Chaiseri Thailand to Deliver New 8x8 AWAV Amphibious Armored Personnel Carrier Vehicle to Thai Marines

05 Agustus 2024

Chaiseri Metal & Rubber Co. Ltd. showed a presentation video of its new AWAV (Armoured Wheeled Amphibious Vehicle) 8x8 for Royal Thai Marine Corps (RTMC) during Navy Research 2024 exhibition at Royal Thai Navy (RTN) Auditorium, Bangkok Yai District, Bangkok, Thailand on 31 July 2024 and set to deliver to RTN in August 2024 (all photos: Defense Info TH)

'Navy Research 2024' event organized by the Naval Research and Development Office (NRDO), Royal Thai Navy (RTN) at Chao Phraya Room, Royal Thai Navy Auditorium, Wat Arun Subdistrict, Bangkok Yai District, Bangkok, Thailand on 31 July 2024 by Admiral Adung Phan-iam, Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Navy, presided over the opening ceremony.

Chaiseri Metal & Rubber Co. Ltd. (Thailand) has organized an exhibition of its products in the Royal Thai Navy Science and Technology Research and Development Exhibition of the Royal Thai Navy, various armed forces and units of the Thai Ministry of Defense, other government agencies and private sectors that promote and develop Thailand's defense industry.

At Navaljai 2024, Thai company Chaiseri released a promotional video showing the progress of the development of its new 8x8 Armoured Wheeled Amphibious Vehicle (AWAV) for the Royal Thai Marine Corps (RTMC), with seven vehicles scheduled to be delivered to the Royal Thai Navy in August 2024.

Captured footage from a video showing at the 2024 Naval Research Showcase shows the Thai Chaiseri AWAV 8x8 amphibious armored personnel carrier (AWAV) undergoing some modifications from the prototype first unveiled at the Defense & Security 2023 exhibition from November 6-9, 2023.

The prototype AWAV 8x8 amphibious armored personnel carrier has undergone performance tests in a variety of situations, including moving through various obstacles at the Army Vehicle Test Station and moving in the open sea at Sattahip District, Chonburi Province. It can be seen that the vehicle has been painted in the same camouflage color as the Thai Marines' AAV7A1 RAM/RS amphibious vehicle, which has been modernized by Chaiseri Thailand.

At the time of the test, a storm was entering the Gulf of Thailand, but the vehicle was still able to float and move without sinking. According to Chaiseri Thailand, the AWAV 8x8 amphibious armored vehicle is 9.2m long, 3.1m wide and 3m high. The vehicle weighs 23.2 tonnes and is powered by a 711hp diesel engine. It has a top speed of 105km/h on land and 10km/h in water and has a combat range of 600km.

The AWAV 8x8 amphibious wheeled armored vehicle can carry 11 personnel plus 3 crew members (gunner, commander, and driver). The weapon system installed is the Guardian 1.5 remote weapon station (RWS) from Escribano Mechanical and Engineering (EM&E) Spain with a 12.7mm heavy machine gun. The secondary armament is a 76mm smoke grenade launcher.

Chaiseri Thai Company has been awarded the contract to purchase 7 wheeled armored vehicles (8x8) by selection method, with a budget of 448,000,000 baht ($12,918,115) at a unit price of 64,000,000 baht ($1,845,445) per vehicle, announced on August 3, 2023, in which the design and development of the prototype vehicle and production line planning were carried out in parallel for one year.

Previously, Panus Assembly Co., Ltd. (Thailand) was the winner of the procurement of 2 armored vehicles (8x8) type personnel carriers, which have been built, tested, and delivered to the Thai Marines.

Including the 8x8 Sea Tiger wheeled armored vehicle under the joint research and development project of the 8x8 Amphibious Armored Personnel Carrier (AAPC) prototype amphibious armored vehicle between the Defense Technology Institute (DTI) and the Royal Thai Navy Research and Development Office (RTN), produced by Cho Thavee Public Company Limited (CHOTHAVEE PLC), Thailand, which has also been delivered to the Thai Marine Corps.

In the past, the Royal Thai Marine Corps has considered the procurement of amphibious wheeled armored vehicles for use in the Marine Assault Amphibian Vehicle Battalion, Marine Division, which will operate from the Royal Thai Navy's floating landing craft, HTMS Angthong and HTMS Chang, together with the AAV7A1 amphibious vehicle and VN16 amphibious assault vehicle.

In the past, the prototype vehicles tested, both the DTI AAPC "Sea Tiger" 8x8 and the Panus R600 8x8, were reported to have shortcomings that did not meet the requirements of the Thai Marine Corps, such as low speed of movement in water or safety while floating in water (the prototype vehicle sank during sea trials). However, all of them were developed and built in Thailand, showing the continuous support of the Thai Navy's domestic industry.

(AAG)