Under the ZAHA procurement program, a total of 27 vehicles will be delivered to the Turkish Navy by the end of April.

The Marine Assault Vehicle (MAV) was developed under the project ZAHA, which was initiated by the Defence Industry Agency (SSB) to meet the marine assault vehicle requirements of the Turkish Navy’s Amphibious Marine Brigade. As such, the Turkish Navy’s Marine Armored Amphibious Vehicle Program in question was signed between the Turkish Defence Industry Agency (SSB) and FNSS on March 7, 2017.

Within the scope of the project, a total of 27 vehicles will be delivered to Turkish Naval Forces, including 23 Armored Personnel Carriers with a transport capacity of 21 (18+3) people, 2 Command & Control vehicles, and 2 Armored Recovery Vehicles as well as a Mine Clearance Vehicle.

The MAV’s firepower is provided by the ÇAKA dual remote-controlled turret, which can be armed with a 12.7 mm Machine Gun and a 40 mm Automatic Grenade Launcher.

According to FNSS, the said MAV features a self-righting capability, since it can return to its original position in case of overturning in the water, and it is also fitted with a hydraulic ramp in the rear.

Specifically, the MAV technical specifications include: 

• Weight: 30 tons 
• Engine: 600hp diesel engine power pack along with a fully automatic transmission system / propelled by two powerful rear-mounted water jets in amphibious mode, which can handle up to sea-state 4
• Maximum amphibious speed: 7 knots
• Maximum road speed: 70 km/h
• Personnel transportation capacity: 18 dismounted infantry + 3 crew members (commander, driver, gunner) 
• Vertical Slope capability: 60%
• Side Slope capability: 40%
• Vertical obstacle crossing capability: 90 cm
• Trench crossing capability: 200 cm 
• Length: 8.3 m
• Width: 3.3 m

Apart from ballistic and anti-mine protection, the MAV/ZAHA can be further improved with add-on multi-layered armor, while it already features an automatic fire extinguishing system and a CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radioactive, and Nuclear) protection system.

At this point, it should be mentioned that in the ZAHA project maximum local industry involvement was utilized for the various subsystems, such as communications.

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Alongside the aforementioned Turkish acquisition, according to the US DSCA (Defense Security Cooperation Agency), which manages export sales procedures, Greece also seeks to acquire amphibious assault vehicles (AAV) and related equipment at an estimated cost of 268 million dollars, if the potential sale is fully implemented.

In fact, the list includes 63 AAVP-7A1 Armored Personnel Carriers, 9 AAVC-7A1 command vehicles, and 4 AAVR-7A1 reconnaissance vehicles as well as the related armament mounted on the turret of each AAV (12.7 mm machine guns, Mk19 automatic grenade launchers). 

The “package” also includes spare parts, special tool collections, training, technical manuals, technical assistance, and support services.

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