Singapore Technologies Engineering (ST Engineering) had secured SGD1.6 billion (USD1.1 billion) in new contracts during Q1 2020, mainly for production and maintenance activity in commercial sectors. ST Engineering added that its Land Systems division als secured a Phase 2 contract for the production and supply of the Hunter Armoured Fighting Vehicle (AFV) from the Singapore Ministry of Defence. Under the contract, ST Engineering will also provide integrated logistics support which includes spares, training and documentation. In March 2017, ST Engineering announced that its land systems arm, Singapore Technologies Kinetics Ltd (ST Kinetics), has been awarded a contract by the Singapore Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) for the production and supply of the Next Generation Armoured Fighting Vehicle (NGAFV).
The Hunter AFV is a tracked Singaporean armoured fighting vehicle jointly developed by ST Engineering, Defence Science and Technology Agency, and the Singapore Army. Intended to replace the Singapore Army’s aging Ultra M113 armoured personnel carriers, it was commissioned in 2019. It is the Singapore Army’s first fully digitalised platform and is designed to provide armoured forces with enhanced capabilities to operate more effectively and efficiently in various phases of military operations. The Hunter tracked AFV (Armored Fighting Vehicle) makes its first public appearance in August 2019 during the National Day military parade in Singapore. The vehicle would be delivered in troop carrier, command and recovery variants.
The Armoured Fighting Vehicle has a tracked chassis and is crewed by a commander, a driver, and a gunner. The vehicle is equipped with an integrated combat cockpit, which allows the commander and gunner to use a common set of controls to operate the Hunter, and a drive by wire capability. The commander and gunners also have independent sights. The vehicle is 6.9m-long, 3.4m-wide, and 3.4m-high. The total weight of the vehicle is 29.5t, while its power to weight ratio is 24hp/t. The vehicle can carry up to eight dismounted troops. It has a maximum range of 500 km and speed of 70 km/h.
The Hunter is armed with a 30 mm cannon, two anti-tank guided missiles, a 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun, and eight 76 mm smoke grenade launchers. The AFV mounts an all-round surveillance system with a 360-degree field of vision, enabling closed-hatch operations, as well as a laser warning system.The Hunter AFV uses its C4 suite to deliver networked warfighting capabilities. A command and control system, called the army tactical engagement and information system (ARTEMIS), helps the crew to integrate RCWS to enable quick data transfer with the adjacent forces. ARTEMIS also helps in digitalised mission planning across platoon to battalion levels, providing wireless information transfer for military formations and vehicles.
