KUANTAN: Deliveries of the Deftech Gempita AFV to the Army is continuing after production problems were resolved. Army chief Gen Raja Affandi Raja Mohammed said since the difficulties had been resolved, more vehicles would come on line in the coming months.
He did not revealed the problems which caused the delay nor the numbers of Gempita already operational.
The second Army unit to operate the Gempita- 1st Kor Armor Di Raja – based here has received five of the AFV30 variant. The 19th Royal Malay Regiment, the first unit to operate the Gempita will soon have its full complement of IFV25 – the Bushmaster turret fitted with the 25mm gun – as well as the other variants including the AFV30 ATGW, ACV command and AV Signals variants.
As delivery to Army units was continuing, Raja Affandi said it was time to move ahead with the plan to market the Gempita for foreign buyers.
“We have several countries in particular. I believe we have a fair chance to sell them,” he told Malaysian Defence at the 12th (Mechanized) Royal Malay Regiment camp here. Raja Affandi who is take over as the chief of defence force later this month, was the guest of honour for the appreciation parade for retiring Lt. Gen. Shahrani Sany.
Shahrani was the Joint Force Command Commander prior to his retirement. As he was a former commander of the 4th Mechanized Brigade, the parade was held at the brigade grounds.
Adnans, KIFVs and Gempitas from units under the brigade also performed a drive past as part of the parade.
The Adnans are from the 12th RMR, KIFVs from 14th RMR while the Gempitas were all from the 19th RMR.
Making its public debut was the 19th RMR AFV30 ATGW vehicle together with the ACV Command and the ACV Signals vehicles together with five IFV25s.
The five AFV30s from 1 Armor were parked in a dispersal shed just next to the parade ground. The unit did not take part in the parade as it is still transitioning to the Gempita from the Condors.
The budget shortfall due to the economic difficulties has also forced the Army to defer the deliveries of the Gempita, originally scheduled to be completed by 2020 to go beyond that.
— Malaysian Defence
If you like this post, buy me an espresso. Paypal Payment
View Comments (44)
Can i know the missile of that ATGM version?
Reply
Ingwe
Other than brunei (and even that is a pretty long shot), I don't see anyone wanted to buy Gempita
Not to discredit the platform (and Deftech), but Gempita is too heavy and too expensive. Lighter, cheaper platform like Doosan Black fox or Mowag Piranha (or its derivatives)
Reply
Possibilities..
Mech Brigade now have 4 Mech Battalions?
Reply
Yes for some time now
Is it me or the atgm version doesnt have frontal top armour?
Alex,
''Heavy'' in comparison to what? Anything lighter and it will be less protected and not as well armed. The heaviest variants will be the 30mm armed one and the ones with Ingwe but that's to be expected.
Also, the key word is actually not the weight but the ground pressure. Even if it's found to be heavy in some of the rural areas it's meant to operate in, that's where the engineers come in. If anything the main drawback when operating in areas with low hanging vegetation will be its height not its weight but most wheeled IFVs on the market now are quite similar in size and height.
In their baseline variants the Piranha and Black Fox may be lighter than the AV-8 but if added with applique armour to protect up to 12.7mm the weight will increase. There is no getting around the fact that improving protection levels leads to extra weight. Designs like Boxer and the contender to replace Warrior will make the Adnan light in comparison; as will the contenders for Australia's LAND 400 which will have a Level 6 STANAG level.
In our context of things weight will only become a possible issue when operating in a rural or semi rural environment such as estates and secondary jungle but not in urban areas or on areas where there are paved roads. In such areas where there are narrow roads and low hanging vegetation in might actually be not the weight but the width and height of the AV-8 that is an issue.
The way i see it,we ourselves need to order at least 1000 vehicles before other countries may even look at it..just my 5 cents though
Mr Marhalim
"The 19th Royal Malay Regiment, the first unit to operate the Gempita will soon have its full complement of ACV25 – the Bushmaster turret fitted with the 25mm gun – as well as the other variants including the ACV ATGW, ACV command and ACV Signals variants"
Any indication how many vehicles 'full complement' means?
Reply
Wait until the vehicles are delivered but likely the full complement of the IFV25 variant
Although I am one of the critics of the av8, in the hindsight it was a revolutionary thinking of those behind it. Now it is a norm for future wheeled ifv to weigh 30-40 tonnes. Protection is now everything, including against mines and ied. 30mm cannon is also becoming the minimum caliber for the ifv gun (btw is it possible to convert the bushmaster into 30mm and still fit the sharpshooter turret?). The av8 looks small in pictures, but if you come across it on the road, it is huge, and makes the adnan look like a toy.
As for the 4 briged mekanize orbat, I always thought that it is made of
1 KAD (gempita)
12 RAMD (adnan)
19 RAMD (gempita)
7 RRD (adnan)
I thought 14 RAMD (just recently made into a mechanised battalion with kifv) is under 1 briged, which is to be transformed into the armoured brigade. But looks like the 14 RAMD kifv has the black panther logo of the 4 briged now. Or is it the 7 RRD no longer under 4 briged??
Reply
I am still against the AV8. Its not because its good or bad. The Army do not have the funds for such an expensive AFV.
7 RRD is still with the brigade just not involved with the parade.
There's changes to the composition of 4 Briged soon so I will wait once it happens then I will try write about it.
Irrespective of whether we order 900 or 2,000 any decision by other countries to buy it will be based not just on its price tag, how ''proven'' it is but their politics. We are not the only ones who base purchases on national interests [Turkey being a Muslim country played a part in the Adnan being selected] and who want to develop the local industry [the AUG wasn't our first choice but Steyr was willing to let us produce it here]. Whether we actually sell any abroad is secondary. Of far importance is for Deftech to be able to offer upgrades in the future to keep up with the times, for the government to order enough to enable Deftech to keep the production line open and for Deftech to be able to rectify any issues the army finds with the AV-8.