FNSS, the only land vehicle manufacturer to participate in the Naval Systems Seminar 2019, focused on the introduction of ZAHA, which is being developed under the Armoured Amphibious Assault Vehicles (ZAHA) Project. Haldun Olgun, Business Development Manager at FNSS, made a presentation describing the outstanding features of ZAHA when compared to its global competitors.
Speaking about the amphibious vehicles used around the world, Olgun said that the AAV7, developed for the U.S. Marine Corps was one of the most common vehicles in this class, and that some 1,850 AAV7s can be found in the inventories of 11 countries. According to FNSS, ZAHA stands out when compared to the AAV7 in its ability to operate at sea state 4, as well as in its higher ballistic and mine protection, in addition to its marine personnel transport capacity. After safely landing units during amphibious operations, the Armoured Amphibious Assault Vehicles can then switch roles to serve as armoured personnel carriers after reaching the shore. During the amphibious assault phase of an operation, these vehicles are launched from a landing helicopter dock (LHD), and are able to rapidly cover the distance between the vessel and shore, allowing forces to land safely and with minimum delay. Once on land, ZAHA can continue taking part in operations side-by-side with other armoured vehicles. Aside from amphibious operations, ZAHA can effectively take on various roles in non-combat military operations, such as non-combatant evacuations, humanitarian aid operations, rescue support in natural disasters, and peacekeeping and peace enforcement missions.