IDEX 2019: Wahash breaks cover

[Philip the Arab]

The new Wahash (Wild Falcon) 8×8 infantry fighting vehicle from Emirati firm Calidus was launched at the IDEX 2019 exhibition in Abu Dhabi, highlighting a number of international sub-systems and components on the platform.

Able to carry eight dismounts, a driver, commander, and gunner, the vehicle features a monocoque steel hull that allows for increased speed in production and negates the need for an internal subframe.

The vehicle's protection has been certified to STANAG 4569 Level 4, including Level 4a and 4b land mine protection. Protection from improvised explosive devices (IEDs) includes a 50 kg TNT charge and 155 mm artillery shell fragmentation charge. Additional external passive armour packages can be added to the vehicle as required to increase protection.

Combat weight - carrying a full crew, BMP-3 turret, and amphibious kit with STANAG 4569 Level 4 protection - is 32.1 tonnes, with a further payload of 7.5 tonnes available. Up to two vehicles can be carried inside a Boeing C-17A Globemaster III transport aircraft.

The Wahash can climb a 70° gradient and drive on a 40° side slope, climb a 0.8 m step, and cross a 2 m-wide trench. Additionally, it can ford a watercourse of up to 2 m in depth. The vehicle is also able to operate in temperatures ranging from -30°C to +55°C, with an Ametek air-conditioning system providing climate control to the cabin.

The vehicle displayed at the show was equipped with a BM-3M Shturm remote-controlled turret developed by the Kyiv Armoured Plant, fitted with a 30 mm cannon, machine gun, automatic grenade launcher, six smoke grenade launchers, and two Bar'er anti-tank guided missile launchers. During the show, Ukraine's UkrSpecExport and Calidus signed a Memorandum of Co-operation covering the potential joint production of the Wahash with the BM-3M Shturm, and promotion of the system to the United Arab Emirates and beyond.

Old article but still interesting and shows how UAEs defense industry has become more advanced.