FNSS Samur

     Notes: The Samur (Sable) is a bridging vehicle/ferry similar in concept to the German M-3 and the French DCAN PAA.  It is also known as the Amphibious Assault Bridge. Development began in 2007 and delivery to the Turkish Army began in 2011.  The Samur was designed from scratch instead of being just a copy of other such vehicle, there was input from the Germans in its design.  All ordered Saumurs were delivered by 2013.

     The Samur bridges or ferries by unfolding flats which are also trackways.  The trackways of the Samur lower to allow vehicles to drive on and off, then raise to a tipped-up position to keep them from dragging in the water. The Samur is MLC 20 and can carry 21 tons at a time by itself; if at least two Saumus are coupled together, load-carrying capacity increases to 70 tons of tracked vehicles and 100 tons of wheeled vehicles or troops.  If used as a bridge, rocket anchors may be shot from all four corners to stabilize it.  Up to 12 Samurs may be joined end-to-end.  When moving on the water, it is propelled by waterjets. The width of the Samur’s trackway is 7 meters. When underwater, the Samur is powered by a bank of lithium batteries that provide the equivalent of 20kW for six hours.

     The Samur is based on a Pars 8x8 APC, but is equipped by Deutz turbocharged diesel with an output of 523 horsepower, coupled to an automatic transmission.  The vehicle has 8x8 suspension, all-wheel drive, and all-wheel steering.  A recovery winch, used mainly to self-recover the vehicle if is bogged down, can pull 60 tons.  The Samur also has central tire regulation.  When floating, the wheels retract into the vehicle, giving the water less to act against and possibly cause it to float away or out of position; they also cause less drag when being used as a ferry.

     There is no armament.  The entire crew is in a cab that is completely sealed and is lightly armored.  The rest of the vehicle is even less armored.  The commander and the bridge operator combine to operate the vehicle while underwater and to prepare the Samur for bridging or ferrying.  The driver operates the vehicle on land, and in water monitors the battery supply. The crew does not have any night vision devices to consult, but NODs are often used by the crew.  The sealed nature of the cab allows for NBC Overpressure, and the Samur has a GPS system with a mapping module, read by a small computer.

*This is the amount of personal gear and other cargo that may be carried, and is apart from the amount that may be carried by the Samur’s trackway.

**The Samur has a floor AV of 4Sp and a roof AV of 4; the roof AV increases to 6Sp when the floats are in travel position.