KIA displays new 4x4
Christened the Kia Light Tactical Vehicle (KLTV) for export markets, Alan Lee, assistant manager of Kia’s special vehicle export team, said he hoped that this family of armour-protected vehicles would attract attention from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
With the AFP facing ever more dangerous threats such as improvised explosive devices in the southern Philippines and elsewhere, protecting troops is an important priority.
The KLTV weighs 5.7t and it is powered by a 2,959cc, six-cylinder diesel engine.
Kia has already started production of the indigenous LTV for the Republic of Korea Army, and Lee said contracts may soon emerge in Africa too.
Kia Motors is the primary supplier of new vehicles to the Philippines, with Lee saying more than 2,000 vehicles had been provided to date.
Numerically the most numerous model supplied to the AFP is the 1.25t KM450 4x4 vehicle. A Philippine Army spokesman provided further details on the variants obtained to date. The army alone has inducted 1,595 examples of the KM450, 120 KM451 ambulances and two KM452 communications vans.
In addition, the army has received 250 examples of the KM250 2.5t 6x6 truck and six KM500 5t 6x6 trucks as tractors for artillery pieces. The army also has 12 KM500-series prime movers and trailers for the transportation of heavy equipment.
It is quite likely the AFP will place further truck orders given the elderly state of the AFP fleet. The inventory is mostly based on types such as the M35 that are in service throughout the archipelago.
(Shephard)
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