Fahd 240 of Bangladesh

Fahd 240/280
Egyptian Fahd 240 sevring as part of UN Operation in Somalia. Note the grenade launchers on the side and the firing ports.
Type	Armored personnel carrier
Place of origin	Egypt
Service history
In service	1986-present
Production history
Designer	Thyssen Henschel (today Rheinmetall Landsysteme and part of Rheinmetall Defence)
Manufacturer	Kader Factory for Developed Industries, Arab Organization for Industrialization
Produced	1985
Number built	Over 1,400 (all variants)
Variants	Mainly Fahd 240, and Fahd 280-30. See text for extended list.
Specifications
Weight	10.9 - 12.5 tons (depending on the varaint)
Length	6 meters
Width	2.45 meters
Height	2.25 meters (without towers)
Crew	2 + 10 passengers (Fahd-240), 3 + 7 passengers (Fahd-280-30)
Armor	Welded steel.
Primary armament	30 mm automatic cannon 2A42 AT-5 Spandrel or AT-4 Spigot ATGM (Fahd-280-30)
Secondary armament	1-3 7.62 mm machine guns
Engine	Mercedes Benz Diesel OM 366 LA 4-Stroke turbo-charged water-cooled diesel engine 275 hp at 2,300 rpm
Suspension	4 x 4
Ground clearance	37 cm
Fuel capacity	280 liters
Operational range	700 km (on road) 450 km (cross country)
Speed	100 km/h (on road) 60 km/h (cross country)

Design characteristics

The hull of the Fahd is of all-welded steel armor construction giving complete protection against attack by 7.62 mm caliber AP rounds and shell splinters. The vehicle is equipped with air conditioning. The driver sits at the front of the vehicle on the left side with the commander to the right. Both have forward observation via large bulletproof windows, which can be rapidly covered by an armored shutter hinged at the top, and a side door that opens to the front, featuring a window in its upper part that can also be covered by a shutter as well. Above the commander's position is a single-piece, rear-opening hatch cover. The driver has a forward-facing, roof-mounted day periscope, which can be replaced by a passive periscope for night driving. The troop compartment is at the rear of the hull with the infantry entering via a door in the rear, the upper part of which folds upwards and the lower part downwards to form a step. Over the top of the troop compartment are two rectangular roof hatches hinged in the center that can be locked vertical. The infantry sits on individual bucket seats down the center of the vehicle facing outwards. In either side of the troop compartment are four firing ports with a vision block above so that the troops can fire their weapons from within the vehicle. Either side of the rear door have a firing port with a vision block above. Optional equipment may be fitted on the vehicle, such as an NBC protection system and passive IR among others.

Armament

Up to three weapons may be fitted on to the roof of the Fahd, one on each side of the roof hatches and one to the rear. The armament usually consists of three PK machine guns, each with 1,500 7.62 mm rounds, but other 7.62 mm machine guns can be fitted on the vehicle, such as the FN MAG.

Maneuverability

The Fahd APC has a top speed of 100 km/h on-road with a range of 700 km. It has average speed of 65 km/h off-road with a range of 450 km. The engine is a Mercedes Benz Diesel OM 366 LA 4-Stroke turbo charged water cooled diesel engine, capable of providing 280 hp at 2200 rpm. The vehicle is able to negotiate slopes up to 80%, and side slopes up to 30%, trenches with a width of up to 800 mm, and vertical obstacle with a maximum height of 0.5 m, and it has a steering radius of 8 m

Operators and service history

The Bangladesh Army used these vehicles widely in patrolling missions along the Iraq-Kuwait border during UN sanctioned peacekeeping missions.Bangladesh Army has total 66 0f this APC.