PARS Wheeled Armored Combat Vehicles

FNSS Savunma Sistemleri A.S. who has been exclusively manufacturing advanced tracked armored vehicles for the last 20+ years, decided in early 2000s to expand its product line to include wheeled armored vehicles as well. FNSS did an extensive and comprehensive study of most wheeled vehicles built around the world to determine the best design characteristics applicable to each vehicle that might be considered for local production in Turkey and compete in the world markets. The following vehicle profile is the result of this comprehensive study.

FNSS named this family of Wheeled Armored Combat Vehicles as PARS which is the name of the mounted Anatolian leopard well known for its agility and speed. Currently there are two members of PARS in 8x8 and 6x6 standard configurations as well as the Amphibious Assault Bridge (AAB) vehicle which uses the main automotive components of the PARS 8x8. The PARS 8x8 and AAB vehicles are currently in production for the Malaysian Armed Forces in 11 variants and Turkish Armed Forces respectively. Malaysian Armed Forces named their 8x8 configuration as AV8 family.

PARS 6x6 is one of the contenders for the Turkish Land Forces requirement for reconnaissance vehicles in five versions which are command, support, sensor, radar and CBRN reconnaissance vehicles.

Depending on the user requirements, a wide range of armaments can be integrated such as 7.62 mm and 12.7 mm remote controlled weapon stations, 25 mm 30 mm manned and remote controlled turrets. Thanks to the high axle capacity of the vehicles, weapons systems such as two-man turrets, 120 mm mortar systems, air defence guns, missile systems, and 90 mm turrets can also be fitted onto the vehicles.

FNSS designed and developed the PARS family of Wheeled Armored Combat Vehicles with special emphasis on mobility, protection, situational awareness, payload and growth potential. The vehicles employ commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) technologies that have been militarized (MCOTS) to meet modern military operational requirements in terms of performance, durability and life cycle support. All members of the PARS family have extensively been tested and qualified in extreme mobility and climate conditions.

PARS vehicle family members incorporate high percentage of commonality in their design features as well as systems such as:

Power Pack in the Middle:

The power pack of the vehicle is located behind the driver compartment and its weight is shared by multiple axles to avoid front-heavy configuration. This provides the vehicle with better load distribution and improves the mobility on sand and soft-soil tremendously as well as better and safer amphibious operations.

Wide 2-Man Driver Compartment and Maximum Situational Awareness:

The driver and commander are seated side by side in a cockpit at the very front of the vehicle. Both have access to the touch-screen large displays and other interfaces through which overall monitoring, commanding and controlling of the vehicle is performed effectively.

Periscopes provide the driver and commander with more than true 180°complete vision in the front and sides of the vehicle. Images from the front and rear thermal and optical cameras can be displayed on the flat-panel displays for improved situational awareness.

Left-hand or right-hand drive steering can be selected by either person at any time.

High Mobility and Maneuverability:

Another important feature of the PARS vehicles is its very high mobility that comes from "active pneumatic independent suspension system". The PARS vehicles’ greatly enhanced mobility is due to a high amount of suspension travel, all wheel steer and all wheel drive incorporating automatic drive line management as well as central tire inflation (CTI) and an anti lock breaking system (ABS).

All Wheel Steering (AWS) system significantly reduces the turning radius and is well suited to critical maneuvering in tight narrow urban streets. AWS functionality is managed automatically for the driver and is transparent to him during the operation of the vehicle along with the option of manual override.

The active pneumatic suspension system is electronically controlled and allows the ground clearance to be set for optimal performance. The ground clearance can be controlled by the driver using 4 buttons with factory assigned settings or manually adjusted.

The EURO III compliant, 530 HP, electronically controlled, V6 diesel engine of PARS develops 2100 Nm of torque which is distributed through 6 or 7 speed full-automatic transmission and a two-range transfer case providing a speeds of 100+ kph in high-range and very high torque in the low-range for enhanced rough terrain mobility.

High Maintainability and Efficient Diagnostics:

The engine and transmission are supported by a frame structure which also incorporates the peripheral equipment. This design allows the quick removal of the power pack from the vehicle. Two technical personnel can remove the complete power pack in less then half an hour. The connections for power, hydraulics, air and fuel to and from the vehicle are through quick disconnect couplings.

The power pack is a self contained unit incorporating the cooling system, the air induction system and the exhaust system allowing operation of the engine while the pack is outside of the vehicle.

The power pack is controlled through a CAN (controller area network). The electronics available on the vehicle allow for troubleshooting & data logging of events on the power pack. Vehicle can automatically load information and history to a base computer when entering a service compound. The system architecture supports simple and direct integration with logistical computing systems.

Protection and Survivability:

PARS wheeled armored combat vehicle system combines a complete capability for mine blast, IED (improvised explosive devices), ballistics and over-head protection through the design of the vehicle hull and related appliqué systems. These systems are easily attached and detached from the "V" shaped vehicle hull allowing ballistic protection levels to be changed to different levels quickly for specific missions, situations or transport.

The vehicle is designed not only to have high level of ballistic and mine resistance but is capable of carrying a variety of weapon stations with a high internal volume which allows for a full complements of infantry soldier and all of their kit.