The design perfection process for KAPLAN MT is completed. FNSS successfully applied the technology transfer model with PT Pindad through the KAPLAN Medium Tank development project. The serial production contract was signed after the prototype tests were ended. The KAPLAN MT, which exhibited at IDEF 2021, has successfully completed the endurance and firing tests carried out in Turkey and Indonesia during the prototype period. With the joint production contract of KAPLAN MT, which was signed at the 2019 IDEF, serial production process started at the FNSS facilities. The tank is called Kaplan MT by Turkey and Harimau by Indonesia. Meaning of both Kaplan and Harimau is Tiger.
The KAPLAN MT Project is Turkey’s first export contract in the Modern Medium Weight Tank (MMWT), as well as the first project that was initiated and concluded within the framework of the Defence Industry Cooperation Agreements signed between Indonesia and Turkey. The production started after the final design for serial production was decided upon at the FNSS facilities, with the participation of PT Pindad engineers and end users from the Indonesian Army. 18 KAPLAN MT tanks will be produced under the contract; the first 10 vehicles will be produced in FNSS Facility in Turkey and the remaining 8 will be produced in Indonesia. The delivery of the vehicles will be completed in 2021.
The KAPLAN MT is equipped with a Cockerill CT-CV 105HP 105 mm rifled gun manufactured by John Cockerill, with the barrel mounting a bore evacuator and thermal jacket. The turret is equipped with an autoloader and can be rotated 360 degrees both electronically and mechanically, with a maximum elevation/depression of 42 up to -6 degrees, and it’s equipped with Gyro Stabilizer and Firing Control System. It’s also equipped with an IFF system, Hunter Killer System for target selection, and Auto Target Locking System to assist the Gunner. The Gun has been test fired with TPCSDS-T, HEP-T, HE4 TP2 shells, and can also fire NATO standard 105mm Shells.
The hull armor of tank is using modular armor. It is categorized as STANAG 4569 level 4 protection, which means the tank can withstand 14.5×114mm AP rounds at 200 meters with 911 m/s velocity. The underbelly of the tank uses V-hull, able to withstand 10 kg AT mine under the tracks and under the center. Due to modularity, the armor can be augmented to level 5 protection (withstand 25 mm APDS-T at 500 m with 1258 m/s velocity) without increasing the volume of the tank, with the frontal arc able to withstand 30 mm rounds. A modular PULAT Active Protection System joint-developed by ASELSAN and TÜBITAK SAGE can be integrated. This ensures the tank’s defensive capabilities against projectiles at all-angles.
