Korea Aiming to Export K806 Wheeled Armored Vehicle to Malaysia

06 September 2021

Hyundai Rotem K-806 6x6 (photo : ROKArmed Forces)

Recently, the Malaysian Army is conducting the next-generation wheeled armored vehicle project to replace the Sibmas and Condor wheeled armored vehicles. The number of units required is about 400, and it is a project to introduce 6X6 wheeled armored vehicles.

Currently, the main types of wheeled armored vehicles in operation by the Malaysian Army are 186 Belgian 6x6 wheeled armored vehicles Sibmas introduced in the late 1970s and 316 German 4x4 wheeled armored vehicle Condors.

The Belgian Sibmas has a combat weight of 14.5 tons, carries 14 troops including a crew member, and is also equipped with a 90mm low-pressure gun.

The German Condor is a wheeled armored vehicle with 12 tons of combat weight, 12 armed forces on board, and protection against 7.62mm armor-piercing rounds. About 600 units were exported to 6 countries.

Condor wheeled armored vehicles are well known for being used by Malaysian peacekeepers during the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu, also known as the movie Black Hawk Down.

Hyundai Rotem K-806 6x6 (photo : Hyundai Rotem)

The Malaysian Army has 267 Turkish-made ACV-300 units and 111 Korean-made K-200 units as tracked armored vehicles, and separately has 257 Turkish-made 8x8 wheeled vehicle AV8 units. In terms of quantity, the 6X6 type and 4X4 type wheeled armored vehicles are the main ones.

As of August 2021, Hyundai Rotem is entering the export business with the K-806 wheeled armored vehicle, and despite the Corona crisis, the test and evaluation team visited Korea at the end of 2020 and received favorable reviews.

The contenders

Test and evaluation were conducted in Gwangju and Changwon, and proposals were submitted in November of this year, and evaluation results are expected in February 2022. Along with the 6X6 wheeled armored vehicle business, a project to introduce 36 4X4 type light armored vehicles as a leading vehicle concept is in parallel, and a Korean company is challenging Kovico.

One of the characteristics of the Malaysian Army's wheeled armored vehicle business is that it will be a sub-contractor if an overseas company is selected on the condition of local production.

Hyundai Rotem's strongest competitor is Turkey's FNSS, and Canadian and Indonesian armored vehicle makers are also entering.

Hyundai Rotem's K806 armored car is for the regional defense division under the 2nd Operation Command, and has been delivered to the 37th Division, which was first deployed, as well as the 31st, 32nd, and 39th divisions.

The power pack of the K806 armored vehicle is a combination of a 420 horsepower Hyundai H420 engine tuned for military use and an automatic transmission made by ZF (7 forward speed/1 reverse speed) for the front division, install the same power pack.

The K806 can travel at a maximum speed of 100 km/h and is known for its excellent driving performance on rough terrain by using an automatic tire pressure control device.

It has protection against 12.7mm machine guns and the lower body has anti-personnel mines and small improvised explosives. In particular, an integrated positive pressure system for heating and cooling was installed in preparation for chemical discharge, and a peer identification system was also introduced. The K806 is armed with a 7.62mm machine gun and a smoke grenade launcher.

Although the K806 basic model has performance and price competitiveness, the Malaysian Army is demanding various types of vehicles, so it is similar to the situation in which Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) proposed the FA-50 for export to the Malaysian Air Force and was asked to add operational armament.

It is expected that Korean defense products will be selected for the Malaysian Air Force's light fighter and the Army's wheeled armored vehicle in 2022.

(Asiae)