARMA is able to float and maneuver on water using two hydraulically powered propellers.
ARMA 8 × 8
Work on the 8x8 version was started during the development of the ARMA 6x6 in order to save on R&D costs. By the end of the 4-year development phase, Otokar had released 3 prototypes of the new ARMA armored personnel carriers, and the company is reportedly ready to begin mass production of all models from the end of the third quarter of 2011.
The ARMA 8 × 8 weighs 24 tonnes, has a front engine and a new hydropneumatic suspension that allows it to carry 12 fully equipped soldiers over 750 kilometers over rough terrain. The vehicle can be transported by air using the C-130 or other similar cargo aircraft. The APC has full amphibious capabilities. The driver of the armored personnel carrier can easily switch from the powerful 8 × 8 mode to the more economical 8 × 4 mode by pressing a button, or from land to amphibious mode. The cross-country ability of the car remained at the level of the 6x6 version. ARMA 8x8 will ship with a wide range of standard and optional sensors, one of which is 4th generation thermal imaging cameras with a circular field of view, as well as laser targeting warning receivers, digital radio communications, infrared decoys, smoke screen launchers, anti WMD, additional composite armor, anti-cumulative mesh, winch and extended mine protection. At the request of the customer, manually or remotely controlled weapons can be installed, namely: remotely controlled machine guns of various calibers, anti-tank missile launchers, mortars, anti-aircraft and missile launchers.
