The Turkish company Otokar announced that its Arma II 8X8 armored fighting vehicle powered by a locally made engine is ready for mass production, after passing a 6,000 km driving test.
Arma 2 will be offered with two different options of engines, one of which is domestically made with 720 horsepower.
Otokar General Manager, Serdar Görgüç, said that the company had first started the production of four-wheel drive vehicles and had achieved export success in 1987, and that they had started designing and developing the Arma family of vehicles in 2006 using their own resources keeping in mind the needs of customers.
Görgüç added that the company made its first export of the Arma vehicle in 2015, and that they have recently produced 400 eight-wheel drive vehicles in the UAE with a local partner.
Noting that they use the vehicle in very difficult climatic and geographical conditions, test it and offer it to customers, Görgüç said, "We started work on the Arma 2 armored combat vehicle almost two years ago, taking into account the evolving needs, and the ability to adapt and integrate it with many Different platforms perform different tasks and meet the requirements of protection against frequently encountered threats.
He pointed out that the Arma is a successful vehicle that is used by the countries that own it and that it meets all the needs of these countries. He said that they designed the Arma 2 to respond to demands such as increasing the protection and the internal size of the vehicle and adapting it to use larger weapon turrets.
Referring to the differences between the Arma and Arma 2 vehicles, Görgüç said:
“It is about the carrying capacity. The Arma has a maximum payload of 30 tons, while the Arma II has a maximum payload of 40 tons. Therefore, we provide the highest levels of protection against mines and kinetic energy threats. We have different suspensions and different axles. Arma 2 also offers larger internal volume, more protection and adaptability to more tasks for users.”
Arma 2 is powered by a domestic engine
Serdar Görgüç also said that they, as Otokar, have done a lot of work and taken important steps to reduce foreign dependence in subsystems and increase domestic production rate.
Noting the presence of several local systems in Arma 2, Görgüç made the following assessments:
“We use many locally produced subsystems here that are not available in Arma. For example, we imported the suspension and transmission for Arma, and we used domestic product that we designed and produced with our own resources in Arma II. In addition, we use domestic engine in Arma 2. We use 720hp 12.7L Ecotorq engine in Arma 2. And we provide Arma 2 with two different engine options with the same power, domestic and foreign, for users thus, Arma 2 became the first 8-wheel drive armored vehicle powered by a domestic engine in Turkey. Except for the gearbox in the powertrain, all other cooling systems are designed by Otokar and manufactured locally.
The vehicle is ready for mass production
Görgüç also provided information about the stage reached in the development of the vehicle, and stated that the tests on Arma 2 have been ongoing for about 3 years, and said:
"We have completed all vehicle qualifications and are ready to start local production activities using both imported and domestic engines. We are now at a level where we can start the mass production process immediately. Looking at the local engine, it is the result of about 3.5 years of hard work. With the current engine militarized and to make it suitable for Otokar standards, force and torque measurement tests were carried out using dynamometer in the past years. Vehicle integration was completed at the beginning of 2022. We completed reliability and maintainability tests and qualification tests at system level during 2022. We have reached a level where we can enter mass production at any time. We don't need any additional investment. We have made all relevant investments and are ready for mass production."
Mobility, protection and firepower
The Arma 2 wheeled armored vehicle was developed by the R&D team of Otokar, taking into account asymmetric threats, which are frequently encountered during conflicts in different geographies and conventional combat conditions.
The vehicle is designed to provide the highest level of ballistic protection against mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in its class in the world, with high off-road and terrain capability.
The Arma II can be equipped with heavy weapon systems up to 120 mm caliber, in addition to greater carrying capacity and more protection features. The eight-wheel steering system enables it to control all axes individually, so all wheels can be steered.
Multi-mission modular design
The Arma 2 vehicle is designed in a modular manner to be a multi-mission armored vehicle that provides the user with the implementation of many different tasks. It can be used as a wheeled armored fighting vehicle and armored personnel carrier, and various weapon systems, equipment and subsystems can be integrated into it.
The Arma 2 vehicle, which has various loadouts, can function as a reconnaissance and surveillance vehicle, and as a mobile command and control center thanks to its large internal volume and rapid deployment ability. The vehicle can serve in search and rescue missions on the battlefield through the use of appropriate sub-systems, and can perform other various tasks such as maintenance and repair and work as an armored ambulance.
