24 SKOT APC, Czech Republic and Slovakia

Fahd APC

The Fahd wheeled APC was developed in response to an Egyptian Army requirement by Thyssen Henschel of Germany with the prototypes being manufactured in Germany. Thereafter production switched to state-owned factories in Egypt, from 1985 onwards, where the Fahd gradually replaced a whole host of older APC types in service,

The Fahd is essentially a box-type armoured steel body built onto the chassis of a Mercedes-Benz 1117/32 4 x 4 truck, with extensive use being made of readily available commercial components, where possible.

The large body is highly amenable to alteration for a number of purposes so, apart from the basic APC carrying ten troops who enter through a door at the rear, the Fahd can be adapted to become a police or internal security vehicle or act as a minelaying vehicle with banks of mine dispenser tubes installed on a flat bed rear body.

As an APC the Fahd is well provided with vision devices for the occupants and air conditioning is standard, as is a central tyre inflation system to allow the vehicle to cross sand and other soft terrain. The roof can be used to mount various types and sizes of turret armed with weapons from 7.62 mm MG up to 20 mm cannon.

One turret conversion changes the Fahd into a potential IFV. This is the Fahd 30 which involves the complete turret and armament of the BMP-2 IFV (qv). First announced in 1990, the Fahd 30 turret comes complete with roof-mounted ATGW. The basic Fahd has been exported, often in an internal security (IS) configuration, with customers including Algeria and Kuwait (both IS), Oman and Zaire,

The vehicles delivered to Kuwait were captured by Iraq during their invasion so their present status is uncertain.

Development of the Fahd continues, future variants could include command vehicles, armoured ambulances, specialised missile carriers and recovery vehicles.

Egypt

FahdlPC

Specification

Crew: 2

Seating: up to 10 Weight: (combat) 10,900 kg

Length: 6 m Width: 2.45 m

Height: 2.45 rn

Ground clearance: 0.37 m

Track: not known Max speed: (road) 90 km/h Fuel capacity: not known Range: 800 km

Fording: 0.7 m

Vertical obstacle: 0.5m Engine: Mercedes-Benz OM 352A diesel Power output: 168 hp Suspension: springs and shock absorbers Armament: variable- see text Variants: Fahd 30

One of the many variants of the Fahd APC, seen here armed with a 20 mm cannon turret