Ratel 20 IFV 6x6 armored infantry fighting vehicle 20mm cannon | South Africa African army wheeled armoured vehicle | South Africa African army military equipment UK

: 24 November 2023

Ratel 20 armoured infantry fighting vehicle with 20mm cannon

Description

Technical Data

Specifications

Details view

Pictures - Video

Description

The Ratel is a South African-made 6x6 armoured vehicle developed by Sandock-Austral (now owned by Land Systems OMC, which is now part of BAE Systems), and produced in volume for the South African Army in subsequent decades. The Ratel 20 was designed in the 1970s as a replacement for British Saracen vehicles. The Ratel is a range of 6x6 infantry combat vehicles which has been truly tested in battle and has shown itself to be a most cost-effective system in terms of both operational purpose and cost. Design work began in 1968, with prototypes completed in 1974. Production of the basic Ratel-20 started in 1976, which entered operational service in 1977. The first production models were designated the Mk 1 and were followed in 1979 by the Mk 2, final deliveries of which were made in early 1987. The Ratel is the basic Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) of the South African National Defence Force’s mechanized infantry battalions. In the South African army, the Ratel will be replaced by the Badger designed and manufactured by Denel of South Africa.

Variants:

- Ratel 60: fittetd with a two-man turret armed with a 60mm mortar
- Ratel mortar carrier: no turret, an 81 mm (3.2 in) mortar is installed in the crew compartment for use as a fire support platform
- Ratel 90: fitted with a two-man turret armed with a 90mm cannon
- Ratel command post: fitted with a one-man turret armed witha 12.7mm heavy machine gun
- Ratel EAOS: artillery observation vehicle with no turret, but a telescopic mast is mounted at the top rear of the hull.
- Ratel ZT3: the vehicle is fitetd with a launcher containing three ZT3 Ingwe laser guided missiles and additional missiles stored within the hull

Technical Data

Armament

The Ratel 20 wheeled 6x6 IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle) is fitted with a two man turret and the primary armament consists of a 20 mm automatic cannon mounted in a non-powered turret at the front of the vehicle, supplemented by a coaxial 7.62 × 51 mm NATO machine gun and a 7.62 × 51 mm caliber pintle-mounted machine gun mounted by the commander’s roof hatch. Turret traverse and weapon elevation are manual. The weapons have an elevation of +38º and a depression of -8º. An additional pintle-mounted dual machine gun (removed on later models), accessed from a roof hatch, is located at the rear of the Ratel’s upper deck and provides cover for the Ratel’s rear quarter. Mounted either side of the turret towards the rear is a bank of two 81 mm electrically operated smoke grenade dischargers which can be operated by the commander or gunner. A 7.62 mm anti-aircraft machine gun is mounted externally at the gunner’s station and on top of the turret is a hand-operated searchlight.

Design and protection

The hull of the Ratel 20 wheeled 6x6 IFV is made of all-welded steel construction providing complete protection from 7.62 mm small arms fire and shell splinters, with protection over the frontal arc against 12.7 mm armour-piercing rounds. Emphasis has also been placed on providing protection against mines. The Ratel is relatively lightly armored, in order to preserve mobility, weapons space, and range. The vehicle is well-protected against bullets and artillery shell splinters, but is vulnerable to anti-tank guns, automatic cannon such as the Warsaw Pact 23 mm AA guns (which were often used in a ground-fire role in Namibia and Angola), rocket-propelled grenades and guided missiles. The bottom of the hull is angled and reinforced so as to deflect mine blasts out to the sides. The vehicle also has multiple doors and hatches; the two main doors are located in the vehicle’s sides, but a small rear door and roof hatches allow the crew to exit the vehicle from many directions at once, or to more easily dismount under cover during an ambush. The Ratel also has four rifle ports on each side of the vehicle, allowing the infantrymen to fire from within the vehicle.

Mobility

The Ratel 20 wheeled 6x6 IFV is motorized with a D 3256 BTXF 6-cylinder in-line turbocharged diesel engine 282 hp (210 kW). The Bussing D 3256 BTXF six-cylinder direct injection turbocharged diesel is coupled to a fully automatic power shift gearbox with a hydrodynamic torque converter. The engine compartment is at the rear of the Ratel on the left side with access panels in the roof for maintenance The gearbox can also be operated manually and has a mechanical emergency gearshift. Suspension consists of progressively acting coil springs and large hydraulic shock-absorbers. The hydro pneumatic braking system can be assisted by an exhaust brake provided through the engine. The power pack can be removed from the vehicle by two men with a crane in less than 30 minutes. Quick disconnect couplings and connectors are provided in all power, hydraulic, electric and pneumatic circuits.

Accessories

Standard equipment of the Ratel 20 wheeled 6x6 IFV includes a complete set of tools, spades, picks, shovels and axes, a tow bar and towing cables, a first aid kit, two petrol stoves, fire extinguishers, emergency spares, two 50 litre drinking water tanks, two external stowage boxes, radios, an intercom and a remote handset with 1,000 m of cable. Optional equipment includes night vision equipment, an air conditioning and ventilation system, and the replacement of the standard D3256 BTXF six-cylinder diesel developing 282 hp with an ADE 407 TI diesel developing 315 hp.

Specifications