Malaysia’s Deftech Unveils Surveillance Variant of AV8 Gempita AFV

18 April 2018

Malaysia's Deftech officially unveiled a surveillance variant of its AV8 Gempita AFV at the DSA 2018 exhibition in Kuala Lumpur. (photo : Jane's)

Named the AV8 Gempita SURV, the vehicle is equipped with a telescopic surveillance (optronic and radar) mast designed to provide battlefield commanders with an enhanced situational awareness. “The platform’s classified onboard radar system is a key enabler in compressing the cycle between acquiring and destroying a target,” a company official told Jane’s .

Jane’s understands that the vehicle, which was first seen a few weeks earlier in images provided by the official Berita Tentera Darat Malaysia (BTDM) news portal, is fitted with the Rheinmetall Vingtaqs II target acquisition system.

“The SURV will be employed by both the armoured regiment and the mechanised infantry units of the Malaysian Army,” said Deftch Group CEO Amril Samsudin, adding that the platform “will provide an organic surveillance capability to detect any aggressor tank or armoured formations”.

Moreover, the company displayed for the first time at DSA an AV8 variant featuring a remote-controlled weapon station (RCWS). Named the AV8 Gempita RCWS, this variant, which is equipped with a 12.7 mm gun, is already in service with the Malaysian Army’s mechanised infantry units.

The recently displayed platforms are two of the 12 variants of the AV8 Gempita that Deftech is delivering to the Malaysian Army under a contract signed in 2011 for 259 units, according to the company.

(Jane's)