ZAHA belongs to the category of Turkish offensive weapons systems that will be used by Turkish marines to occupy our islands in the Aegean
“The TCG Anadolu armored amphibious assault vehicle is ready,” reads a Turkish media article whose main points are as follows:
“The ZAHA amphibious assault vehicle, which will be deployed on Turkey’s largest military ship TCG Anadolu, which is expected to be in stock by the end of 2022, took its place at the Defense Industry Exhibition organized as part of the Efes- exercise. 2022.
The Defense Industry Exhibition, created as part of the Efes-2022 Interdisciplinary Exercise, Turkey’s largest planned exercise, also hosts the systems to be incorporated by the Turkish Armed Forces from now on.
The exhibition also featured the ZAHA amphibious assault vehicle, which will be deployed at TCG Anadolu
ZAHA, which will be one of the Marine Corps’ biggest helpers when it joins the operational level, catches the eye with its bold appearance, surpassing its US and Chinese counterparts in superior mobility and firepower.
Explaining that ZAHA was developed for the Navy Command as part of the Defense Industries Presidency armored light amphibious assault project, company official Cem Altınışık said:
“These vehicles will be used by the Marines. ZAHA will be deployed on board the TCG Anadolu. Once operational, it will be used by the amphibious brigade. It will become a very important element of the Marines. “There are equivalents in the US and China, but compared to them, ZAHA has a much higher survival capacity and firepower.”
According to information from open sources, the manufacturer FNSS will deliver 27 armored amphibious marine vehicles ZAHA by 2022 to the Turkish Marines
The construction company FNSS made an official statement according to which it will hand over to the Turkish Marines a total of 27 vehicles, of which 23 are personnel carriers, 2 of which are Administration and control vehicles and 2 of which are collection-rescue vehicles.
The armament of the vehicle will consist of a remote control tower with a 12.7 mm machine gun and a 40 mm automatic grenade launcher.
At sea the ZAHA achieves a maximum speed of 13 kilometers per hour, while on land it reaches a maximum speed of 70 kilometers per hour. The personnel carrier will be able to carry a three-member crew driver-crew chief-shooter and a team of 18 soldiers.
During the last 2 years, according to the Turks, many engineering and subsystem tests were successfully completed on the prototype vehicle, where its durability, performance at sea, and performance on land were tested.
ZAHA has higher ballistic protection and mine protection compared to its respective vehicles and is equipped with more advanced equipment, say Turks
Being the fastest amphibious vehicle that entered the stock of the Turkish Armed Forces, ZAIA will have all the characteristics and capabilities of both a military vehicle and a military naval vessel, balancing land and sea requirements.
It follows from the above that with the completion of the delivery of 27 ZAHA to the Turkish Marines at the end of 2022, Turkey will be able to transport about 500 men on one route, ie a Battalion of Marines.
This is a very big threat for our islands in the Aegean and especially for those which are located close to the coasts of Asia Minor, since now ZAHA loaded with marines will be able in a very short time, suddenly and without boarding a ferry or on the multi-purpose amphibious ship “Anadolu”, to attack one or more of our Micronesian islands.
In addition such an amphibious force could be used as an advanced force in the context of amphibious Turkish energy even on our main island.
In conclusion, if we add to the above the numerous Turkish UAVs, the large transport capacity of the Turkish Air Force, the attack helicopters, the 17 Command Brigades, as well as the many artillery and RPG systems of Turkey, the threat is even greater.
Both from the Turkish peacekeeping order of the Turkish Armed Forces and from the weapons systems in general that Turkey is constantly including in its arsenal, it seems that it is trying to reduce the approach time of either Evros or our islands, in a general effort of time deprivation reaction from the friendly sections and achieve surprise.
Greece should seriously consider the above in order to make quick and correct decisions, on the one hand to strengthen the existing weapons systems and means on our islands, and on the other hand to check the credibility of the existing means in dealing with the new threat.
Acquisition and strengthening of existing early warning systems is certainly a top priority, as well as examining the effectiveness of existing instruments.
For example, will the well-known naval “artillery barriers” be effective in dealing with ZAHAs by destroying them or causing casualties to their personnel, or will they pass unharmed?
Is there or is there no immediate need to acquire armed UAVs not only by air but also by sea and land?
These and many other similar questions should be answered by the Greek Armed Forces and in fact immediately
In closing, we simply think about how blatant and hypocritical the Turkish accusations for disarmament of our islands in the Aegean are, when the Turkish Armed Forces are preparing and equipping themselves so diligently to understand them !!!
ZAHA finally belongs to the category of Turkish offensive weapons systems, which will be used by the Turkish Marines in order to try to occupy our islands in the Aegean.
