11 June 2019

Singapore Army commissions Hunter armoured fighting vehicle

by Kelvin Wong

The Singapore Army commissioned its new Hunter tracked armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) during a parade held at the western Sungei Gedong camp on 11 June to commemorate the Singaporean armour formation’s 50th anniversary.

The fully digitalised Hunter AFV, which was known as the Next-Generation Armoured Fighting Vehicle (NGAFV) prior to its commissioning, will progressively replace the army’s fleet of upgraded but increasingly obsolescent M113A2 Ultra armoured personnel carriers (APCs), which have been in service since the early 1970s.

The Singapore Army’s new Hunter armoured fighting vehicle. (IHS Markit/Kelvin Wong)

According to the latest specifications supplied by the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), the baseline Hunter AFV has a combat weight of 29.5 tonnes, is 6.9 m long, 3.4 m wide, and has an overall height of 3.4 m. It is operated by a crew of three comprising a driver seated on the front left, while the gunner and vehicle commander are seated side-by-side immediately behind the powerpack. Up to eight fully equipped dismounts can be transported in the rear troop compartment.

The Hunter AFV is powered by a 710-hp MTU 8V-199 TE20 diesel engine coupled to a Kinetics Drive Solution HMX3000 hydro-mechanical infinitely variable transmission, which provides a power-to-weight ratio of 24 hp/tonne and enables the vehicle to achieve a stated maximum speed of 70 km/h and an operating range of 500 km.

The Singapore Army commissioned its new Hunter tracked armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) during a para...

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