Summary
Talha is an armoured personnel carrier (APC) designed and manufactured in Pakistan by APC Factory of Heavy Industries Taxila (HIT).
| APC Talha | |
|---|---|
| Type | Armoured personnel carrier (APC) |
| Place of origin | Pakistan |
| Service history | |
| Used by | Pakistan Army Iraqi Army |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Heavy Industries Taxila |
| Designed | 1998 |
| Manufacturer | Heavy Industries Taxila |
| Produced | 2002 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 12.5 ton (combat weight) 10.6 ton (curb weight) |
| Length | 218.5 inches (555 cm) |
| Width | 100 inches (250 cm) |
| Height | 102 inches (260 cm) |
| Crew | 13 |
| Armour | Aluminium (5083 series) |
Main armament | 12.7 mm machine gun |
| Engine | Two options:
|
| Power/weight |
|
| Suspension | Torsion bars, hydraulic dampers |
Operational range | 320 miles (510 km) |
| Maximum speed | 40 km/h |
The vehicle is based on the M113-A2-Mk.1 APC. The Pakistani Army plans to deploy 2,000 Talha APCs by 2010.[needs update] TALHA is an all terrain, amphibious infantry support vehicle with 12.7 mm machine gun as its main armament. Adequate crew compartment space provides excellent crew comfort. Survivability is enhanced through use of external fuel tanks. Various forms of bolt-on armour can be added to increase armour protection of the vehicle.
History edit
The decision to develop the Talha was made after U.S. sanctions imposed on Pakistan made it impossible for HIT to continue manufacturing the M113. The Talha's design is based on the M113, one notable difference being the positions of the engine and driver station.[1]
The Al-Talha is being marketed for export and was displayed at the IDEAS 2002 defence exhibition, Karachi, in 2002.[citation needed] In November 2004 an Iraqi delegation ordered 44 Talha APCs.
Engine edit
There is a flexibility in the design that the Engine compartment can accommodate power pack with 275 HP Detroit Diesel 6V53T turbocharged engine or 330 HP UTD-20, a Ukrainian engine.
Operators edit
Current operators edit
- Pakistan Army: 400+ in Service;[2] Total 2,000 planned to be deployed.[3]
- Iraqi Army: 44 delivered by Pakistan in 2006.[3]
Civilian operators edit
- Sindh Police: 40 delivered by Wah Ordnance Factory in 2012.[4]
Variants edit
- Maaz - Fitted with Baktar-Shikan anti-tank missile firing unit
- Mouz - Fitted with RBS 70 surface-to-air missile firing unit
- Sakb - Command post vehicle
- Al Qaswa - Logistics & cargo vehicle
APC Saad edit
APC Saad is a stretched 6 road wheel variant of Talha. Further variants of Saad:
- Al-Hadeed - Armoured recovery vehicle
- Al-Hamza - Infantry fighting vehicle
See also edit
- Related development
- Related lists
References edit
- ^ "Talha Series of Tracked Armoured Vehicles" jedsite
- ^ "PAKISTAN ARMY". Archived from the original on 2013-05-14. Retrieved 2013-03-07.
- ^ a b "Talha Armored personnel carrier". Retrieved 2013-03-07.
- ^ "Low quality equipment risk cops' lives". Archived from the original on 2012-11-11. Retrieved 2013-03-11.