The first examples of the Turkish Marine Assault Vehicle (MAV) – called the Zaha project – are to be unveiled at the IDEF Defence Exhibition to be held in Istanbul, Turkey, in May 2019.
FNSS Savunma Sistemleri and the Undersecretariat of Defence Industries (SSM) signed a contract in March 2017, to design, develop, and manufacture 27 MAVs for the Turkish Naval Forces Command’s new landing helicopter dock (LHD). Four vehicles will be command post (CP) and armoured recovery vehicle (ARV) configurations – two of each – and the remainder will be configured as armoured personnel carriers.
The MAV hull is a sealed, hydrodynamic design made of all-welded aluminium armour that can be bolstered with appliqué armour kits and boasts a self-righting capability.