DefTech AV8

DefTech AV8
DefTech AV8 IFV25 variant being paraded on Malaysia's National Day Parade 2013
Type	Armoured combat vehicle
Place of origin	Malaysia  Turkey
Service history
In service	2014 onwards
Used by	Malaysian Army
Production history
Designer	DefTech FNSS Defence Systems
Manufacturer	DefTech
No. built	257 ordered
Variants	See variants
Specifications
Weight	± 28,000 kg
Length	8 m
Width	2.7 m (not incl. side armour)
Height	2.17 m
Crew	3 + 11 soldiers
Armor	Composite aluminium and steel armour, add-on armour at front and sides of the hull up to STANAG 4569 Level 4
Main armament	30mm Denel LCT30 turret or 25mm Sharpshooter Turret
Secondary armament	FN Herstal MAG 58M coaxial 7.62 mm machine gun
Engine	Deutz 550 hp
Suspension	Independent air suspension system
Operational range	700 km (430 mi)
Speed	100 km/h on road 30 km/h in water

The DefTech AV8 Gempita (Thunder) is an amphibious multirole armoured vehicle developed by Malaysian defence vehicle company DefTech based on the FNSS Pars. The vehicle has a modular design which allows the fitting of different turrets, weapons, sensors, and communications systems on the same vehicle. The vehicle has 12 variants, including the armoured personnel carrier, infantry fighting vehicle, tank destroyer, signals intelligence vehicle and recovery vehicles. It is manufactured by DefTech in Pahang, Malaysia.

In June 2011, the Turkish Company FNSS signed a ‘letter of offer and acceptance’ by DRB-Hicom Defence Technologies (DefTech) for the design, development and manufacture of the vehicles. The AV8 vehicle selected by the Malaysian military was based on the FNSS-designed Pars 8×8 multi-purpose, multi-mission, wheeled armoured vehicle. The contract included technology transfer arrangements to Deftech and logistics support for the Malaysian army, positioning the vehicle and its 12 variants to become Malaysia’s first indigenous family of 8×8 armoured wheeled vehicle.

In April 2012, DefTech and FNSS presented the first scale model of the AV8 at the international defence exhibition, Defence Services Asia 2012 in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia’s DefTech will be the principal assembly agent, and its engineers will work with Nurol holding subsidiary FNSS to customise the vehicles for Malaysian requirements and equipment. South Africa’s Denel will reportedly build a 2-man turret for the APC, while Sapura-Thales was expected to become the systems integrator. The first prototype of the AV8 was presented in March 2013 to the public during the 80th Army Day anniversary celebration in Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan.