4 KAD Reloaded

1 Division GOC and men from 4 KAD posed for a group photograph with 10 Gempita AFV30.

SHAH ALAM: 4 KAD based in Kuching, Sarawak, it appears has received the full complement of its 26 Gempita armoured vehicles. This was evident during a recent inspection exercise where at least 12 Gempita were seen in a Facebook post by the 1 Infantry Division.

The post did not say how many Gempita were operated by 4 KAD but we know from previous postings that it will be twenty-six. The first 10 or 13 were shipped to Kuching in early September by KD Mahawangsa, with another batch by the end of the month.

1 Division GOC Mej Jen Dato Hassan Embong inspecting the parade from a command variant of the Gempita fitted with a safety cage for such task. 1 DIV picture.

In the previous post, Malaysian Defence posted that 4 KAD received four variants of the Gempita but the latest pictures indicated that this was erroneous. It is likely 4 KAD operated three variants – command, ambulance and the AFV30. 4 KAD also received a Volvo 8×8 recovery truck from 1 KAD.
4 KAD brass band playing at the inspection parade in front of Gempita AFV30.

The post by 1 Division:

PEMERIKSAAN TADBIR TAHUNAN 4 KAD
SARAWAK: Panglima Divisyen Pertama Infantri Malaysia (1 Div), Mej Jen Dato Hassan Embong telah melaksanakan Pemeriksaan Tadbir Tahunan bagi pasukan Rejimen Keempat Kor Armor Diraja (4 KAD) pada 15 Nov 2023.
Terdahulu, Panglima 1 Div telah diberi penghormatan memeriksa Kawalan Kuarter di balai pengawal dan seterusnya melakukan pemeriksaan Perbarisan berkenderaan yang melibatkan seramai 16 pegawai dan 263 anggota Lain-Lain Pangkat (LLP) diketuai oleh Penolong Pegawai Memerintah 4 KAD, Mej Mohd Faudzi Zahari.
Seterusnya, Panglima 1 Div telah dibawa ke Bilik Gerakan untuk mendengar taklimat perkara Gerak, Tadbir dan Logistik yang disampaikan oleh Pegawai Memerintah 4 KAD, Lt Kol Wong Wai Loong.
Panglima 1 Div bersama Pegawai-Pegawai Memerintah Trup 1 Div yang hadir turut dipertontonkan Demonstrasi Kompetensi Ulang Bekal di peringkat trup dalam medan.
Panglima 1 Div dalam ucapannya semasa jamuan bersama warga 4 KAD menzahirkan rasa berbangga atas persiapan untuk Pemeriksaan Tadbir Tahunan yang telah dilaksanakan oleh pasukan.

A Gempita undergoing maintenance at 4 KAD workshop. In the back are a single Gempita AFV30, the Volvo recovery truck and Condors.

Hopefully, 4 KAD will receive its full complement of armoured vehicles – in whatever guise – in the near future. The regiment used to operate the Condors but these were retired early this year.

— Malaysian Defence

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24 Comments

  1. In the 2nd picture of this article.
    It is written on the hill of the afv, TBG enjin semput.
    Layman will think the engine of this afv is spoiled.
    What is it exactly

  2. Newly arrived and already have a case of ‘enjin semput’. hahaha

    Interesting to see the Condors are still hanging around, I would have thought with the retirement order, they would return back to stateside for demob & scrapping.

  3. “stateside”?

    On another matter anyone know how many vehicles there are in a Troop? 3 or 4?

  4. 4vehicle per troop, 12 vehicles per company n 36 vehicles ( of av8-30mm. Gun) + 4 @ battalion Hq which gives a total of 40 vehicle x 30mm excluding other support vehicle (2 each) eg arv, fitter,c.post, signal n ambulance which means 50 vehicles per battalion. Is my equation correct, just a guessing game. And that is with zero attrition.
    And out of curiosity, is d gempita 30 is equipped with d ingwe atgm ? Doesn’t look like it

  5. Kamal – “4vehicle per troop, 12 vehicles per company”

    12 per squadron but is there a squadron HQ element with 2 vehicles?

    Some armies have gone down the 2-3 vehicle platoon/troop route. The plus point is that it’s easier to command: the downside is combat effectiveness is degraded fast in the event of losses. The Israelis have 2 vehicle tank platoons.

    Kamal – “ Is my equation correct, just a guessing game”

    Sounds right but paper TOEs can differ with actual TOEs. As expected with a peacetime all volunteer army; some units will not be at authorised strength.

  6. The D company are usually without vehicles. The HQ company usually has four to six vehicles. There is also the logistics company and maintenance company.

  7. @Kamal
    “is d gempita 30 is equipped with d ingwe atgm ? Doesn’t look like it”
    There are 2 variants of 30mm armed, the one with standalone 30mm gun turret (AFV30) and the other with Ingwe launcher attached (LCT30-ATGM).

  8. @Haiqal
    If you mean commander independent viewing camera, then I never seen one on it yet. AV8 itself sits very high, if you notice, so a CITV on top of a high turret will stick out the vehicle noticeable more.

  9. He means a commander’s panoramic sight to enable a hunter/killer capability; i.e. the commander being able to scan for targets whilst the gunner engaging another.

    At DSA 2016 Denel displayed at the Deftech stand a turret fitted with a panoramic sight. One of various things we should have done but didn’t; the case with the PT-91s in which various bings were left out.

  10. Hasnan – “How can it be a funding issue if a Gempita costed as much as an Abram?”

    Your statement is a bit of an oxymoron or was it sarcasm.

    We paid for ToT, production facilities and various just other things; all added to the cost; all paid by the taxpayer. The overall costs would have been lower had we done everything in Turkey. Alas, we like hubris and all the “self sufficiency” myth/angle.

    We are now in the very ridiculous situation where we can’t afford to buy anymore after going though all the expanse and trouble with the 1st batch.

  11. “He means a commander’s panoramic sight”
    Yeah I think its the same thing were talking about, similar that on Abrams

    Anyhow such a system will juts out the top like a sore thumb and people will know it is there even if the hull is concealed.

  12. “Anyhow such a system will juts out the top like a sore thumb and people will know it is there even if the hull is concealed”

    A penalty worth incurring for the capability it enables; plus the profile is already so high; having it won’t make much of an overall difference.

  13. There is a photo out there of the sight as displayed at DSA on a turret.

    Given the already high profile of the vehicle and its bulk; the sight doesn’t really make much of a difference and its not as if
    the vehicle can be placed behind a berm in a hull down position.

  14. “plus the profile is already so high;”
    Indeed Gempita is a very tall vehicle when seen in actual, whatmore with the 30mm turret on top then wanting to add a viewer on top of that…
    But of course making an obvious vehicle even more obvious is something anathema to trying not to be seen….

  15. “Indeed Gempita is a very tall vehicle”

    Most 6×6 or contemporary wheeled IFVs are; the price for achieving a certain mobility level and internal/load capacity.

    “But of course making an obvious vehicle even more obvious is something anathema to trying not to be seen”

    I don’t see it that way because with or without it the vehicle is already very visible. We are unlikely to be in a position where the vehicle would not be seen had it not been for the panoramic sight. Also, most of the time the vehicle would be on the move as part of a manoeuvre formation rather than concealed.

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