Indonesian defence company PT Pindad is nearing serial production of the modern medium-weight tank production called Kaplan MT (Medium Tank) developed jointly by Turkish company FNSS.
PT Pindad has announced that company is close to starting Kaplan MT production at a new factory in Indonesia, which series production expects will begin in 2019.
FNSS and PT Pindad initiated the project to develop modern medium weight tank in November 2014. At the moment, the Philippines can also join the project, Philippines Army also shows interest in acquiring a new medium tank.
Jointly developed by FNSS-PT Pindad, Kaplan MT’s design architecture with advanced ballistic and mine protection systems allows the use of a wide range of NATO-standard ammunition that can engage targets at a maximum distance of 10km.
Kaplan MT is fitted with a two-man CMI Cockerill 3105 turret armed with a Cockerill 105mm high-pressure gun which can fire both AP (Armour Piercing) and HE (High Explosive) ammunitions.
The vehicle owes its advanced mobility capability to its 6 wheeled anti-shock suspension system, built on torsion bars with double pinned tracks which provides optimum performance on both urban infrastructure and cross country. The vehicle is fully operable in a broad range of altitude and humidity, and temperatures. (-32°C/+55°C).
The Kaplan’s power pack is equipped with capacity cooling pack and fuel tanks. The cooling pack is cooled by an intelligent software driven hydraulic fan for optimum torque extraction and fuel economy, and two separate fuel tanks provide a minimum operating range of 450km. An auxiliary power unit enables turret operation when vehicle engine is not running by charging battery system. Advanced battery monitoring system is also equipped for optimum power management and silent watch capabilities.
The vehicle interior is engineered carefully considering crew ergonomics and different tactical and battlefield conditions including driving, firing and ammunition loading and unloading. Special type of driver seat allows the operator to benefit from enhanced field of view and convenient access to dashboard and other driving instruments.
