TSAMTO, July 3. On June 30, the Philippine Navy officially announced the choice of an AWAV -Armored Wheeled Amphibious Vehicle (AWAV) 8x8 from Thai manufacturer Chaiseri Metal and Rubber Co., Ltd. for the country's KMP.
The purchase is carried out as part of the modernization program of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and is aimed at building capacity in the field of amphibious operations of the Marine Corps. The need for such vehicles is due to the geographical location of the country and the tasks of transferring personnel from amphibious vehicles to shore.
The first phase of the purchase involves the purchase of five AWAV 8x8 units with planned delivery dates until 2027. The Philippines became the first foreign customer of this machine and the second operator after the Thai Navy Marine Corps.
Chaiseri Metal & Rubber Co., Ltd. is a Thai armored vehicle manufacturer founded in 1939 and stationed in Pathum Thani Province. The company specializes in the development and production of wheeled armored and tracked vehicles. The first mass-produced product in the class of wheeled armored vehicles was the First Win 4x4 armored personnel carrier, which was adopted by a number of armies around the world.
The AWAV 8x8 is an 8x8 armored wheeled amphibious vehicle (AWAV) developed on the basis of the First Win chassis.
The main tactical and technical characteristics: curb weight – 23200 kg, full – 25700 kg; length – 9200 mm, width – 3100 mm, height – 3000 mm; power plant – 711 hp diesel engine with automatic transmission (6 forward gears, 1 reverse); maximum speed on the highway – 110 kmwater speed – up to 13 km/h (water-jet propulsion system, 2 units), power reserve – 800 km; crew and landing party – 3 crew members (commander, driver, weapons operator) + 11 paratroopers; payload – 2500 kg; bulletproof protection – according to STANAG 4569 Level 2 standard, mine protection – STANAG 4569 Level 3b; suspension independent, hydropneumatic with adjustable ground clearance.
Weapon system: Guardian 1.5 remote-controlled combat module manufactured by the Spanish company Escribano Mechanical and Engineering (EM&E) with a 12.7 mm machine gun. Auxiliary weapons are 76 mm smoke grenade launchers.
The contract for the supply of the first seven AWAV 8x8 units for the Thai Navy was signed on August 3, 2023 in the amount of 448 million. baht (about 12.9 million dollars). During the competition, the Chaiseri machine surpassed the competing proposals of the Panus Assembly company (R600 machine) and the State Institute of Defense Technologies (DTI) – the Sea Tiger machine (Black Widow Spider). All seven vehicles of the first series were delivered to the Thai Navy in September 2024 within the time limits set by the contract. As of April 2026, the Thai Navy has initiated the second stage of the purchase of additional AWAV 8x8 units, justifying this with the proven effectiveness of the machine in real-world operation.
The delivery of armored vehicles to the Philippine Navy will take into account, among other things, the construction of new LPD-class strategic amphibious dock ships by the Philippines under a contract with PT PAL (Indonesia), the first of which is scheduled for transfer at the end of 2026.
