APC Talha


Talha is an armoured personnel carrier designed and manufactured in Pakistan by APC Factory of Heavy Industries Taxila. The vehicle is based on the M113-A2-Mk.1 APC. The Pakistan Army plans to deploy 2,000 Talha APCs by year 2010. TALHA is an all terrain, amphibious infantry support vehicle with 12.7 mm machine gun as its main armament. Adequate crew compartment space provides excellent crew comfort. Survivability is enhanced through use of external fuel tanks. Various forms of bolt-on armour can be added to increase armour protection of the vehicle.

History

The decision to develop the Talha was made after U.S. sanctions imposed on Pakistan made it impossible for HIT to continue manufacturing the M113. The Talha's design is based on the M113, one notable difference being the positions of the engine and driver station.
The Al-Talha is being marketed for export and was displayed at the IDEAS 2002 defence exhibition, Karachi, in 2002. In November 2004 an Iraqi delegation ordered 44 Talha APCs.

Engine

There is a flexibility in the design that the Engine compartment can accommodate power pack with 275 HP Detroit Diesel 6V53T turbocharged engine or 330 HP UTD-20, a Ukrainian engine

Operators

Current operators

5 road wheel variants:
Stretched 6 road wheel variants:
Al-Qaswa is an armoured personnel carrier variant of the APC Talha. Designed for logistics roles, the vehicle can carry 6 tonnes of military supplies in its cargo compartment across all types of cross-country terrain. The first prototype of the Alb Qaswa was completed in 2002 but as far as it is known the vehicle has yet to enter quantity production. The Al Qaswa logistic vehicle has six road wheels either side which gives the vehicle greater volume and payload compared with some other variants.
Users include: