MX-1 Kalakian
Developed in the early 2000s as a joint project between Philippine Army's Light Armored Brigade (later Light Armored Division) and Steelcraft Industries, Incorporated of Manila, Philippines, the MX-1 Kalakian (Water Buffalo) was very similar to the GKN Simba armored car/APC in service with the Philippine Army. The MX-1 was also very similar to the Hari-Digma armored car/APC, another indigenous development, over which the Simba had been selected in the 1990s.
The prototype vehicle, presented to the Light Armored Brigade in December 2002 featured a one-man turret and rear gunner's position. The vehicle used a commercially available transmission and other commercial vehicle components, all intended to reduce unit cost. The vehicle had an armored hull with the same thickness as the Simba (12mm).
The turret was a modification of the Cadillac Gage 1-meter turret found on V-150 armored cars also in service in the Philippines. This turret was also produced in a modified form in the Philippines by the Floro International Corporation. The major difference was the incorporation of an additional element allowing for the turret to be armed with a .50 caliber machine gun, 40mm automatic grenade launcher, and 7.62mm machine gun. The Cadillac Gage turret could only be armed with 2 of those weapons at any time. On V-150 and Simba vehicles the 40mm grenade launcher was often added to the top of the turret. This required the gunner expose themselves. The modified turret allowed all the weapons to be fired from within the turret.
Some 20 vehicles were said to have been purchased for evaluation, and it was unclear whether these vehicles entered service. The prototype vehicle was said to have cost the Philippine government 8 million Philippine pesos.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
