At the 2024 Singapore Air Show, Singapore Technologies Engineering (ST Engineering, hereinafter referred to as ST Engineering) exhibited its latest "Terrex s5" 8x8 wheeled armored vehicle platform. This is the latest product in ST Engineering’s "Terrex" wheeled armored vehicle family. The "s5" brand in the name represents the five key features of the new platform - intelligence, superiority, sustainability, survivability and serviceability. It is particularly noteworthy that the vehicle uses a parallel hybrid electric drive system (HED), which means that the "Terrex s5" is an advanced hybrid armored vehicle.
"Terrex" family
In 2000, the power division of Singapore Technologies Engineering developed a new generation of 8x8 heavy wheeled armored vehicles with the help of Ireland’s Timoney Company, and reserved space for future derivative vehicles. The project code is "Terrex", which is transliterated as "Terrex". The AV81 prototype was first introduced at the Abu Dhabi Defense Exhibition in 2001. At that time, it still used mechanical spring shock absorbers. It was not until the pre-production AV82 launched in 2005 that a hydropneumatic suspension system was adopted, and the original flat chassis was replaced with a V-shaped mine-proof chassis. In October 2009, the "Terex" armored vehicle passed the final assessment of the Singapore Armament Bureau and was officially finalized and put into production.
The "Terex 1" wheeled armored vehicle has a combat weight of 24 to 26 tons and adopts a common front-power layout. The engine is located on the right front side and the crew compartment is located at the rear of the vehicle. Protection and firepower are popular configurations of the year. The power is the C9 four-stroke turbocharged diesel engine and Allison automatic transmission of Caterpillar Company of the United States. The maximum highway speed reaches 110 kilometers per hour, the maximum highway range is 800 kilometers, the climbing grade is 60%, the trench width is 2.0 meters, and the turning radius is 2.0 meters.
The "Terex 1" wheeled armored vehicle uses a large number of vehicle-mounted integrated electronic systems, which makes the vehicle highly informationized. It is also equipped with a battlefield management system, so that it can be easily integrated into Singapore’s tri-service combat network. The Singapore military has purchased more than 130 vehicles to equip three mechanized infantry battalions and some infantry battalions and guards battalions, becoming the general wheeled armored combat platform of the Singapore Army.
The "Terex 2" wheeled armored vehicle was launched in 2015. It is a new generation product launched by ST Group based on the "Terex 1" and integrating the experience of participating in the US Marine Corps amphibious vehicle demand program bidding. The vehicle has a redesigned, larger body that not only has stronger survivability for the passengers, but also can maintain a high level of amphibious mobility while increasing the payload. It is equipped with a Caterpillar six-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine with an output power of 600 horsepower and an Allison 4500SP six-speed automatic transmission. The maximum speed reaches 90 kilometers per hour and it accelerates from 0 to 50 kilometers per hour within 15 seconds. Two propeller thrusters are used when floating on the water, and the speed can reach 11 kilometers per hour.
The "Terex 2" amphibious armored vehicle has smooth and beautiful lines. The vehicle adopts a double-layer armored steel welded structure. The outline is composed of multiple groups of inclined surfaces. The front of the vehicle body is equipped with wedge-shaped armor. The inclination angle of the upper armor plate is larger, and the front of the vehicle is sharper. It is covered with a large foldable wave-breaking plate. The wave-breaking plate adopts a hollow design, which is conducive to improving the protection of the front of the vehicle after folding. The whole vehicle can defend against 7.62mm bullets at a distance of 30 meters, and the front armor can withstand 12.7mm bullets fired from 150 meters away. A large hydraulically controlled springboard tailgate is installed at the rear of the vehicle, which is the main entrance and exit for personnel. There is a small hatch that opens to the right on the tailgate in case the tailgate cannot be lowered. In addition, there is a rectangular hatch that opens to the rear and upward above the rear of the passenger compartment for passengers to enter and exit in an emergency.
In order to improve the ability to place mines, the "Terex 2" adopts a double V-shaped body design called "v-over-v". The first V-shaped is in the transmission system and suspension system, and the second V-shaped is above the transmission system at the bottom of the vehicle, that is, the passenger compartment and the passenger compartment. When encountering mines and roadside bomb attacks, the first V-shaped can absorb part of the shock wave during the explosion, and the second V-shaped body further attenuates the destructive power of the shock wave, thereby reducing the possibility of casualties. The double V-shaped design allows the Terex 2 to withstand at least 10-12 kg of mine attacks.
Thanks to the previous development and use experience of the Terex 1, the Terex 2 armored vehicle is not a single combat platform, but exists as part of the network-centric warfare system. The purpose of development is not to replace the previous Terex 1 armored vehicle, but as a supplement to improve the armored vehicle equipment system to meet the needs of a wider range. The vehicle has participated in the US Marine Corps Advanced Wheeled Amphibious Armored Vehicle Program and the Australian Department of Defense Land 400 (Phase 2) project bidding, but did not make it to the end.
The Terex 3 is a development of the Terex 2. It is the prototype of the Sentinel 2 (SentinelIl) 8x8 wheeled armored vehicle jointly developed with Israel to participate in the Australian Land 400 (Phase 3) project bidding. The Sentinel 2 is equipped with a two-person turret from Israel’s Elbit, but the Singapore version uses a 30mm unmanned turret. The vehicle has a crew of 3 and can carry 10 people. It weighs 35 tons, is 8 meters long, 3.6 meters wide, and 2.8 meters high. The vehicle size is comparable to that of the Terex 2, but the combat weight has increased by 5 tons, so it has lost its amphibious driving capability.
The Terex 3 is more informationized and equipped with a battlefield management system with a data link. It can be integrated into the combat network of Singapore’s navy, army, and air force, enabling it to exchange information with different military platforms. Its in-vehicle data link can receive images from reconnaissance equipment including the MINI-T reconnaissance system, the "backpack robot" and the "fantail pigeon" drone, which will help enhance the mobility, firepower, protection, and situational awareness of Singapore’s armored forces, and will become a new generation of equipment platform for Singapore’s army armored forces in the future.
The more advanced "Terex S5"
The "Terex S5" launched by ST is based on the "Terex" hybrid demonstrator vehicle displayed at the 2022 Singapore Air Show. According to the promotional materials of ST, the layout of the "Terex S5" is similar to that of the 2022 version of the hybrid demonstrator vehicle, that is, the cockpit is located in the front left of the vehicle body, next to the power compartment, and the commander is behind the driver, and there is also an independent hatch to enter and exit. The gunner and the commander sit side by side, and all the people are in the vehicle body, presenting a 1 front and 2 rear vehicle group layout as a whole.
At the scene, the appearance of the "Terex S5" infantry fighting vehicle is very domineering. It is really tall and big. It is a circle larger than most wheeled armored vehicles currently in service in various countries. It feels that the size is comparable to the German "Boxer Dog". According to the promotional materials, the vehicle is 8.3 meters long, 3 meters wide, and 2.7 meters high. The total mass of the vehicle is 35 tons and can carry an additional load of 13 tons. The crew compartment at the rear of the vehicle can carry 10 fully armed infantrymen. The crew sits face to face in the cabin. The seats are independent and foldable upward suspension seats. The main fabrics of the seat cushions and backrests are leather, and the lining is soft material. It is equipped with seat belts to enhance the comfort of the passengers when the vehicle is driving at high speed. There is no shooting hole in the crew compartment, so the infantry cannot shoot from inside the vehicle. This is because when the vehicle is driving at high speed, the hit rate of the vehicle-borne infantry shooting through the shooting hole is not ideal, and the cancellation of the shooting hole also makes it convenient to add additional armor to the vehicle body, thereby improving the protection.
In terms of power, "Terex s5" adopts a parallel hybrid electric drive system, that is, it has two drive systems, an internal combustion engine and an electric motor. They can work separately or coordinately to drive the vehicle together. It can flexibly adopt three working modes according to driving conditions: engine drive alone, motor drive alone, and engine and motor hybrid drive.
The engine drive system of the vehicle uses a 711-horsepower turbocharged diesel engine, equipped with an Allison 9-speed automatic transmission (7 forward gears, 2 reverse gears), and then transmits power to 4 drive axles through the transfer case to achieve 8x8 all-wheel drive. The electric drive system is installed by The lithium battery energy storage system on the left side of the vehicle body, the battery monitoring system (BMS), the high-power engine driven by the diesel engine and the traction motor installed on the three rear drive axles of the vehicle body. In addition to driving the vehicle, this electric drive system can also power external devices and provide a maximum output power of 45kW.
When the engine output is matched with the motor drive, the maximum output power of the "Terex S5" can reach 1200 horsepower, and the wheel torque is also greatly enhanced. It can not only drive this 35-ton armored vehicle at a speed of 120 kilometers per hour for road maneuvers, but also greatly improve the off-road passing ability on unpaved roads. The pure electric driving range of the "Terex S5" armored vehicle is 50 kilometers, and the comprehensive driving range is 1000 kilometers.
Compared with traditional power, the hybrid electric drive "Terex S5" has many advantages in vehicle operation and sustainability, including the ability to switch to pure electric mode for silent maneuvers when approaching the "last mile" distance of the target. It can also run on-board equipment with the engine turned off to provide long-term silent monitoring. Other advantages include increasing the combat radius and providing "external" power to friendly forces, which can charge drone equipment and unmanned ground combat vehicles.
To improve situational awareness, the "Terex S5" is equipped with high-sensing CCD white light or infrared cameras in the center of the front of the vehicle, on both sides of the upper middle of the vehicle body, and at the rear of the vehicle, so that the crew can still obtain all-round battlefield information outside the vehicle when driving with the windows closed. Functions include bird’s-eye view, object orientation and distance detection, which are displayed on the large screen inside the vehicle, combined with automatic target detection and tracking (ATDT) to classify targets.
In order to allow the infantry on board to understand the battlefield situation in real time, "Terex S5" has installed a large-screen LCD display on the front wall of the passenger compartment, which can display information from the vehicle and superiors or other platforms to the passengers. In addition, the driver is also equipped with a digital touch-screen console that can provide information such as vehicle driving status, road conditions, and fault detection; the commander is equipped with an advanced communication system, 2 multi-function liquid display and control panel, and there is also a multi-function joystick on the right side of the commander’s cabin, which can receive data, voice and video information and instructions from superiors or other platforms in real time, greatly reducing the burden of operation and command, and the information level of the whole vehicle has reached the world’s most advanced level.
Demonstration model and subsequent development
The Terex S5 demonstrator on display at the air show is an infantry fighting vehicle configuration, equipped with the "Snake RWS 30" unmanned turret system newly developed by ST. This turret weighs less than 2 tons, and its armor provides the highest STANAG 4 level kinetic protection. It is equipped with a 30mm cannon and a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun, with an elevation angle of -20 to +60 degrees, can carry 250 rounds of 30mm ammunition, and has optional anti-tank missiles (ATGM) and counter-UAV measures (C-UAS) upgrades. This "Terex S5" demonstrator is also equipped with various digital warfare technologies, such as a drone delivery device installed on the left rear side of the vehicle body, and the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning to assist its operation. On the right rear side of the vehicle, the "Terex S5" demonstration vehicle is also equipped with a command-type ST Engineering A480 satellite antenna.
In addition to the "Terex S5" model displayed on site, from the on-site promotional brochure, ST also plans to launch a variety of derivatives based on the "Terex S5" platform, including a command type with a satellite antenna and a remote weapon station, an anti-armor type with an anti-tank missile weapon station, a mortar carrier with a 120mm Super Rapid Advanced Mortar System (SRAMS), an amphibious type with a floating kit, and a new 105mm unmanned turret fire support type, etc.
However, there is not much information about this 105mm fire support type "Terex S5" wheel version. According to the information released by the Shinco company, the turret of the "Terex S5" fire support type is unmanned, the crew is located inside the vehicle body, and a large-sized turret with a 105mm tank gun is installed on the top. The gun has a muzzle brake and is equipped with a stealth-designed thermal jacket. The rear of the turret is protruding, which should be an automatic loading system. The commander’s panoramic sight system is on the right, and a twin anti-tank missile (ATGM) launcher is hung on the far right. There is a hatch on the left side of the turret for access and maintenance, and the gunner’s optoelectronic sighting system is on the left front. Smoke bombs are placed on both sides of the gun shield, and the anti-UAV system (C-UAS) newly developed by Shinco is also embedded in the front of the tail compartment. The system can shoot out interference strips to intercept approaching small drones, preventing the vehicle from being attacked by small drones or flying drones.
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