Place of origin United Kingdom Used by Philippines | In service 1990s-Present Designer GKN | |
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Type Armoured personnel carrier Wars Anti-guerilla operations in the Philippines | ||
The Simba is a wheeled armoured personnel carrier designed by GKN Sankey (acquired since then by Alvis plc and now part of BAE Systems) and is currently in service with the Philippine Army.
Contents
History
The Simba Light Combat Vehicle (LCV) was designed by GKN primarily for export market sales and following continuous and rigid trials was selected by the Armed Forces of the Philippines which placed an initial order of 150 vehicles.
Of the 150 vehicles ordered, eight were delivered in complete kit form, two in knocked-down kit form, and the remainder were later assembled in the Philippines in a facility owned by the joint venture company Asian Armoured Technologies Corporation in Subic Bay.
Design
The driver is seated conventionally front-left with the powerpack to his right and the troop compartment extending up to the rear of the vehicle. The troops on seats down either side can dismount the vehicle via the door in the rear or the door in the left side of the hull. The driver and commander can dismount via the cupola hatch and the driver's side door. The vehicle used by the Philippine Army has a one-man turret armed with a .50 BMG (12.7x99mm NATO) M2 Browning heavy machine gun. Some vehicles were fitted with a one-person gun turret armed with a 25mm cannon and a co-axial 7.62mm General-purpose machine gun.
A wide range of optional equipment can be fitted to the vehicle including a front-mounted winch, heater/air-conditioning system, and various weapon systems.
Simbas in Philippine Army service are fitted with an air-conditioning system, due to the tropical climate of the country. These vehicles have seen action from anti-insurgency campaigns against communist rebels in the north and central part of the country and have dealt with terrorists in counter-terrorism campaigns in the southernmost provinces in the island of Mindanao.
Variants
The following variants are known to be in production/service:
A fire-support and anti-tank variant with a 90mm Cockerill gun was also offered by the United Kingdom, but not adopted.