The Harimau medium tank was developed with Turkey’s FNSS and is armed with a 105mm tank gun.
The introduction of the Harimau medium tank strengthens Indonesia’s defense capabilities, providing the army with a formidable armored platform to counter potential threats and challenges. The Harimau tank’s design incorporates features that make it versatile and adaptable to various combat scenarios. Its mobility, firepower, and protection capabilities allow it to operate in diverse environments, including urban areas, jungles, and open terrain.
Following the production and testing of the prototypes of the tank in 2017 and 2018, the Indonesian government signed a letter of intent with PT Pindad in April 2019 to procure 18 Harimau tanks. According to a press release by PT Pindad on 28 February, the MoD handed 10 Harimau medium tanks. The delivery of Harimau medium tanks to the Indonesian Army is a pivotal development that underscores Indonesia’s commitment to strengthening its defense capabilities, promoting regional security, and asserting its sovereignty in an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape.
The Harimau medium tank was developed with Turkey’s FNSS and is armed with a 105mm tank gun. The tank, also known as Kaplan MT in Turkey, and for Indonesia, the Kaplan was nicknamed Harimau or Tiger.
The layout of the Tank is similar to a standard Main Battle Tank with the driver seat at the front center of the hull, turret in the centre with commander and gunner and powerpack at the rear. The hull is all-welded steel with an applique passive armour package.
Basic specifications include 6.9m length, 3.3m width and 2.4m high. The Harimau has a weight from 32 to 35 tons depending on the armour configuration. According FNSS CEO, the Harimau provides ballistic and mine protection Level 4 against small arms 14.5 mm Armor-piercing caliber, 155mm shell splinter at 30m and mine explosion of 10 kg TNT under the track and the floor. It can be fitted with add-on armour to increase protection to Level 5 protection against 25mm Armor Piercing Discarding Sabot Tracer ammunition.
Interior of the vehicle is engineered carefully considering ergonomics of crew and different tactical and battlefield conditions including driving, firing and ammunition load and unload. Special type of driver seat enables operator to have adequate field of view with accessibility to all cabin equipment.
Crew enter and exit the vehicle through single-piece hatch covers mounted on the roof of the hull. The gunner and commander are provided with sighting systems for observation during the day or night, while the commander’s position is installed with a panoramic sight. The tank is also equipped with a battlefield management system, a wireless crew intercom system, a navigation system and an automatic fire extinguishing system.
The Harimau tank is equipped with a Caterpillar C13 diesel engine manufactured by the US coupled with a fully automatic electronic controlled transmission. With a capacity of 711 horsepower, the vehicle can reach a maximum speed of 76 km/h. The torsion bar suspension consists on each side of six dual rubber-tyred road wheels with the drive sprocket at the front, the idler at the rear and track-return rollers.
The tank can negotiate a gradient of 60% and side slopes of 30%. It can climb a vertical obstacle of 0.9 m and cross a trench of 2 m maximum. It can ford to a depth of 1.2 m without preparation.
The Modern Medium Weight Tank is fitted with the latest generation CMI Defence Cockerill 3105 turret equipped with high-pressure 105 mm Cockerill gun, this is the most advanced and capable light 105 mm turret in its class.
The gun can fire both Armour Piercing and High Explosive ammunitions. According FNSS CEO, the tank is fitted with the CT-CV weapon station designed and manufactured by the Belgian Company CMI Defence that incorporates an automatic loading system which contains 16 rounds in standard configuration and 12 rounds in air-deployable configuration.
The 105mm gun has a maximum firing range of 4 km. Second armament includes one 7.62mm coaxial machine gun mounted to the left side of the main armament. The top of the turret can be fitted a 7.62mm or 12.7mm machine gun for self-protection of the vehicle or to be used against aerial targets. A bank of four smoke grenade dischargers is mounted on each side at the front of the turret.
The Indonesian medium-tank specific design for terrain configurations such as in South East Asia has been tested in challenging environmental conditions of Indonesia archipelago and achieved best results recorded for its class. The Tiger’s design architecture provides superior level of battlefield survivability which comprises advanced ballistic and best in class mine protection systems and adequate firepower against battlefield threats with great speed of response within a short period of time.
The arrival of the Harimau medium tanks signifies a substantial enhancement in Indonesia’s combat capability. These tanks bolster the army’s ability to respond effectively to various security threats and challenges.
