FNSS starts production of Pars Izci armored personnel carrier.

Turkey has begun production of the new Pars İzci amphibious armored personnel carrier, with the first vehicles entering the army in 2022, Anadolu news agency reports. The contract for the development and production of armored vehicles was concluded between the Turkish Defense Industry Authority and FNSS as part of the 14th International Defense Industry Exhibition IDEF-2019. The first stage of the project involved the development of five different vehicle configurations and the production of a total of 100 vehicles. The project will cover the delivery of Command and Radar Vehicles as well as Sensor and CBRN Reconnaissance Vehicles for the Turkish Land Forces, and Armoured Combat Vehicles for the General Command of Gendarmerie.

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The Pars İzci armored personnel carrier will enter service with the Turkish gendarmerie and the Turkish army (Picture source: Army Recognition)

The Pars İzci armored personnel carrier will be produced on 6X6 and 8X8 chassis, in five variants. It will enter service with the gendarmerie and the Turkish army but no detail is known at present regarding their various armaments. At the first stage, FNSS will supply 100 armored vehicles for two law enforcement agencies. The first pre-production armored personnel carriers should arrive as early as 2022; in total, 36 months are given for the execution of the contract. In general, the project is scheduled to span 36 months. The first armored personnel carriers will be used by the army and gendarmerie already in 2022

FNSS said that the Pars İzci armored personnel carrier is a reconnaissance modification in the Pars family of armored vehicles. It is emphasized that this is the first armored personnel carrier on which a Turkish engine manufactured by Tümosan, developing 450 hp, is installed. The armored personnel carrier can reach 100 km/h on-road and 8 km/h afloat.

The development of the Pars vehicles started in 2002, based on a U.S. design, and in cooperation with GPV. Pars 4x4 and Pars 6x6 were then proposed for the Turkish Army. Pars 8x8 was first displayed during the IDEX 2005 defense equipment exhibition held in Abu Dhabi. Since the first Pars vehicles were shown in 2005 development and further enhancements have been carried out on a continuous basis. It was demonstrated in the deserts of the UAE in 2008 covering 11,000 km of desert and road trials. Further testing was again carried out in the UAE deserts in 2010. The Pars 8x8, fitted with a 25mm gun turret, was also successfully tested by another Middle Eastern country in the summer of 2010.

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