Czech company Excalibur Army has developed a new version of the 8×8 Pandur II CZ armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) called the Pandur II CZ Fire Support Vehicle (FSV), which has recently undergone trials in Indonesia alongside an infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) variant.
The Pandur II CZ FSV is fitted with the Belgian CMI Defence CT-CV 105HP turret, which is armed with a 105 mm rifled gun fitted with a thermal sleeve, fume extractor, and muzzle brake. The gun is fed by a bustle mounted automatic loader that holds ready for use 105 mm ammunition.
The turret also features a co-axial 7.62 mm machine gun (MG) and an additional MG mounted on the left side of the turret roof. It is also provided with a bank of four electrically operated smoke grenade launchers.
A computerised fire control system (FCS) is fitted, with the commander and gunner equipped with stabilised day/thermal sights and a laser rangefinder. A commander’s panoramic sight is installed on the right side of the turret roof and enables hunter/killer target engagements to take place.
In addition to firing conventional natures of 105 mm ammunition, the 105 mm gun can also fire a Falarick laserguided projectile out to a maximum range of 5,000 m.
It has a high elevation of up to +42° that enables the vehicle to perform indirect fires.
The Pandur II CZ in the IFV configuration has been demonstrated in Indonesia fitted with a Brazilian ARES remote-controlled turret (RCT) armed with a Northrop Grumman Armament Systems 30 mm MK44 dual feed cannon and co-axial 7.62 mm MG.
It is also fitted with a computerised FCS and stabilised day/thermal sights incorporating a laser rangefinder for both commander and gunner, with the commander’s panoramic sight mounted on the top left of the turret.
(Jane's)