Bionix Infantry Fighting Vehicle
IFV 25 / IFV 40/50
The Bionix infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) is an armoured troop carrier of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). Developed locally, it entered operational service in the SAF in 1999. Its two main purposes are the ferrying of troops to key battlefield positions, and the provision of additional fire-power in an armored assault.
Armed with a small-calibre cannon and machine guns, each Bionix can travel up to 70 km/h and utilises a hydro-pneumatic suspension system, giving it a smoother ride and better traversing capability, especially over obstacles such as trenches. Its driving system, which is more advanced than that of its predecessors, also makes it much more manuverable.
The Bionix Infantry Fighting Vehicle is the base vehicle in a family of vehicles that share a common chassis. The two main variants of the Bionix Infantry Fighting Vehicle are equipped either with a full enclosed 2-man turret with an M242 25mm Bushmaster cannon and co-axial 7.62mm machine gun (Bionix 25) or an open-topped 1-man turret with a 40mm CIS automatic grenade launcher and a 12.7mm CIS machine gun (Bionix 40/50). The open-topped turret is the same used on the M113 Ultra armored personnel carrier. Other members of the Bionix family, using the same chassis, include an armored recovery vehicle and an armored vehicle launched bridge (also known as the Bionix Launched Bridge).
In the late 1980s, the Singapore Ministry of Defense began looking for a replacement for the Singapore Army's fleet of M113 armored personnel carriers. It was subsequently decided to develop a vehicle locally rather than further explore available options at the time, which include the US Bradley, the UK Warrior, the German Marder, and Swedish CV-90, among others. At the direction of the Ministry of Defense, Singapore Technologies Automotive (STA), a subsidiary of what was then the Singapore Technologies Group (which subsequently became ST Engineering), delivered the first prototype, XV 1, in January 1990. This was followed by the arrival of the XV 2 and XV 3 prototypes in December 1990 and March 1991.
The Bionix was developed between 1991 and 1997 by a tripartite team consisting of the Defence Material Organisation of the Ministry of Defence, the SAF Armour Formation and Singapore Technologies Automotive (STA). Created to augment the army’s ageing fleet of M113 armoured carriers, it is also the first armored vehicle to be developed in Southeast Asia. Further refinements resulted in test bed vehicles in 1993 and the final prototypes and pre-production models were delivered to the Ministry of Defense between 1995 and 1996.
The Ministry of Defense subsequently awarded a contract valued at 2.5 million SD (1.7 million USD) to STA in March 1997 for the delivery of a large number of vehicles, initially referred to as IFV 25 and IFV 40/50, denoting the armament fitted. The new vehicle, subsequently named Bionix, was the first armored vehicle developed entirely in Singapore. Previous armored vehicle programs had been upgrades to foreign designs
. The pioneer batch of Bionix vehicles was completed in September 1997 and the first contingent equipped with it was the 42nd Battalion, Singapore Armoured Regiment (42 SAR). The battalion was fitted out with 40 Bionix IFVs. An official rollout ceremony occurred on 5 September 1997 and the first production vehicles were then to be delivered in January 1998. Though initially intended to replace M113 armored personnel carriers, a parallel upgrade program assured that initially the vehicles would supplement each other, especially in support roles where M113s continued to act as mortar carrier vehicles.
There are two basic versions of the Bionix: IFV 25 and IFV 40/50. The IFV 25 has a crew of three and can carry seven fully equipped soldiers, whereas the IFV 40/50 has a crew of two and can carry nine soldiers. In terms of weaponry, the former is armed with a turret-mounted 25-millimetre cannon and three 7.62- millimetre machine guns, while the latter carries a 40-millimetre automatic grenade launcher, a .50-calibre and a 7.62-millimetre machine gun.
A variant of these two models is the Bionix infantry carrier vehicle (ICV), which is lighter than the first two models and can be deployed from a C-130 Hercules transport aircraft. It was developed by the STA for the United States (US) Army’s Interim Armoured Vehicle competition in 2000, during which companies pitted against one another for a chance to be awarded a contract by the US Army. It eventually lost out to General Dynamics’ Stryker ICV.
Another variant is the Bionix armoured vehicle-launched bridge. It features a two-part bridge mounted on top of its hull, allowing it to span gaps of up to 20 m. It can also be launched from within the crew compartment under armour protection or via remote control.
By the mid-2000s, work had begun on an improved version of the Bionix Infantry Fighting Vehicle, dubbed Bionix II. The planned improvements included new C4I battle management systems, improved fire control, improved survivability, and the replacement of the 25mm M242 Bushmaster cannon on the Bionix 25 with a 30mm cannon.
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