Five TUR vehicles in Afghanistan for testing.

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TUR will protect our soldiers
Written by Marek Mejssner
Friday, August 24, 2007

Polish TUR supposes to be better than American HUMVEE

Five battle vehicles TUR have been sent to Afghanistan to test them in battle conditions. TUR resists explosion of 6 kg TNT mine, protects against shells from Kalashnikov and against shrapnel.
TUR is the first armored patrol-battle vehicle manufactured in Poland. It will be protecting Polish soldiers on foreign missions.

American HUMVEE in its basic variant (as used by Poles in Iraq and until recently in Afghanistan), without special modular armor kit, does not have the best opinion - both in Iraq and in Afghanistan. It is vulnerable to small mines and its armor does not protect against anti-armor shell from Kalashnikovs - the basic weapon of terrorists and ordinary bandits.

Not badly armed

.. and this is why the armored battle-patrol vehicle TUR, designed by Polish company AMZ Kutno, may occur to be very useful for our soldiers.

It weighs 6220 kg and carries five soldiers - four in the armored cabin plus a gunner at the gun station. Depending on the version - it can be armed with 12.7 mm machine gun, 20 mm cannon or 40 mm automatic grenade launcher.

Harder than HUMVEE

But what is most important: TUR has better armor than HUMVEE. Its modular armor of boards and roof makes it a capsule protecting the crew. The engine and its cover is also shielded. Polish vehicle is able to withstand shelling of anti-armor rounds from Kalashnikov. The armored floor protects against mines most often used in Iraq and Afghanistan.

TUR uses some chassis elements from Italian manufacturer of special vehicles SCAM from Varese. It has very economical turbodiesel Iveco Aifo engine of capacity 2998 ccm. It burns only 20 liters of fuel per 100 km - 2.2 times less than HUMVEE, even though it is 1.5 times heavier than the latter. [HUMVEE's maximum acceptable mass is 4.5 tones]. TUR costs half as much as HUMVEE.

The gearbox has six gears but as many as 24 gear ratios: 12 for road driving and 12 for the off-road terrain. It keeps its power in driving uphill - a very useful feature for mountainous Afghanistan.

TUR is comfortable for its users. TUR is quieter inside than the American vehicle. It has also better air-conditioning. The crew communicates via intercom. Its standard equipment includes GPS and infrared system - allowing driving with lights off. A board monitor shows images from outside the vehicle.

Created in eight months

TUR has been created in a record time of eight months. The first batch of these vehicles is already being tested in Afghanistan. TUR will be sent to Iraq as well. This is not a secret that there is a huge demand for such kind of vehicles by world armies. If TUR passes the test the Polish design may appear in greater numbers on the world market of battle vehicles.

TUR's technical data

Persons: five soldiers, including a gunner
Engine: Iveco Aifo, 4-cylinder, 16-valves, turbocharge, capacity 2998 ccm
Power: 122 kW (166 HP)
Tank: 220 liters
Burns: 20 liters/100 km
Max mass: 6200 kg
Load capacity: 1000 kg
Length: 4780 mm
Height: 2350/2770 mm
Fording depth: 700 mm
Weapon: 12.7 mm machine gun, or 20 mm cannon, or 40 mm grenade/flair launcher
Gun station type: crows nest. The gun can be also remotely operated from inside the vehicle.
Multilayer bulletproof glass windows
Armored crew compartment
Cargo box
Anti-mine, v-shape floor.

Source: http://www.redakcjawojskowa.pl/gazet...7140&Itemid=46

Originally posted and translated by Mishka Zubov

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Great news !!! I can't wait to see them in action. :biggun:
 
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