Indonesian MoD to Order at Least 44 Tanks
PT Pindad conducted a successful live fire demonstration of its new Medium Tank on 27 August at the Indonesian Army’s Education Centre in Cipatat, West Bandung.
The MT is the result of a four-year collaboration between Indonesia’s PT Pindad and Turkey’s FNSS. It is fitted with a thoroughly modern Cockerill 3105 turret from CMI Defence, mounting a high-pressure 105mm gun. The vehicle was specifically designed bearing Asian terrain and operational considerations into account, combining high firepower with accuracy, high mobility and ‘best of breed’ survivability and mobility.
During the demonstration the vehicle scored a notable success with a TPCSDS-T round from 1,200m, scoring a direct hit in the centre of mass of a moving 4×4 target vehicle while the tank itself was moving at 20km/h – a challenging test scenario.
Abraham Mose, Pindad’s CEO, stated that the results of the collaboration with CMI Defence and FNSS were “brilliant,” and informed observers that the company was now ready for mass production and to start promoting the tank “to the export market in Asia and hopefully beyond.”
A Ministry of Defence official, meanwhile, was quoted as stating “Indonesia will place an order of minimum 44 units for the first batch of mass production.”
FNSS Business Development Director, Melih Kayaalp and Thierry Renaudin, President of CMI Defence, both expressed satisfaction with the firing trials and support for the ongoing manufacture of the Medium Tank.
