Eland Mk7 | |
---|---|
Type | Armoured car |
Place of origin | South Africa |
Service history | |
In service | 1962–1994 (South Africa)[1] 1967–present (other)[2] |
Used by | See Operators |
Wars | |
Production history | |
Designer | Sandock-Austral |
Designed | 1962[3] |
Manufacturer | Sandock-Austral Reumech OMC |
Produced | 1964[3] – 1986[4][5] |
No. built | 1,600[6] |
Variants | See Variants |
Specifications | |
Mass | 6 tonnes (6.6 short tons; 5.9 long tons)[7] |
Length | 5.12 m (16 ft 10 in)[7] |
length | 4.04 m (13 ft 3 in) (hull)[7] |
Width | 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)[7] |
Height | 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in)[7] |
Crew | 3 (commander, driver, gunner)[8] |
Main armament | 90mm Denel GT-2 (29 rounds) OR 60mm K1 mortar (56 rounds) |
Secondary armament | 2x 7.62mm M1919 Browning machine guns[9] (2400 - 3800 rounds)[8] |
Engine | Chevrolet 153 2.5 L (150 in3) inline 4-cylinder water-cooled petrol[9] |
Transmission | 6-speed manual constant mesh[8] |
Suspension | Independent 4X4; active trailing arms[8] |
Ground clearance | 380 mm (1 ft 3 in)[8] |
Fuel capacity | 142 L (38 US gal)[8] |
Operational range | 450 km (280 mi)[7] |
Maximum speed | 100 km/h (62 mph)[6] |
The Eland is an air-portable[10] light armoured car based on the Panhard AML.[9] Designed and built for long-range reconnaissance,[11] it mounts either a 60mm (2.4 in) breech-loading mortar or a Denel 90mm (3.5 in) gun on a very compact chassis.[9][12] Although lightly armoured, the vehicle's permanent 4X4 drive makes it faster over flat terrain than many tanks.[13]
The Eland was developed for the South African Defence Force (SADF) in South Africa's first major arms programme since World War II, with prototypes completed in 1963.[14] By 1991, 1,600 examples had been built for home and export;[6] prominent foreign operators included Morocco and Zimbabwe.[2] Local overhauls incorporating lessons from internal operations have resulted in a vehicle capable of withstanding the unforgiving Southern African environment and highly mobile operational style of the SADF.[8]
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