Armor: Turkish Pars For Malaysia

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March 3, 2011: Turkey has sold Malaysia 257 wheeled Pars armored vehicles. The Turkish supplier, FNSS, is a joint venture with American company UDLP, and has been selling armored vehicles to the Turkish armed forces since the 1980s. Malaysia is buying the 24 ton 8x8 version of Pars, which can carry 14 (crew and passengers) and is armed with a 25mm autocannon and 7.62mm machine-gun in a small turret. The vehicle is amphibious and has a top road speed of 100 kilometers an hour. The Pars vehicles will be assembled in Malaysia. The is the largest military export deal to date for Turkey. The Turkish Army is considering a major purchase of the 18 ton 6x6 Pars.

A decade ago, Malaysia bought 211 tracked infantry fighting vehicles from Turkey. These 14 ton ACV-300 vehicles were based on the U.S. M-113 armored vehicle chassis, and over 2,000 were sold to the Turkish armed forces.