SHAH ALAM: 4 KAD, it appears, will be getting its Gempita 8X8 at its camp in Kuching, Sarawak, sooner than later. The first batch of 26 Gempita it is getting has already been loaded onboard RMN MRCSS ship, KD Mahawangsa at the Lumut naval base ahead of Merdeka Day. It is likely that the ship will sail in the next few days.
From the pictures posted by the ship social media it appears that the Gempita are already fitted with 4 KAD markings. From KD Mahawangsa post:
Lumut, 30 Ogos – Buat julung kalinya, fasa pemindahan masuk Kereta Perisai Gempita ke KD MAHAWANGSA di Tambatan Pangkalan Lumut telah berjaya dilaksanakan hari ini.
KD MAHAWANGSA telah dipilih sebagai platform penghantaran logistik dalam proses pindah alih KP Gempita antara Rejimen Pertama Kor Armor Diraja (1 KAD), Kuantan dan Rejimen Ke-4 Kor Armor Diraja (4 KAD) di Kuching.
Tidak hanya bakal menguji keupayaan aset angkatan laut dan darat, fasa pemindahan dan pindah alih ini juga adalah hasil manifestasi kerjasama TLDM dan TDM yang bakal menyaksikan kesepaduan kedua-dua perkhidmatan dalam melaksanakan misi bersama bagi memastikan kedaulatan negara terus terbela dan terpelihara.
Fasa seterusnya adalah pelayaran KD MAHAWANGSA ke Kuching dijangka pada awal September ini.
From the pictures, one can also assumed that the 4 KAD soldiers are happy that they are going home soon. It is likely that soldiers and officers have been here for at least three months to hone their skills on their new vehicles.
Apart from missing their loved ones, I am sure the soldiers are also happy they are doing what they trained for and are now equipped accordingly. It must have been depressing to drive around in souped-up 4X4s instead of an armoured vehicle. They have been doing just that for the last six months or so since the Condors were retired early this year.
I was told the transfer of the Gempita between 1 KAD and 4 KAD is part of a planned reconfiguration of the armoured corps. Not much details though for now.
— Malaysian Defence
If you like this post, buy me an espresso. Paypal Payment
View Comments (22)
The total Gempita for 4 KAD is 26 vehicles
That 26 will be sent to Sarawak in 2 batches.
" Perpindahan akan dilaksanakan dalam 2 peringkat menggunakan perkhidmatan kapal Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia (TLDM) iaitu KD MAHAWANGSA mulai bulan September dan dijangka selesai pada pertengahan bulan Oktober 2023 "
So the first batch on KD Mahawangsa should be around 12-14 vehicles. The ship cannot carry much more than that.
As can be seen, it is a laborious task to load in vehicles when without a rear loading ramp. The upcoming MRSS should be configured to rapidly load & unload as turnaround time is critical.
Still this is a good exercise for Mahawangsa as we previously tend to send via civvie ROROS.
"last six months or so since the Condors were retired"
While officially retired 6 mths ago, the troopers may have been making do without them much earlier as we tend to make things official after they are truly well and done for some time, ie the official retirement of Fulcrum happened years after we stopped using them.
Speaking of which, are the Condors & SIBMAS going to undergo Long Term Storage process as did PUTD Nuris? Havent heard about it yet. Or else what would be the fates of these 400+ vehicles?
Some of the PUTD Nuri will be gate guards. As with the Condors and Sibmas, most will be scrapped or use as targets.
Q: How many Gempitas are in a KAD?
The Army has not said anything about the actual numbers for an armoured regiment. For comparison, a British armour battalion has 56 MBTs.
>rear loading ramp
It's useful during an amphibious operation where you need to deploy to beach head using landing craft or AAVs. For normal peacetime transport not so much. You might as well use a cargo ship to do the job
Honestly, I think the government should fund three RORO ships and run as RMN auxiliaries to transport government stuff including ammunition to Sabah and Sarawak.
What is holding up our SPH procurement? That budget was available since the M109 got canceled.
See my earlier articles.
Actual numbers...
Should i talk about it here? Anyway most of information is openly available if one looks closely
For cavalry & armored regiment, it usually consists of
- HQ squadron
- operational squadrons
- support squadron
- REME workshop squadron.
As for the Gempita variants
It is known that the recovery variant was cancelled, and replaced with volvo FMX wreckers. Is the total gempita number still 257 or reduced?
@ marhalim
Our defence force should now concentrate on the "defence" part of what they do. Defending town or industrial areas from attack. Defending border crossings. Defending beach and ports from amphibious attacks. Enough with practicing to be attackers. Instead practice more to be the defender, how to build bunkers and machine gun nests. How to block roads, how to lay minefields, how to defend bridges.
As for our maritime logistics capability, we can forgo the ability to do amphibious landings with our armored vehicles (still in our army dreams as late as 89th army day capability show in PD last year).
What is important is to have a logistics bridge between west and east malaysia.
For starters, yes a RORO (one would be enough) would be a good capability to have. Along with port facilities in East Coast of Peninsular. Something like a sistership of Spanish Navy Ysabel. That ship costs the Spanish Navy just EUR 7.5 million. This would enable a whole Cavalry Regiment, or a Mechanised infantry Battalion to be transported at 1 go.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_ship_Ysabel
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FqJAHNnX0AAIWhc.jpg
Then a dedicated MRSS (or two) from a modified RORO design. Something with the same concept of Royal Navy Littoral Strike Ship concept
https://www.navylookout.com/a-closer-look-at-the-littoral-strike-ship-concept/
I said three as one would be always available for MAF while the other two could be used for commercial purpose like the ones used by the UK. I do not see any need for a dedicated MRSS or two when the funds for the combat fleet are not available.
@ marhalim
"when the funds for the combat fleet are not available"
The funds are available, albeit not as much as what our neighbours have.
But what kind of "combat fleet" do we want to build? What kind of TLDM do we want in 10 years time? What kind of capability do we want TLDM to have? What size? How can we empower TLDM combat capability while at the same time strengthening APMM peacetime enduring presence and security capability within the limited available budget?
@Dundun
"It’s useful during an amphibious operation where you need to deploy"
Which is what MRSS should have, on top of what's already there with Mahawangsas, and which are the common feature in all the MRSS proposals. Its beneficial for HADR when docks aren't available.
"government should fund three RORO ships"
Disagree if its just civvie ROROS in naval colours. Unless we're moving things around very frequently (like weekly), it makes little economic sense to have a fleet of these on standby when the civvie ROROS are doing regular laps, and they could help the military move things at cheaper cost.
Back on the topic of gempita
Yesterday, USA has approved Bulgaria's buy of 183 Strykers for USD 1.5 billion.
https://www.dsca.mil/press-media/major-arms-sales/bulgaria-stryker-vehicles
Most of the vehicles is the latest M1296 Dragoon variant with 30mm remote turret.
This is a picture of M1296 Dragoon
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FNoNMzNVgAAxeC7.jpg
The turret looks huge, but actually the stryker is a relatively small vehicle (when compared to something like the Gempita).
The M1296 Dragoon weighs around 18tons, while the Gempita is 28-30tons.
Total cost of Gempita including ammo and missiles is about USD 2.4 billion for 257 units.