Singapore's defense industry is making miraculous progress
The defense products developed by this country are comparable to the military powers
among them the Terrex AV81 armoured fighting vehicle
Terrex is developed by ST Engineering of Singapore and Timoney Technology of Ireland
and produced by ST Engineering Land Systems for the Singapore Army as well as by Turkish auto-maker Otokar
(manufacturing it under a license) as the Yavuz (AV-82) for the Turkish military
Design work began in the late 1990s.
Vehicle underwent initial trials in Ireland and United Kingdom and was shipped to Singapore for evaluation in the year 2000
Production commenced in 2006.
The Singapore Armed Forces are operating about 435 of these vehicles
It was exported to Ghana with 19 units
Despite its size, the Terrex is air-portable by C-130s or other similar cargo aircraft
Various weapon systems can be fitted on the roof
including a remote weapon station armed with a 40mm automatic grenade launcher
and a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun or a complete stabilized turret
armed with a 25mm M242 Bushmaster cannon and 7.62mm coaxial machine gun
Additional 7.62mm machine guns can be mounted over the rear troop compartment
In addition, the vehicle can be configured to carry varying combat payloads, from turret-based weapon stations to rocket launchers
including 105 mm tank guns
The modular top deck allows for quick configuration changes to be carried out
AV-81 is equipped with a Caterpillar C9 diesel engine, with 400 horsepower, for a maximum speed of up to 110 km / h, a range of 800 km
The vehicle uses a patented independent double wishbone suspension
which greatly improves ground mobility and ride comfort over rough terrain
The use of automatic traction control and the capacity for large footprint off-road tires
enables it to travel at unprecedented speeds in soft ground conditions
The vehicle has a double hull with an external V-hull that improves mine blast survivability
Add-on armour provides further protection for troops
It is also capable of providing full NBC protection in extreme operational conditions
In its baseline configuration, the AV-81 Terrex is fully amphibious
two water jets mounted on either side at the back of the hull propel the vehicle through water at 10 km/h
In addition to serving in the Singapore armed forces
the impressive Terrex is in the running to fulfill the United States Marine Corps "Marine Personnel Carrier" (MPC) program requirement
and is also being considered as the solution for the Australian Army's "LAND 400" program