IDEF 2021: Roketsan showcases Omtas medium range antitank weapon system.

Omtas is a medium-range antitank system whose imaging infrared seeker enables day and night operations as well as adverse weather conditions – a common standard for a while – at targets located at a distance of 200m to 4 km.

FNSS Omtas antitank missile can be fired from a tripod (Picture source: Army Recognition)

The warhead types available are tandem high explosive, anti-tank blast, fragmentation and thermobaric. The RF data link between the launcher and the missile provides the user with operational flexibility. The missile can be used in fire-and-forget or fire-and-update mode. It offers both lock-on before launch or lock-on after launch capabilities. With its precision guidance capability and its armor-piercing tandem warhead, Omtas offers effective strikes against armored targets. The missile can be fired from a tripod or be integrated into land platforms with open or closed turrets.

FNSS PARS 4x4 with Roketsan Omtas antitank missile system at IDEF 2021 (Picture source: Army Recognition)

Operation from an FNSS PARS 4x4 armored vehicle

On 25 November 2019, SSB (Presidency of Turkish Defence Industries) announced that Roketsan had successfully fired Omtas medium-range antitank missiles from two vehicles on the move: an FNSS PARS 4×4 armored vehicle and a Kaplan Medium Tank. All missiles hit their targets.

Deliveries of a total of 206 FNSS PARS 4x4 vehicles to the Turkish Land Forces Command started in 2020.

Drawing upon its vast experience and innovative approaches, FNSS came up with a very special amphibious vehicle. 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, grant 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.”