Indonesian defence prime, a member of the state-owned consortium DefendID, announced on 23 August that it had concluded a series of final trials of the Harimau medium tank.
The company stated that it had successfully performed live-firing testing to validate the capabilities of the Harimau tank at the Cipatat Pusdikif shooting range as well as other performance and functional tests the Pusdikkav Padalarang and PT Pindad test areas between 22 and 23 August.
According to PT Pindad, the test activities included firing of its 105 mm high-pressure main gun with high-explosive plastic with tracer (HEP-T) munitions as well as its 7.62 mm co-axial machine gun. Other events included turret testing, as well as validation of the tank’s key components such as its engine and powerpack, running gear, communication equipment, and its battle management system (BMS).
Director of Indonesian National Armed Forces Cavalry Weapons Centre, Brigadier General Augus Erwan, declared that the functional tests were the final step of the evaluation process before handing over any platform to the Ministry of Defense (MoD) and induction into the Indonesian Army.
The Harimau medium tank is derived from the Kaplan MT originally developed by Türkiye land systems prime FNSS, which subsequently evolved into the joint effort called the Modern Medium Weight Tank (MMWT).
FNSS earlier delivered Kaplan MT hulls to PT Pindad, which then performed integration of the CMI Defense Cockerill C3105 turret as well as associated equipment at the latter’s facility.
Unlike the Leopard 2RI main battle tanks (MBTs) used by the army, the Harimau’s combat weight of approximately 35 tonnes enables it to access less-developed road and bridge networks, potentially expanding its operating areas.
by Jr Ng
