Reconnaissance and fire support are two vital missions for mechanised formations. Several armies developed dedicated vehicles, tracked or wheeled, capable to operate ahead of the main force, or to sustain the force effort by engaging the enemy with overwhelming firepower. At IDEF 2025 FNSS unveiled its concept showcasing the Kaplan FSRV, the acronym for Fire Support and Reconnaissance Vehicle
In the west the British and French armies developed two vehicles, the tracked Ajax and the wheeled Jaguar 6×6, armed with the same gun, the CTA International 40 mm 40CTAS (Cased Telescoped Armament System), the Jaguar being also armed with two MBDA Akeron MP antitank missiles; both are mostly devoted to reconnaissance, but the 40 mm gun definitely gives them a considerable fire support capability. On the other side, looking at Russia, we find the Terminator, a tracked vehicle which has an enormous fire support capability, its role being clear in the BMPT acronym which in Russian language stands for tank support fighting vehicle. It is armed with two 2A42 30 mm automatic cannons, four Ataka-T missiles, and two 30 mm grenade launchers, the massive number of rounds on board, 850 30 mm, 600 30 mm grenades and 2,000 7.62 rounds for the PKTM machine gun, ensuring an overwhelming suppressive fire.
At IDEF a third recce/fire support vehicle adds to the two western ones, FNSS’ Kaplan FSRV. The Ankara-based company exploited some of its most recent developments to give birth to a flexible armoured vehicle that is now being proposed on the market. The two main building blocks are the Kaplan MBT chassis and the Teber-II 30/40 two-man turret.
The Kaplan FSRV is heavily based on the chassis of the Kaplan MT medium tank developed by FNSS, based on the Indonesian Army requirement, and in service with that service. The chassis has the typical tank layout, with the engine at the rear, which increases acceleration performances especially on soft soils, typical of some Far East nations such as Indonesia. This allows to put the driver position at the centre of the glacis, providing him with a good situational awareness right and left. An auxiliary power unit is located in the engine compartment at the rear , and allows to operate in near-silent mode, reducing both acoustic and thermal signature when remaining still for long periods of time in surveillance mode, day and night. The Kaplan chassis is equipped with heavy-duty torsion bar suspensions which ensure good cross-country mobility.
The second element of the new FNSS proposal is the Teber-II 30/40 mm two-man-turret. Its main armament is the Northrop Grumman MK44S, for Stretch, which can be easily converted from the 30 mm calibre to the 40 mm one, switching from the 30×173 mm ammunition to the 40×180 mm round, which HE projectile has a mass twice that of the smaller calibre. Although not much used until now, the 40 mm option ensures considerable growth potential. The turret carries 310 ready-to-fire 30 mm rounds, the dual-feed automatic cannon rate of fire being 200 rounds per minute; the chassis having been designed to carry a 105 mm turret and its rounds, more space is available in the hull to host extra ammunition, depending on customer’s requirement. Stabilised on two axes, the gun elevation goes from -10° to +45°, electric actuators ensuring traverse and elevation angular speed over 60°/s, maximum acceleration being over 1.5 rad/s2. The 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun is located on the right side of the main gun and has 1,200 ready-to-fire rounds. On top of the main gun, we find a 12.7 mm machine gun in a protected enclosure, aligned with the main gun; it is belt-fed from the right, its ammo box hosting 300 rounds.
To deal with armoured targets at long-range the Kaplan FSRV turret is fitted with two missile launchers, one on the right and one on the left; the prototype seen at IDEF was fitted with one-missile launchers, however EDR On-Line was told that twin launchers can also be adopted. Four spare missiles are carried at the rear of the turret; in reality these would be protected from small arms fire by a ballistic shield, which was not fitted at the exhibition to allow visitors to see the four spares. Of course, FNSS is proposing missiles from Roketsan such as the L-UMTAS semi active laser missile or the UMTAS IIR fire-and-forget, both with an 8 km range, or the OMTAS IIR 4 km range missile. However FNSS is ready to integrate other types of missiles, according to customers’ requirements thanks to the turret modularity. The two launchers can operate separately, launching missiles at different elevation angles. Missile launchers can be replaced by loitering munitions, which allow reaching targets at greater distances while providing both lethality and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities.
Other ISR assets can be integrated into the turret according to customers’ requirements; reconnaissance being more and more a multispectral business, beside tube-launched reconnaissance drones the Teber II can also host electronic warfare systems, signal intelligence being key when assessing enemy activities. Cyber protection is of course considered, this being when a complex platform operates with state-of-the art electronic systems, FNSS software engineers having also designed the command and control and the fire control system.
The optronic package is made of a gunner’s sight, the gunner being also equipped with a direct-view optical emergency sight, and of a commander’s panoramic sight. The gunner sight is located on the left while the commander’s panoramic sight is installed on top of the turret in central position. The two sights allow to perform hunter-killer operations, the commander chasing new targets and passing the higher priority one to the gunner. No indication were provided on the type of sights adopted, EDR On-Line understanding that on the prototype these are of foreign origin. Studies are underway to select the most appropriate sights for initial pre-production vehicles. While the gunner’s sight must have a range compatible with the 30 mm operational needs, the commander’s sight might need to see even further, considering the potential reconnaissance mission assigned to the vehicle.
Should the customer require it, the commander’s panoramic sight can be replaced by an overhead remotely controlled weapon station (ORCWS); the one proposed is currently under development at the company Ankara R&D department, and can be armed with a 5.56 mm or a 7.62 mm machine gun, respectively with 800 or 500 ready rounds. It was visible at IDEF as an engineering concept model, on top of the Teber II unmanned turret installed on a Pars Alpha 8×8. The ORCWS can reach +85° elevation, a useful characteristic when operating in urban areas as well as when providing last-ditch defence against drones. As for the optronic package, should the customer want to retain the hunter-killer capability, this would have to be tailored accordingly. Finally, three per three-tubes grenade launchers are fitted on each side of the turret, for a total of 18 40 mm grenades, other solutions being considered depending on the customer. A key issue will be the optronic package, which must be tailored on the main weapon’s range and not on the light machine gun ones, if the customer wants to retain the hunter-killer capability.
All round standard protection is provided by passive armour, which level remains classified. This includes protection against mines and IEDs, as well as ballistic protection. The Kaplan FSRV can be fitted with add-on armour packages to increase protection level, as well as with active protection systems, which allow even greater improvements, especially against missiles and rockets, with a protection/mass balance much more favourable than passive armour. FNSS has already carried out a detailed study to integrate Aselsan’s PULAT on the Kaplan, but the company is ready to do the same for other similar systems. Slat armour can also be installed to deal with RPGs threat. Sensors, such as laser warning and acoustic gunshot detection systems, are also of importance in increasing protection. Here too Turkish solutions are proposed, in the form of the Aselsan’s SPOT acoustic detector, however all these subsystems would be selected by the customer. As standard issue the new FNSS tracked reconnaissance and fire support vehicle is fitted with automatic fire suppression system, CBRN protection system and heater and air conditioning system. The vehicle alternator generates an output of around 500 A, which can eventually be increased, allowing the addition of power-hungry subsystems.
Overall, the combat mass of the Kaplan FSRV is of 30,000 kg, which means a power-to-mass ratio of 22 hp/t, allowing for a maximum speed of 70 km/h on road, with a range of 450 km at cruise speed. The tracked vehicle can climb a 60% gradient and can travel on a 30% side slope, it can overcome a 0.9 metres vertical obstacle, a 2.2 metres wide trench, and ford a water obstacle 1.2 metres deep. Transportable on highways and railways, the Kaplan FSRV can be air transported on board A400M, C-17 Globemaster, C-5 Galaxy, An-124 and Il-76 airlifters.
That of the Kaplan FSRV was a low-risk development as the two elements of the system were already available; the chassis is considered TRL9 as it is in full operational use in Indonesia, while the Teber II TMT is at TRL8. Company mobility and firing tests have been conducted, the vehicle having already been demonstrated to more than one customer.
At Indodefense FNSS exhibited the mock-up of an armoured personnel carrier version of its Kaplan, which obviously has the powerpack at the front, to free space for personnel at the rear, a ramp allowing their access. A model could be seen at IDEF. EDR On-Line understood that some potential customers might prefer an FSRV based on such a chassis, that allow transporting some scouts to be deployed in the last phase of the mission. This variant is currently under development, in cooperation with PT Pindad, a prototype being expected for summer 2026. The Kaplan family is growing rapidly.
Photos courtesy FNSS and P. Valpolini