Ratel (Honey Badger)

The Story of Rattle (Honey Badger)

The

Ratel ("Honey Badger") infantry fighting vehicle is a long-standing family of 6x6 armoured vehicles designed and produced in South Africa. The series was developed around the same wheeled chassis and was designed to fill a variety of battlefield roles as needed.

Design work on this type of Sandock-Austral began in 1968 and the first prototype was produced in 1974. Then began mass production in 1979. For over three decades, the vehicle has been in extensive service with the armed forces of South Africa, Jordan, Djibouti, Ghana and Morocco. Although the Ratel will be replaced by the more modern Finnish Patria family of modular 8x8 wheeled vehicles, its long heritage has given it a place in South African army legend. The South African Armed Forces are expected to procure around 264 of the new Badgers and use it in various forms on the battlefield, effectively adopting Ratel's mantelpiece.

At the time, the Ratel was one of the best wheeled armored vehicles in the world, if not the best. It has since been surpassed by more modern races incorporating the latest battlefield technology, weapons and survivability.

South Africa has a long history of procuring various wheeled armoured vehicles - mainly from Europe. However, when the international community imposed an arms embargo on the country, South African authorities were forced to seek domestic solutions to meet growing military demands.

To this end, the South Africans have become experts in the field of wheeled armored vehicles - especially where mines are involved - a place where unconventional warfare has proven to be the norm due to the type of "Bush" conflict that is often encountered in the region.

Vehicles like Ratel offer military war planners various advantages and disadvantages. Their armor is light, making them agile and fast, while also making them more vulnerable to mines, anti-tank weapons (rockets, rifles, and artillery). Their wheeled nature allows them to enter many terrain types on their own without the need for specialized heavy road transport.

However, this also helps to encourage sizable target profiles. Perhaps the biggest selling point of such vehicles is their modular naturea single chassis and hull that enables war planners to tailor their vehicles to combat needs. Thus, when armed, the Rattle could provide varying degrees of fire support to advancing infantry.

Some versions can transport combat-ready personnel into battle, while others serve as communications between headquarters and other participating vehicles and allied elements. Still others can provide life-saving smoke screens or fire extinguishers on demand.

In its general form, Ratel has a clean but very functional design. The driver sits behind a framed bulletproof screen in the front center of the fuselage, which also has reversible armor panels. The cab is located directly behind the driver's position and will contain the turret if armed. The engine is usually installed in a compartment on the left rear of the vehicle (allowing access to the fighting compartment from the rear for maneuvering).

The Ratel's hull was intentionally designed to have good sloping surfaces at every angle except the stern, and even included hull grades at the bottom for mine detonation deflection. The roof is flat, while the glass panels are designed to be almost horizontal. The sides of the hull are slightly sloped to facilitate basic ballistic protection.

The fuselage is mounted on a suspended wheeled landing gear with six large rubber "run-flat" wheels, three on one side of the vehicle and the latter two arranged in a tight pair. There is a large hinged rectangular access door on either side of the hull (behind the cab), and a rectangular door at the rear of the hull (offset to the right since the engine is on the left), while a roof hatch provides additional channel.

When equipped with a turret (whose function is manual), the crew can use more hatches, mainly the turret crew. Side viewports allow those inside to see the action outside, as well as launch ports designed to engage enemies safe inside the vehicle. A standard operator consists of three personnel consisting of the driver, vehicle commander and gunner. Passenger seats (depending on the production model) can vary from six to nine people.

The Ratel is powered by a single Bussing D3256 BTFX inline 6-cylinder turbo diesel engine producing 282 hp, allowing the vehicle to travel at speeds of 65 mph on ideal road surfaces and up to 18 mph on rough terrain. The range is 620 miles, and the vehicle's operating weight is close to 42,000 pounds.

All in all, Ratel is a strong family of armored vehicles with a strong pedigree based on extensive operating experience in the harsh regions of South Africa.

Ratel represents a complete family of armored vehicles, extensively customized for specific battlefield roles. The original production version was the Ratel 20, which featured a French turret with a 20mm gun. This variant was later refined into two production brands (Mk II and Mk III). The Ratel 60 is followed by a movable turret (modified from the Eland 60 series armored vehicles) and a 60mm mortar for indirect fire support.

A similar Ratel 80 uses an 81mm field mortar, but does not have a movable turret. The Ratel 90 contained a 90mm gun (based on the French GIAT F1) and interior space for up to 6 soldiers (the latter was rarely used in combat service). As the name suggests, the Ratel 120 was a prototype 120mm mortar - although it was never approved for mass production.

Ratel was also produced as a dedicated command vehicle, with enhanced communications facilities and a crew of nine. One turret was retained, but only armed with a 1 x 12.7mm heavy machine gun for basic self-defense.

The Ratel EAOS (Enhanced Artillery Observation System) is of course an artillery reconnaissance vehicle. The Ratel ZT3 has a brand new turret that can hold up to 3 anti-tank missiles (the ZT-3 missile was introduced early and later upgraded to the "Leopard" missile), but the chassis is basically the same as the Ratel 20 series hull. Interestingly, a logistical variant exists among the two prototypes designed with eight-wheel support.

Another version was completed as a battlefield workshop, designed to provide on-site mechanical support.

In addition to its primary armament, Ratel can also mount a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun (if equipped with a turret), and an additional 1 x 7.62mm general purpose machine gun on top of the turret for combat low-flying aircraft or enemies The infantry attempted to attack vulnerable areas of the vehicle. Another 7.62mm machine gun can be mounted on top of the fuselage.

For added self-defense, the Ratel is also equipped with 4 smoke grenade launchers that can be used to cover advance or retreat.

Ratels were effectively used by South African war planners in a variety of regional and local conflicts, in which the Ratel family played a good role - especially in anti-tank, command and infantry support. In practice, the Rattles were solid, even using their arsenal against main battle tanks. Although Rattles armed with anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) or 90mm guns were not born to directly confront the threat from the modern main battle tanks stationed in the area at the time, they were able to do so by clever "steering".

System-like "off" maneuvers - proven in combat operations with Soviet tanks during the South African Border War (1966-1989). Of course, their own light protection often exposes the crew to deadly enemy counterattacks due to the thickness of the armor (up to 20 mm) ) is only really good enough against small arms, artillery "spray" and small caliber artillery.

However, on today's modern battlefield, Ratel is far superior to the latest main battle tanks in service - although Ratel has not really been this direct in the first place is designed for action, so the comparison is debatable.

Ratel IFV is named after the local 'honey badger', a ferocious, hairy carnivore that uses its agility and powerful claws to great effect. Sandock-Austral is now part of the Defence Flag of Land Systems OMC, owned by BAE Systems.

According to reports, approximately 1,350 Ratels were produced for local and export use.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

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Armor

4 x Smoke Grenade.

Changes