MAV Zaha FNSS

Marine Assault Vehicle Amphibious tracked armored vehicle - Turkey

The MAV (Marine Assault Vehicle) nicknamed Zaha is a tracked amphibious armored vehicle developed and manufactured by the Turkish company FNSS. The vehicle was officially launched in May 2019 during IDEF, an International Defense Exhibition that was held in Istanbul, Turkey. During the amphibious assault phase of an operation, these vehicles are launched from Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) and rapidly cover the distance between the vessel and shore, allowing forces to land under protection and with minimum delay. Once on land, these vehicles can continue taking part in operations side-by-side with other armored vehicles. As vehicles with a dual role due to their mission requirements, armored amphibious assault vehicles need to exhibit superior performance both at sea and on land, and only a few countries around the world have such vehicles in their inventories. Among the NATO countries and allies, there is only one company other than FNSS producing vehicles of this class.

FNSS will deliver a total of 27 vehicles including 23 personnel carriers, 2 command and control vehicles, and 2 recovery vehicles. The development of the MAV was started in 2017 after a signature with the Turkish Defense Industry SSB. In June 2020, it was announced that the Zaha will conduct the first trial test with the Turkish navy. In December 2021, the President of the Presidency of Defense Industries, Ismail Demir, gave information about the ZAHA project in his post on his social media accounts. Demir said, " ZAHA (…) has completed the mine and ballistics tests, and continues its reliability and sustainability test with land and sea drives". FNSS Defense Systems, via its social media accounts, wrote that "The final stages of sea driving have been reached in the qualification tests of the Armored Amphibious Assault Vehicle (ZAHA) Project". Indonesian company PT Pindad President Abraham Mose and FNSS Country Manager Tolgo Sipahi signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 20 April 2022, for the production of the MAV in Indonesia. The Zaha amphibious assault vehicle is intended to meet the Indonesian Navy’s requirement for new Amphibious Landing and Amphibious Recovery armored vehicles for the Indonesian Marine Corps (Marinirs).

On March 25, 2023, the Turkish Armed Forces took delivery of 27 MAV Zaha amphibious tracked armored vehicles.

MAV Zaha variants:

- APC Armored Personnel Carrier
- Command and Control Vehicle
- Recovery vehicle

Armament

The APC (Armored personnel Carrier) version of the MAV Zaha is fitted with the CAKA remotely operated weapon station mounted on the top of the hull which can be armed with a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun or a 40mm automatic grenade launcher. The turret features a thermal sighting system to conduct firing operations day and night. Two banks of four smoke grenade dischargers are mounted on the roof of the hull at the back of the turret.

The MAV Zaha is fitted with a CAKA remotely operated weapon station armed with one 12.7mm heavy machine gun

Design and protection

The design of the MAV Zaha is based on a tracked chassis and a water-resistant hull with the driver position located at the front left side of the hull and a commander's hatch just behind. The vehicle has a crew of three and can carry up to 21 infantrymen. The rear of the hull is fitted with a hydraulic ramp allowing infantrymen to quickly enter or leave the vehicle. In case of failure, a manual door is integrated into the hydraulic ramp. It is based on an aluminum hull that provides protection against the firing of small arms and artillery shell splinters. The armor of the hull is also improved using appliqué armor plates and cathodic protection. The protection of the vehicle has been optimized to offer a high level of protection against land mines and IEDs (Improvised Explosive Device) threats.

Mobility

The MAV Zaha is powered by a Diesel engine mounted at the front of the hull, coupled to a fully automatic transmission. During amphibious operations, the vehicle is propelled in the water at a maximum speed of 13 km/h (7 knots) thanks to two water jets mounted at the rear of the hull. The vehicle can reach a top road speed of 70 km/h. The torsion bar suspension on each side consists of six road wheels, three track return rollers, one idler at the rear, and the drive sprocket at the rear. The vehicle can negotiate a gradient of 60% and a side slope of 40% and can cross obstacles of 900 mm and trenches of 2 m.

The MAV Zaha is fully amphibious and propelled in the water thanks to two water jets mounted at the rear of the hull.

Accessories

Standard equipment of the MAV Zaha includes an air conditioning system, explosion detection and suppression system, countermeasure systems, internal protection against nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) threats, navigation system, battlefield management system, VHF/UHF radios, crew intercommunication system, and a hydraulic trim vane.