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Wahash 8x8 APC

The 8X8 wheeled armored vehicle is a hot product in the international military trade market in the past 10 years. The 8X8 wheeled armored vehicle features strong carrying capacity, good protection and strong firepower. The "Wahash" ("Wild Falcon") is a new offering developed by United Arab Emirates-based defence company Calidus in collaboration with ADG Mobility. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, visited the Calidus LLC booth and witnessed the unveiling of the Wahash Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) at the IDEX 2019 defense exhibition in Abu Dhabi, Sunday, February 17, 2019. The delegation also included Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior.

Calidus’ WAHASH is a new generation, state-of-the-art multi-role 8×8 platform – developed to push the boundaries of mobility and protection both for land operations and amphibious capability. The WAHASH vehicle system is designed to operate under extreme weather, terrain and climatic conditions to enable mounted forces to complete their missions. Superior design elements allow for excellent payload capacity and protection allowances, while offering the full spectrum of world class systems, appropriate for various roles of the platform such as an Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV), Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) or other applications as required by end users.

Integrated with a modern, digital Generic Vehicle Architecture (GVA), the addition of C4ISR systems are seamless. The WAHASH is designed to host large calibre weapon systems, including the BMP-3 and numerous remote-controlled weapon stations. A driver, Commander, Gunner and 8 dismounts can be transported.

The WAHASH is motorized with a 540 kW inline 6 cylinder engine developing 724 hp coupled to an automatic transmission with 7 forward and 2 reverse speeds. It can run at a maximum speed of 130 km/h with a maximum road cruising range of 750 km. The WAHASH can provide ballistic protection up to Level 4 STANG 4569 against the firing of small arms 14.5mm AP Armor-piercing ammunition as well as mine protection up to Level 4B, 10 kg of TNT explosion under the center and the wheels.

Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates for the first time presented a joint project, the Al-Wahash armored personnel carrier with BM-3M Shturm combat module at the international exhibition IDEX-2019. At IDEX-2019, which is taking place in Abu-Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), the Al-Wahash 8×8 armored personnel carrier with BM-3M Shturm combat turret is introduced for the first time. The Al-Wahash 8×8 armored personnel carrier with BM-3M Shturm combat turret is the result of cooperation between enterprises of the Ukrainian State Concern Ukroboronprom and the UAE company Calidus LLC.

Due to the BM-3M Shturm combat turret the Al-Wahash APC is provided with powerful arsenal of weapons for destroying an enemy from the distance of up to 5 km at any weather conditions day and night. The Al-Wahash 8×8 APC is one of the most up-to-date APCs of its class that was created by combination of the cutting edge technologies from the leading world class manufacturers. Therefore, integration of the Ukrainian combat turret into this APC constitutes another evidence of high efficiency of the Ukrainian weapons.

On February 18, 2019, Calidus LLC and the State Company Ukrspetsexport, which is a member of the State Concern Ukroboronprom, signed the memorandum of cooperation having consolidated the reached agreements in further cooperation. In particular, the parties plan to produce jointly the Al-Wahash 8×8 APCs with the BM-3M Shturm combat turret and to promote it on the markets of UAE and other countries. Besides that, the parties plan to extend cooperation in the implementation of programs for modernization and production of new pieces of armament and military equipment.

At IDEX-2021, Calidus presented two new version of its WAHASH 8x8 armored vehicle. One is fitted with a Russian-made BMP-3 IFV turret, the second is fitted with 105mm gun turret. Medium weight armoured fighting vehicles (AFV) are equipped with a broad choice of primary weapons, ranging from 20mm autocannons to full-bore 120mm guns. Overall, modern AFVs – whether light tanks, infantry fighting vehicles (IFV), or armoured reconnaissance vehicles – are trending towards more powerful weapons than previous vehicle generations. The primary reason for this trend is that they must contend with a more diverse set of opponent vehicles and threats, as well as with improved armour on enemy vehicles. For this same reason AFVs are also mounting additional weaponry including anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM) and air defence weaponry suitable against helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).

Leonardo Defense Systems (formerly OTO Melara) produces turrets suitable for different vehicle types designed to support large bore weapons. The HitFact Mk 2 medium turret provides near-MBT (Main Battle Tank) quality striking power to light tanks and to tracked or wheeled medium AFVs such as tank destroyers. It accommodates both 105mm and 120mm low recoil guns. French company Nexter offers a wide range of turret solutions mounting weapons between 25mm and 105mm. John Cockerill Defense’s 3000 series turret is one of the most versatile, capable of accommodating anything from a 25mm autocannon to a 105mm high pressure direct fire gun.