ST Kinetics Showcases Expanded Terrex IFV Family with an Eye on International Requirements

26 Juli 2016

All three members of the ST Kinetics 8x8 Terrex armoured vehicle family pictured together for the very first time. From left: the 24-tonne Terrex 1 which is in service with the Singapore Army; the 35-tonne Australian Land 400 Phase 2 contender Terrex 3/Sentinel II; and the 30-tonne Terrex 2 that has been optimised for amphibious operations, one of the two finalists downselected for the US Marine Corps ACV 1.1 programme. (photo: Jane's)

Singapore Technologies (ST) Kinetics, the land systems division of state-affiliated defence prime ST Engineering, is seeking to expand its global 8x8 armoured vehicle footprint with the Terrex family of infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs), which now includes three distinct platforms with gross vehicle weight (GVW) ratings ranging from 24-35 tonnes.

Senior ST Kinetics executives asserted during a closed press briefing on 22 July - which also commemorated an occasion where all three current members of the Terrex family were displayed together for the first time - that the company's sustained efforts in capability development will enable it to meet the growing spectrum of operational requirements from international customers.

Winston Toh, ST Kinetics executive vice-president and chief marketing officer, told IHS Jane's in a separate interview that the company's 8x8 vehicles have also garnered interest from countries in the Middle East as well as North and South America, in addition to the Australian Army Project Land 400 Phase 2 and US Marine Corps (USMC) Amphibious Combat Vehicle Phase 1 Increment 1 (ACV 1.1) programmes that it is currently pursuing with overseas industry partners.

"We have adopted different business models to cater to the customers' needs," Toh explained. "For example, we are the vehicle OEM but we are providing [our partners with] design and engineering capabilities to support in-country manufacturing … which helps manage cost and risk for the customer."

Toh admitted that while Terrex has yet to make inroads in the Asia Pacific region outside of Singapore, ST Kinetics has leveraged on its experience with Terrex to provide technical advice and consultancy services to Thailand's Defence Technical Institute's (DTI's) indigenous 24-tonne 8x8 Black Widow Spider armoured vehicle development for the Royal Thai Army (RTA).

(Jane's)