The Armed Forces of the Philippines are modernising at a greater pace than ever before, and this is being showcased at the ongoing ADAS with the Philippine Army’s new “Sabrah” ASCOD II Light Tank making its show debut along with its new Guarani 6×6 wheeled Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC). Both platforms have boosted the fighting capability of the Philippine Army. The 30-tonne Sabrah light tank solution provides a unique combination of powerful fire capacity and high maneuverability, upgrading the Philippine Army’s armoured fighting capability. Less than a dozen of the light tanks are thought to have been delivered to the Philippine Army as of now.
The Sabrah light tank is being quickly operationalised and inducted into service, with initial training having been completed in February this year. The Sabrah light tank is operated by the Philippine Army Armor Division’s 1st Tank (Masikan) Battalion, which was reactivated in 2022. This July, the 1st Tank Battalion conducted intensive gunnery training and live firing exercises with the light tanks at Camp Ernesto Ravina Air Base (CERAB). “The rigorous training sessions included a series of realistic combat scenarios designed to test and enhance the accuracy, reliability, and firepower of the Sabrah tanks,” said the 1st Tank (Masikan) Battalion. Major General Pedro C. Balisi Jr., Commander of the Armour Pambato Division, also personally assessed the performance of the Sabrah light tank during the exercises.
The 1st Tank Battalion is approved for a strength of 18 Sabrah ASCOD light tanks, 10 Pandur 8×8 wheeled light tanks, a command vehicle, a recovery vehicle, and a tank gunnery simulator. Elbit Systems was awarded a contract valued at approximately $172 million in January 2021 to supply light tanks to the Philippines. The contract will be performed over a three-year period. Elbit Systems is the prime contractor for the Sabrah light tank solution, which is based on the tracked ASCOD platform manufactured by General Dynamics European Land Systems Santa Bárbara from Spain (GDELS), and on the wheeled Pandur II 8X8 platform manufactured by Excalibur Army from the Czech Republic.
In addition to the 105mm turret, Elbit also supplies the electro-optical sights, fire control systems, TORCH-X battle management system, E-LynX Software Defined Radio system, and life support systems for the light tank. The turrets, Fire Control Systems (FCS), electro-optics, and 105mm tank guns are in use by the IDF as well as numerous other armed forces around the world.
Elbit Systems delivered the first batch of five Guarani 6×6 wheeled APCs to the Philippine Army earlier this year in February. The Israeli firm had announced the Philippine contract in February 2021, when it stated that it would supply VBTP 6X6 APCs worth approximately USD 46 million, with the contract to be completed over a three-year period. As the prime contractor, Elbit will supply the VBTP 6X6 wheeled APCs developed by Iveco Defence Vehicles (Iveco). The VBTP 6X6 was developed by Iveco in cooperation with the Brazilian Army.
Elbit is equipping the VBTP 6X6 APCs with its turrets and a range of the company’s subsystems, including electric drive and stabilization systems, fire control systems, TORCH-XTM battle management systems, E-LynX SDRs, gunner and commander sights, as well as life support systems. The Guarani family of 20-ton 6×6 armoured, amphibious vehicles can carry up to 11 personnel (3 crew and 8 troops). This family of armoured vehicles can be equipped with manned and unmanned turrets carrying 5.56 to 30mm calibre weapons and can be transported by C-130 Hercules and KC-390 aircraft.
Guarani APCs are fitted with an IVECO-FPT 9-litre, 380hp bi-fuel common-rail engine, coupled to an automatic gearbox and fully independent McPherson-type suspension system, which affords high maneuverability in urban, amphibious, and cross-country conditions. The APC can be configured to fulfil various roles from personnel carrier to command post, recovery, ambulance, and reconnaissance. More than 500 units have been produced so far for a range of different end users.
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