In early November 2021, a joint venture called Kazakhstan Paramount Engineering (KPE), consisting of the South African Paramount Group and the Kazakh company Kazpetromash, announced the successful completion of a four-year program for the development and testing of the 8×8 armored car "Barys" (Barys). KPE hopes that thanks to participation in the test of the Armed Forces of Kazakhstan, in the future this Central Asian country will carry out relevant purchases.
The Barys armored car is already KPE's second project in the segment of combat vehicles. Since 2017, under the Arlan brand, the company has already supplied Kazakhstan with an unspecified number of Marauder 4×4 armored vehicles in a version adapted to local conditions. The design was developed on the basis of the Mbombe 8 model introduced in 2016.
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| Armored vehicle "Barys" for the Armed Forces of Kazakhstan. |
| Source: invoen.ru |
"Barys" 8x8 is a universal vehicle designed in the basic configuration for the transportation of the commander, driver, gunner and eight more infantrymen with personal weapons and equipment. During the development, in addition to ballistic protection, the main attention was paid to high mobility, which is a problem in the mountainous terrain of Kazakhstan with a small number of paved roads. On paved roads, a six-cylinder turbodiesel with a capacity of 450 hp accelerates a 28-ton car to 110 km/h at full load. The mentioned mobility is also increased due to the ground clearance of 45 cm. Ballistic protection corresponds to the third level of the NATO standard STANAG 4569. A special feature is protection against mines and improvised explosive devices, corresponding to level 4a of the STANAG standard. The latter is achieved due to the flat bottom of the body. At the same time, with the specified ground clearance, the height of the armored car is only 2.4 m.
Various weapons options are available. In the current version, a stabilized automatic gun 2A72 caliber 30x165 mm, together with two PKT (M) 7.62 mm x 54R machine guns, are placed in a remotely controlled AU-220M turret of Russian production. In addition, an 81-mm launcher is installed for throwing lighting or smoke grenades. According to the manufacturer, the possibility of integrating an ATGM of an unspecified model is also being considered. The Barys design also offers plenty of space and carrying capacity for additional options. Sources draw attention to the fact that an automatic gun with a caliber of up to 57 mm has already been successfully integrated into the Mbombe 8.
The head of Paramount Group, John CRAIG, hopes that extensive testing will lead to the early introduction of an armored car in the Armed Forces of Kazakhstan. It is reported that over the past few years, Kazakhstan has made several attempts to replace the increasingly outdated BTR-80. In particular, BTR-3s were even purchased from Ukraine on a trial basis. However, due to the high share of added value in its country, KPE undoubtedly has a good starting position with its product in the upcoming competition.
According to the materials of the resource soldat-und-technik.de
