Cobra rears up

Christopher F Foss

Tuesday, 17 June, 2008

Otokar, the largest manufacturer of wheeled armoured vehicles in Turkey, has brought two of the latest versions of its Cobra light vehicle to Eurosatory.
The first is the Cobra 20mm cannon carrier, which is fitted with a French Nexter Systems weapon system armed with the proven 20mm M621 cannon. Development of this version commenced in 2007 and earlier this year Otokar received its first production contract for an amphibious version for an undisclosed customer in the Arabian Gulf, with the first vehicles due to be delivered next year.
Second is the Cobra Remote Controlled Weapon Station (RCWS), which is fitted with day/thermal sights to enable targets to be engaged under almost all weather conditions.
The machine gun is laid onto the target by the gunner using a flat panel display and associated joystick from within the vehicle under complete armour protection. The vehicle commander is also provided with a screen on which the gunner’s picture is displayed.
Cobra has an all-welded steel armour hull that provides protection from small arms fire and shell splinters, with various appliqué armour packages being provided for higher protection levels. A recent development is a mine protection package.
Into the hull are integrated the suspension and powerpack of the US AM General HMMWV (High Mobility Multi Purpose Wheeled Vehicle) Expanded Capacity Vehicle (ECV) version. This is powered by a turbocharged diesel engine developing 190hp coupled to a four-speed automatic transmission and two-speed transfer case.
Cobra is in service with the Turkish Land Forces Command (TLFC) for a variety of missions and has already been exported to a number of overseas customers, with the latest including Georgia. Otokar can be found on Stand H140.