TSAMTO, April 28. The Israeli company Elbit Systems will supply the Armed Forces of the Philippines with 18 new Sabra light tanks on the chassis of the ASCOD-2 tracked BBM by the end of this year.
According to the Update PH resource, additional ASCOD-2 platforms with the coloring of the Philippine army before being sent to Israel were recently presented by Santa Barbara Sistemas in Spain.
It is expected that the entire batch of new light tanks will be transferred to the 1st Armored Battalion of the Armored Division of the Philippine Army by the end of this year.
In January 2021, the Israeli company Elbit Systems signed a contract worth $ 172 million for the supply of light tanks to the Land Forces of the Philippines based on the ASCOD-2 tracked platform produced by the Spanish General Dynamics European Land Systems - Santa Barbara Sistemas (GDELS-SBS) and the Pandur-2 wheeled BBM platform of the Czech Excalibur Army. The contract is for a three-year period.
The delivery of armored vehicles is carried out within the framework of the second stage ("Second Horizon"/Second Horizon) of the "Modernization Program of the Armed Forces of the Philippines" (RAFPMP), approved by Republic Act No. 10349 (Republic Act No. 10349).
It is assumed that under the contract, Elbit Systems will provide the supply of 18 tanks on the ASCOD-2 tracked chassis, 10 heavy-armed combat vehicles (BMVS) on the Pandur-2 chassis with an 8x8 wheel formula, one command vehicle on the ASCOD-2 tracked chassis and one BRAM on the ASCOD-2 chassis.
Both platforms will be equipped with a turret with a 105 mm cannon and a number of subsystems developed by Elbit Systems, including electron-optical sights, fire control systems, TORCH-XTM combat control systems, software-controlled E-LynXTM radios and life support systems.
A series of light tanks "Sabra" (Sabrah) weighing 30 tons has a modular design. The tank provides an optimal combination of firepower and maneuverability, is equipped with armor protection systems that provide ballistic protection of the NATO standard STANAG 4569 Level 4. The vehicle can be integrated with active protection systems.
Currently, armored vehicles with 105 and 120 mm caliber weapons are not in service with the Armed Forces of the Philippines. According to the representative of the division, Lieutenant Colonel Zama Taguba, there are now more than 400 armored personnel carriers in various variants, including the Simba BBM, LAV-150 Commando, M-113A1 and M-113A2 armored personnel carriers.
As previously reported by TSAMTO, the initial project provided for the purchase of at least 44 light/medium tanks and heavy-armed combat vehicles with an 8x8 wheel formula to equip three tank companies of the 1st Tank Battalion of the Armored Division of the Philippine Land Forces. The project cost was estimated at 9.48 billion phil. pesos ($174.6 million). The machines were planned to be purchased in a ratio of about 2:1. The platforms had to have a common turret and a gun of at least 105 mm caliber.
Among the expected bidders in the tender for the supply of light/medium tanks were the K21-105 of South Korean Hanwha, Tulpar of Turkish Otokar, Kaplan MT of Indonesian Pindad and Sabra of Elbit Systems/GDELS.
Potential contenders in the project for the purchase of heavy-armed combat vehicles with an 8x8 wheel formula were the Pars-3 of the Turkish FNSS, the ARMA of the Turkish Otokar, the K808 of the South Korean Hyundai Rotem, as well as the then-unnamed proposal of Elbit Systems and a European partner.
