Singapore's next-generation Hunter armoured fighting vehicle breaks cover



The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) has revealed fresh details of its latest Hunter tracked armoured fighting vehicle (AFV), its first armoured combat platform equipped with an anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) capability. The new vehicle was commissioned into service during the Singapore Army armour formation's 50th anniversary parade on 11 June.



The 29.5 tonne Hunter AFV - earlier known as the Next-Generation Armoured Fighting Vehicle (NGAFV) prior to its commissioning - will replace the army's upgraded but ageing M113A2 Ultra armoured personnel carriers (APCs) which entered service from the 1970s and will operate alongside the in-service Bionix II infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs). The new vehicle has been under development by Singapore's Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) in partnership with ST Engineering Land Systems since 2006.

BG Yew said that the formation will train a core group of regulars and instructors this year, before starting training for full-time national servicemen and rolling out the vehicle for the 42nd Battalion, Singapore Armoured Regiment next year.

"Not only do we see an enhanced capability and lethality in the Hunter AFV, we see enhancements to our operations and maintenance. Especially so when the vehicle is able to actively track and monitor its own status," said Major Brandon Lim, 33, a weapon staff officer involved in the Hunter programme.



Algorithms can be used for predictive maintenance, increasing the efficiency of vehicle maintenance and management.



The new Samson 30 heavy remote weapon station (RWS) developed by Israel's Rafael Advanced Defense Systems in place of the ST Engineering Land Systems Adder M30 RWS that is typically seen fitted to the vehicle.

The Samson 30 is understood to be a derivative of the Samson Mk II dual-axis gyro-stabilised, dual-sight RWS that incorporates several refinements to the original design, including a low-profile silhouette and recessed 76 mm smoke grenade launchers arranged in a 4×2 configuration on either side of the gun mantlet.

The Samson 30 RWS seen in the image is armed with the Orbital ATK 30 mm Mk44 Bushmaster II automatic cannon - which can engage medium-weight armoured vehicles at a range of 2,000 m and unarmoured targets to ranges of 4,000 m and also fitted to the army's tracked Bionix II infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) - as well as a co-axial 7.62 mm machine gun. According to Rafael, the RWS can carry up to 230 rounds of ammunition for the automatic cannon and 500 rounds for the co-axial machine gun.

The weapon can also be traversed 360° and elevated between -20° to 70°, a feature designed to improve operational flexibility in tight urban environments and enables the vehicle to engage threats taking cover in buildings.

A highlight of the RWS is the anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) launcher that can be installed on its left side, which is positioned horizontally and retracted under armour protection during travel and raised when preparing to fire its two ATGMs.

Seems cool

Few sloped surfaces.

Tiny little gun seems right for them.

I always wanted a fighting vehicle with AC and free WiFi.

Shot traps haven't been a thing since the 1950s tho

You arent slopping your way into defeating heat rounds. Internal volume is far more important for an ifv.

Kind of neat.

Bradley's love child with a BMP?

Lots of rivets or bolt heads on the outside.  Reminds me of Japanese light tanks in WWII.

It's far too nice to risk in combat.

Not that Singapore engages frequently in combat ops.

Lol.......BRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrtttttttttt

Looks nice and the graphics are cool. Other than that I know nothing and am tagging this thread to learn more from smart people.

I could be biased because my experience is with a pretty bare-bones vehicle where the closest thing to computers was the gunners thermal and the radio, but I have some doubts about the real-world viability of ground vehicles that are this heavily dependent on computers.

I get that they're able to make it work with fighter jets, but fighter jets aren't driving through mud and sand.

Only 30mm?  Seriously.

Cool looking

Now Singapore can into Anschluss.

"The men will have to wear the missiles as hats".

The specs on the chart are wrong.  I am pretty sure that the average soldier is taller than 1.7 meters.

I will take one.

Yup.  

I'd drive it down I35

We are talking about Singapore here.

No worries, itll never see action anyways.

Warning issued

I see what you have done there.

I have been to Singapore.  The one photo where they show lots of tree's must of been the only spot in Singapore that they had tree's that wasn't on some sort of mountain.

Love the city.. but having hardly any "Nature" outside of the seaport sucked.

Have to go to Malaysia to enjoy the wilderness.

Hopefully, Windows won't force an update during a critical battle moment.

A whole 500 rounds for the coax? What a joke that is. Looks like they just fancied up a vehicle they already owned/manufactured.

It's coming anyway, the tech will only move forward. Eventually everything will either be straight drones/AI driven or we'll be plugging ourselves into it.

And even if it's not 100% hard core survive anything ruggedized I'm sure it's fine for Singapore.

Singapores military strategy is built around -

1. Deterrence. This is first and foremost as a military goal for Singapore.
2. Rapid and highly effective response to incursion in primarily urban environments should number 1 fail.

At the end of the day Singapores military is set up to deter first, and if military deterrence and political diplomacy fails they're there simply to defend the government and population clusters until allied nations can offer assistance.

Oh Lord.  Singapore....

They are a pain in my ass.

Serious question:

Why bother?

That will work

You shouldve seen the argument here about whether or not an active suspension for tanks was a good idea..lol

This.
Cool post OP with great info

Genuine question from a non-tanker - why are the smoke grenade launchers still a thing?

Wouldn’t driving as fast as you can be a better deterrent against rpg’s?

That has a larger main gun then our bradley.

Armor looks thin...  Looking at the holes and most joints it’s 1/8”-1/4” thick...

Also formed/bent panels...  It’s called armor plate for a reason.  Most must be welded, bolted, forge or cast.  Even if it is heat treated after bends are made it still not as strong...

Mobilty kill and quickly dismounting troops ?

I noticed that

The cameras are neat, but easily defeatable for anyone willing to give it a go.

Damn, 3.4m tall...that's going to be an easy target. Tracked? Why the hell go tracks instead of wheels?
I thought the Stryker was pants on head retarded, but this looks like a modernized M113.

Well, according to the press release, it is supposed to be the replacement for the old M113s that are still in service.

Seems to be the mentality that armor units use tracked vehicles, infantry wheels.

And we've already got our own version of the Stryker in use by the Infantry formations.









There's still the Bionix in service

But the joke's on them. The Bradley served with distinction during the Gulf War.

It was viciously attacked by NYC media talking heads for almost the entire decade of the 1980's. And when it did so well in Iraq, not a peep. All those assholes were wrong.

Needs portholes

Thanks to this thread, I’ve learned that a 30mm gun is too small, even though it’s bigger than the 25mm gun on a Bradley and the same caliber as the oft-loved gun on the A-10.

United Defense (back when they were still a thing) had done a lot of internal research on tracks versus wheels. IIRC, they determined that the 20 ton range was about the magic point tracks became superior, with a bit of overlap between 19-21 tons there where it could go either way.

At nearly 30 tons, these would be well past that overlap range.

The Stryker is less than 20 tons. Completely different animal.

Ah, missed the part about the weight. Yes, at 30 tons, tracked is the way to go. I'm more inclined to go for lighter armor, faster moving IFV's. You aren't going up against MBT's with an IFV (I know of a few occasions where it happened in Angola and the IFV's won, but only because they could move faster than the shitty 2stroke turret motor could turn the turret) and I don't think any armor on the field will stand up to ATGM's currently being used.
This IFV just seems to want to do too many different things to where it's not good at anything. Time will tell, I guess.

Are those M113 hulls that they just recycled with a bolt on kit of some kind?

Kinda looks like it to me, but I didn’t sleep in an Armored Inn Express last night, so I’ll defer.

Why does an urban Island nation need such a machine?

If they want it good for them but who are they fighting?

& with no amphibious capability it seems stupid to build it for an island nation.

As usual I'm sure these questions seem dumb to those in the know. - but this is Singapore

I suspect for the export market. I can't see it being any use in any kind of fight on the island.