To meet a Turkish Land Forces Command (TLFC) urgent operational requirement, Aselsan has developed the Pulat hard-kill active protection system (APS) that leverages technology from the Zaslon – Light (Zaslon-L) APS developed in Ukraine.
Pulat APS is to be installed on TLFC M60TM main battle tanks (MBTs) that were previously upgraded under an earlier urgent requirement for deployment on the Turkish border.
The example of the M60TM, shown at IDEF 2019 in Istanbul, was also fitted with an Aselsan telescopic mast-mounted sighting system on the left side of the turret with a stabilised sensor pod including day charge-coupled device (CCD) camera, thermal camera, and a laser rangefinder. It also had an Aselsan camera suite to provide situational awareness through 360°.
Pulat consists of a power distribution unit (PDU), control panel, and a so-called anti-threat module (ATM) that consists of a millimetre-wave radar and anti-threat munition.
Aselsan has not released detailed technical capabilities of its Pulat APS.
The latest upgraded M60TM tank for the Turkish Land Forces Command, fitted with a retractable mast-mounted sensor pack and one of the Pulat active protection system munition modules on the front of the vehicle. (IHS Markit/Patrick Allen)
The original Zaslon-L from the Ukraine, however, is claimed to provide 80% protection against rocket-propelled grenades with a single HEAT warhead, 80% against rocket-propelled grenades with a tandem HEAT warhead, 80% against all types of anti-tank guided weapon, 70% against artillery projectiles with a calibre of up to 125 mm, and 60% against tank-fired armour-piercing projectiles with a calibre of up to 125 mm with a maximum velocity of up to 1,200 m/s.
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