Turkish Roketsan OMTAS antitank missiles test-fired from FNSS PARS 4x4 armored vehicle and Kaplan Medium Tank.

On 25 November, SSB (Presidency of Turkish Defence Industries) announced that Roketsan had successfully fired medium-range antitank missiles from moving FNSS PARS 4×4 armored vehicle and Kaplan Medium Tank. All missiles hit their targets.

FNSS PARS 4x4 anti-tank wheeled armored vehicle at IDEF 2019, defense exhibition (Picture source Army Recognition)

Qualification testing is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2019 and deliveries of a total of 206 vehicles to the Turkish Land Forces Command to begin by 2020, SSB said.

FNSS Savunma Sistemleri is manufacturing 184 Kaplan medium tanks as the tracked platform for the OMTAS project, and 78 PARS 4×4s as the project's wheeled antitank vehicle.

The PARS 4x4 Antitank was designed as a vehicle that relies on its firepower, speed and high maneuverability under all-terrain conditions to destroy enemy tanks and other armored units from a distance and to engage secondary targets after rapidly changing positions. Drawing upon its vast experience and innovative approaches, FNSS has come up with a very special amphibious vehicle that is capable of meeting all of these challenging requirements at the same time.

Most noteworthy among the PARS 4x4 Antitank’s features is the positioning of its powerpack at the rear of the vehicle, which keeps the cooling grate and exhaust on the upper section of the vehicle, allowing it to enter the water without prior preparation by installing a swimming kit. And thus granting it with the best amphibious capabilities in its class. Moreover, the rear position of the power pack also allows the PARS 4x4 to maneuver at higher speeds. All these features, which can only be expected from a vehicle with its power pack located at the rear, grants the PARS 4x4 with critical capabilities in terms of leaving its position after firing and moving away from a threat zone.

K. Nail Kurt, General Manager and CEO of FNSS, emphasized that the PARS 4x4 marks a new era for anti-tank vehicles: “FNSS closely follows both the developments and user requirements around the world, and we displayed the PARS 4x4 concept, which was a result of these efforts, for the first time at IDEF’15. After signing a contract with the user, we prepared the concept, including the anti-tank turret, for qualification tests from scratch in a period of just 18 months. With the introduction of PARS 4x4 into the inventory, we are certain that it will become a force multiplier that changes all the equations, first for Turkish Land Forces, and later for friendly and allied nations.”

FNSS "Kaplan" / PT Pindad "Harimau" Medium Tank during a  dynamic demonstration at IndoDefense 2018 in Jakarta (Picture source Army Recognition)

Roketsan OMTAS antitank missile on ground-based firing station (Picture source Army Recognition)