Above: The latest FNSS Caka AT-K RWS armed with a 12.7mm H2 MG and a pod of two short-range ATGMs on the left side. (Photo: author)
Packing more punch - new weapon stations add firepower to Turkish vehicles
Weapon stations and turrets are continually evolving, and can often add armament options or even mission sets to a vehicle that were not originally envisaged by its designers.
FNSS’s Pars 4x4 Wheeled Armoured Combat Vehicle (WACV) is now being marketed by the company with different weapon systems to meet different users’ operational requirements... Continues below
This analysis article originally appeared in August's Decisive Edge Land Warfare Newsletter.
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This includes the latest version of the FNSS Sanak remote weapon station (RWS) armed with a 30mm cannon which enables targets to be engaged at longer ranges and with more effect.
The Sanak is normally seen armed with a stabilised 12.7mm HB machine gun (MG), a 40mm MK M19 automatic grenade launcher (AGL) or an M240/FN MAG58 7.62mm MG with traverse and elevation all electric.
All these weapons are coupled to a computerised fire control system (FCS) with day/thermal cameras, laser rangefinder for increased first-round hit capability and automatic target tracker (ATT) to reduce gunner fatigue.
The Pars 4x4 vehicles were manufactured by Nurol Makina which also now owns FNSS having taken over the 49% share previously owned by BAE Systems USA.
The Sanak turret is also marketed for other platforms and has been shown fitted to the Nurol Makina Ejder 4x4 protected vehicle.
FNSS has further expanded its RWS offering by developing a new version of the established Caka design which is already installed on the Marine Assault Vehicle (MAV) deployed by the Turkish Naval Forces.
This RWS is normally armed with a stabilised 12.7mm M2 MG and a 40mm AGL but further development has resulted in the Caka 30/AT-O which, like the original version has been optimised for harsh conditions in maritime use.
This model is armed with a CANiK Venom Low Recoil 30mm cannon which was originally developed in the UK by AEI. This fires 30x113mm ADEN, DEFA and M230 electric primed ammunition with a muzzle velocity of between 775 and 805m/s with a claimed effective range of up to 3,000m when used with an effective FCS.
In addition the turret has an ATGM mounted either side, which would be selected by the customer, to engage targets beyond the range of the cannon.
Another version of this RWS is armed with a CANiK 12.7mm M2 Quick Change Barrel (QCB) and two shorter range ATGMs fitted on the left side with the sensor pod below the MG and moving in elevation with it.
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