Major General Dato’ Azhan bin Hj Md Othman, Commander of the 2nd Division, attended and witnessed the Operational Parade of the GEMPITA 8X8 Armoured Command Vehicle (ACV) by the 3rd Regiment Royal Armoured Corps. The ceremony took place at the Parade Ground of the 3rd Regiment Royal Armoured Corps, Kem Lapangan Terbang, Sungai Petani, Kedah. This parade, led by Major Manivel a/l Letchumanan, Commander of Alpha Squadron, marks a significant milestone in the history of the 3rd Armoured Corps (3 KAD), symbolizing the transfer of the GEMPITA 8X8 Armoured Vehicle (AV) from the 2nd Armoured Corps (2 KAD) to the 3rd Armoured Corps. This transfer is intended to meet operational and training needs and maintain the competency of the 3rd Armoured Corps crew. During the ceremony, the Commander of the 2nd Division also officiated a symbolic formation of the 2nd Division and 3rd Armoured Corps, marking the commencement of the operation of the GEMPITA 8X8 Armoured Vehicle. In his speech, he expressed his hope that the deployment of the new armoured vehicle would further enhance the competency of the 3rd Armoured Corps crew.
In June 2011, the Turkish Company FNSS signed a ‘letter of offer and acceptance’ by DRB-Hicom Defence Technologies (DefTech) for the assistance of design and development of the vehicles. The AV8 vehicle selected by the Malaysian military was based on the technology of FNSS-designed Pars 8×8 multi-purpose, multi-mission, wheeled armoured vehicle. The contract included technology transfer arrangements to Deftech and logistics support for the Malaysian army, positioning the vehicle and its 12 variants to become Malaysia’s first indigenous family of 8×8 armoured wheeled vehicle. In April 2012, DefTech and FNSS presented the first scale model of the AV8 at the international defence exhibition, Defence Services Asia 2012 in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia’s DefTech will be the principal manufacturer agent, and its engineers will work with Nurol holding subsidiary FNSS to customise the vehicles for Malaysian requirements and equipment. The first prototype of the AV8 was presented in March 2013 to the public during the 80th Army Day anniversary celebration in Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan. In December 2014, the AV8 was officially inducted into service with the Malaysian Army in a ceremony at the DefTech plant in Pekan.
The DefTech AV8 Gempita (Thunder) is an amphibious multirole armoured vehicle developed by Malaysian defence company DefTech in collaboration with Turkish defence company FNSS. The Gempita incorporates design elements and technology similar to Turkey’s FNSS Pars. Its modular design allows for the fitting of various turrets, weapons, sensors, and communication systems on a single platform. The AV8 has 12 variants, including armoured personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles, tank destroyers, signals intelligence vehicles, and recovery vehicles. The AV8 is manufactured by DefTech in Pahang, Malaysia. The original Pars hull consists of composite aluminum and steel armor that provides 360° protection against small arms fire up to 7.62 mm. The AV8 features additional armor on the front and sides, raising the protection level to STANAG 4569 Level 4, which can withstand 14.5mm rounds. This added armor, however, has reduced its water speed from 8 km/h in the original Pars to 6 km/h. The anti-tank version with the LCT30 turret is not amphibious. The driver and commander seats are located at the front of the vehicle. Troops can enter and exit the vehicle through a large hydraulic ramp mounted at the rear of the hull.
A total of 124 units of the IFV30 and IFV25 variants produced in the first batch of 257 AV8s. The most numerous variant, the AFV30, is equipped with an LCT30 turret designed by Denel Land Systems of South Africa. The turret is armed with a Denel GI30 30mm cannon and a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun. The IFV25 variant, which is amphibious, is equipped with the FNSS Sharpshooter turret, armed with a Bushmaster 25mm autocannon and a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun. 12.7mm RWS variant is the lightest armed AFV variant, featuring a Reutech Rogue 12.7mm remote weapon station. A total of 54 units of this variant will be produced in the first batch. LCT30 ATGW variant is equipped with the LCT30 ATGW turret from Denel Land Systems, armed with a GI30 30mm cannon, a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun, and four ZT3 Ingwe 127mm anti-tank guided missiles. SPM 120 is the highest-calibre variant, equipped with a 120mm 2R2M self-loading mortar, capable of carrying up to 50 mortar rounds. GEMPITA also has non-combat variants, including armoured surveillance vehicles, command vehicles, armoured ambulances, armoured recovery vehicles, maintenance vehicles, engineering and NBC reconnaissance vehicles, and signals intelligence vehicles.
