Saur 3 (TBT 8x8)

The Story of Saur 3 (TBT 8x8)

The Saur 3 (also known as "TBT 8x8") is an 8x8 wheeled armoured fighting vehicle developed for the Romanian army by the local concern Automecanica Moreni (UA Moreni). The vehicle competes with Western European offerings such as Finland's Patria AMV, which rely on a modular approach to fulfill multiple battlefield roles with a single vehicle.

Such products allow customers to equip their vehicles with the appropriate mission weapons, communications suites and sensor equipment to meet mission requirements. The Saur 3 is said to provide its occupants with up to STANAG 3 protection, allows for the installation of various types of weapons (including Remote Weapon Stations (RMS)), and is powered by a 420 hp German MTU diesel engine. The vehicle has an estimated road speed of 65 mph on the road and will be fully amphibious, using water jets to tread water at just over 6 mph.

Nuclear, Biological, Chemical (NBC) protection will be standard.

In its standard form, the Saur 3 will have a standard operator consisting of three drivers, commander and gunner. The typical interior layout places the driver in the front left, the commander directly behind, and the gunner under the central section on the top of the fuselage. At the rear of the hull is a fighting compartment with benches that can accommodate up to eight combat-ready infantrymen.

Large electric rectangular doors on the rear surface of the fuselage provide adequate exit/entry clearance and serve as an exit/entry ramp when fully lowered. A smaller rectangular door was inserted into this large panel to provide a more protected exit. A roof hatch in the roof at the rear of the fuselage also allows the occupants to use personal weapons if necessary. The driver's position is a typical left front position with the engine to his right. The grille will be to the right of the sloping glass panel above the engine mount.

Periscopes in each primary occupant position provide the necessary situational awareness when the vehicle is fully "buckled up".

Standard armament will be a fully powered, remote-controlled turret system capable of deploying a wide range of powerful autocannons (25mm Oerlikon and 7.62mm coaxial machine guns), machine guns (12.7mm DShK), automatic grenade launchers, field mortars (120mm) or possibly a hybrid suit (like a machine gun with a grenade launcher). In addition, the turret can support anti-tank missile (ATGM) launchers for greater penetration on the battlefield - especially against armored threats such as tanks.

Smoke grenade launchers will be standard. Surface-to-air missile launchers are also part of the project scope.

Like other 8x8 armored vehicles in this class, the Saur 3 will perform on the battlefield beyond direct contact with the enemy. Its chassis is expected to be used in medical evacuations, armored rescue vehicles (ARVs), command vehicles and data collection tables (the latter in the event of a nuclear war).

The Romanian initiative to design, develop and produce local AFV solutions aims to revitalize the Romanian military industry and encourage less reliance on its usual military supplier (historically Soviet/Russian). The direction of 8x8 wheeled vehicles is also a departure from the typical tracked solutions seen during the Cold War across the industry. Wheeled vehicles have proven to be less expensive to manufacture and maintain, and far less complex to operate and repair, while boasting better road speeds and greater tactical flexibility (at the expense of armor protection).

In fact, several European militaries have abandoned tanks entirely, concentrating their defense budgets on more cost-effective solutions, such as modular wheeled launch vehicles like the Saur 3. The introduction of the Saur 3 will also bring the Romanian military more in line with other NATO countries - it became a NATO member on March 29, 2004, after establishing decades of reconciliation with the Soviet Union through the Warsaw Pact (1955-1991).

The Romanian defense industry has proposed some local solutions in the past - namely the Type 89 self-propelled howitzer, the TR-85 main battle tank and the TAB-77 infantry fighting vehicle. Of course, in most cases these were modifications of existing Soviet equipment.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

for everyone else in our database)

Armor

Depends on weapon configuration.

Changes