Fahd 240-30 with the 30 mm autocannon, BMT-208-30 turret and option of AT-4 or AT-5
CAIRO – 19 July 2018: Egyptian military successfully installed the Russian-made AT-4 Spandrel Konkurs missile system to the local Fahd 4x4 armored personnel carrier (APC), according to a media report by Russian website specialized in armament and military affairs.
The report highlighted the Egyptian army’s high capability in using Fahd APC, locally manufactured in 1980s based on German technologies, with the roof-mounted Konkurs.
A short clip was released on social media showing a part of Egyptian military drill conducted by Fahd APC in which the Egyptian forces managed to hit targets accurately using AT-4 Konkurs missiles. It is to be noted that Fahd was basically armed with a roof-mounted AT-5 Spandrel.
The Egyptian Fahd is 6 meters long, 2.45 meters wide, 2.25 meters high and weighs over 10 tons. It is equipped with anti-biological, chemical and nuclear weapons system, along with night vision equipments.
Fahd APC is powered by a Mercedes Benz OM 366 LA 4-stroke turbo charged water cooled diesel engine developing 280hp at 2,200rpm. The engine provides a maximum speed of 100km/h on-road and a range of up to 700km. The vehicle has an average off-road speed of 65km/h and a range of 450km.
The roof can be fitted with different types of turrets to mount a variety of weapons, ranging from 7.62mm machine guns to 20mm cannons. The APC variant can be optionally armed with MILAN anti-tank guided missiles to defend against ground based threats. The vehicles fitted with BTM-208 turrets can carry a 12.7mm machine gun and a 7.62mm machine gun.
The vehicle can be armed to fight against battle tanks, armoured vehicles, low flying aircraft, helicopters and armed forces. It can accurately engage the targets from a stationary position, on the move, during day or night.
Russian-made AT-4 Spandrel Konkurs missile system
Egypt has been struggling for years to contain terrorist activities in Sinai. Many military operations have been carried out by army and police forces, killing hundreds of militants and building a buffer zone along the border with Gaza, so that the Egyptian authorities can curb the flow of militants and weapons infiltrating through underground tunnels.
Egypt’s President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi authorized the army chief of staff to use “all brute force” against terrorism.
Last February The Egyptian Armed Forces launched a full-scale military operation titled "Sinai 2018" to confront terrorist elements in Sinai and other areas across the country. Military spokesman Colonel Tamer El-Rafei announced a major military operation to purge country from terrorism.
Since the ousting of ex-Muslim brotherhood-affiliated President Mohamed Morsi, Egypt has seen the rise of extremism in the country, resulting in numerous deadly attacks.
Last December, two militants tried to storm a church in Helwan, southern Cairo. They opened fire, leaving ten civilians, including six Copts, dead and injuring at least five others. In November, a deadly attack hit the main mosque in North Sinai’s Al-Rawdah village, taking the lives of roughly 22 percent of its male residents. The village’s population is just under 2,111 people, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics’ (CAPMAS) 2016 report.
At least 311 people were killed and 121 injured when unidentified militants attacked the crowded mosque during Friday prayers in the Sinai Peninsula, setting off explosives and spraying worshippers with gunfire.
In October 2017, another attack killed 16 security officers in Egypt’s Western Desert and, before that, deadly attacks hit Egypt’s churches last April. In Tanta’s St. George Church, at least 27 people were killed and 78 others were wounded due to an explosive device that was planted under a seat in the main prayer hall.
A suicide bomber attacked St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Alexandria where Pope Tawadros II held the Palm Sunday mass. Two police officers guarding the church stopped a man wearing an explosive belt. The police officers, a man and a woman, were killed along with civilians and other police staff.
All of these incidents, among several others, have affected the country for about eight years. Also, Egypt’s economic status has not been at its best.
The Fahd 240-30 with the 30 mm autocannon BMT-208-30 turret and option of AT-5.
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