Turkey: Tumosan boosts its newest Pusat armored personnel carrier.

The newest 4×4 armored personnel carrier manufactured in Turkey is the Pusat which can carry nine people while weighing less than 12 ton. This family of vehicles is intended to include a 6×6 MRAP and an 8×8 infantry fighting vehicle, so far not actually manufactured.

Tumosan "Pusat" displayed at IDEF 2019 in Istanbul (Picture source: Army Recognition)

The Pusat was presented at the IDEF 2019 defense exhibition in Istanbul, earlier this May. The latest Pusat featured slight alterations in its external appearance when compared to the initial project, as mentioned by 21stCenturyAsianArmsRace. Gone were the original side steps underneath the cab used for climbing aboard; these were replaced by a reinforced hull bottom that served the same purpose. A bumper mounted with a towing wing was also added below the grille.

Tumosan signed an accomplishment by developing a 250 horsepower engine for its APC, in the framework of the need for developing indigenous components due to the increasing number of restrictions in Western manufactured supplies; its output gives the Pusat a maximum speed of 110 kilometers per hour and a 700 km range. So, all the relevant parts, including the specially designed chassis with independent suspension, are designed and made in Turkey.

Besides a v-hull, the armor level of the Pusat hasn’t been communicated yet. However, one may assume the cab enjoys at least STANAG II ballistic resistance, making it impervious to AK-47 rounds at close range. Bulletproof glass panels cover the windshield and the side doors and the viewing slits over the passenger compartment each have gun ports for combat optimization. Smoke grenade dischargers and a .50 caliber machine gun on a remote weapon station sourced from Aselsan lend the Pusat a real fighting edge. But there’s also a main circular roof hatch for manually operated turrets if these are needed.