Panthera To Be Delivered To Malbatt 850 Soon

The-then Army chief TS Gen Zamrose Mohd Zain putting the name of the Panthera 4X4, the Malaysian variant of the Ejder Yalcin. Zamrose visited the Nurol Makina factory on December 14 2022. Note the RWS on top of the vehicle. Tentera Darat.

SHAH ALAM: It appears that the 20 Nurol Makina Panthera 4X4 (Ejder Yalcin) ordered for Malbatt 850 will be delivered to Lubnan soon. This is based on a tender for a multi-modal transport operator (MTO) to ship the armoured 4X4s to Lebanon.

The tender was published on May 24 and closes on June 15, a period of 22 days. I am assuming that it will take another one month for the tender board to decide on the winning bidder so it is likely by end of July, that the vehicles could be shipped to Lebanon.

Specifications of the tender called for the Panthera to be shipped from the Nurol Makina factory to the port of Mersin on low loaders. From Mersin, the vehicles will be shipped to Beirut port and later to the Malbatt’s Marakah camp in South Lebanon.

The-then Army chief Gen Zamrose Mohd Zain with the acceptance certificate for the first buil Panthera 4X4 – the name of the Malaysian variant of the Ejder Yalcin – at the Nurol Makina factory on December 14. Tentera Darat

A Google search showed the distance from Mersin to Beirut by sea is just 191 nautical miles (354 km) so it is possible the vehicles could arrive there within 24 hours. The distance from Beirut port to Marakah by road is only 24 km.

Last December Malaysian Defence reported that the Ejder Yalcin will be the Panthera 4X4 following a visit by the then Army chief TS General Zamrose Mohd Zain.

The then Army chief General Zamrose Mohd Zain testing the cockpit of the Panthera 4X4, the name of the Malaysian variant of the Ejder Yalcin – during his visit to the Nurol Makina factory on December 14. The steering column looked pretty low for a vehicle thats 2.3 metres high and 14 tonnes of weight. Tentera Darat.

Anyhow, I was told that the twenty Ejder Yalcin (now renamed as Panthera 4X4 following the visit of Army Chief Gen Zamrose Mohd Zain to the Nurol Makina factory in Turkey on December 14)

Malbatt IAG Guardians armed with 7.62 machine gun during a recent firing exercise in Lebanon. JointForce picture

In that report I also stated that the Army will not be ordering any new Panthera in the near future. I stand corrected though as I was told at LIMA 2023 that the Army is planning to order around 12 more Panthera to increase the fleet to 32. Once these new vehicles are delivered, the Army will withdraw the remaining Condors and the 12 IAG Guardians bought several years back.
Malbatt 850 officials conducting a tour with Mindef of their AOR on Condors in November 2022. JF

The Army will then buy another dozen or so smaller armoured 4X4s to replace the unarmoured Land Rovers in service with Malbatt 850. I was told that a tender for the supply of these smaller armoured 4X4s is expected in the near future.

— Malaysian Defence

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12 Comments

  1. Wonder when will they decide on the Tarantula, Rentaka and the the locally made armored 4×4 variances.

  2. … – “so maintenance could be pooled with the korean contingent”

    On paper yes but in reality the South Korean contingent could well be in another sector plus there will be bureaucratic issues at play.

    … – “The IAG guardians can be bought back to malaysia and passed to Police force”

    Which has a on paper requirement to replace its V-100/50s and Saxons.

    … -“The current cendana auto 4×4 is very dangerous for the soldiers to use”

    Yes but I suppose depending on the threat level they might stay at base; for that matter depending on the threat level troops might not even venture off base too.

    P.S. “Panthera” is less of a mouthful compared to “Ejder Yalcin” but what does it mean.

  3. The cendana auto is a Toyota underneath it’s exterior clothes.

    Why bothered trying to pooled maintenance cost with the Korean contingent for a small number of vehicles and break commonality back at home when Toyota 4×4 is also used by the military & police as well as plenty of certified nor non certified technicians that can worked on a Toyota.

  4. I get that the additional 12 units order is to replace the 12 Guardians but why the replacements at all? These are quite new only lacking the RWS. Like many of the vehicles we sent, I think it will eventually be donated to the Lebanese forces.

    ““Panthera” what does it mean.”
    Panthera is the genus name of the Panther family, basically it mean Harimau Kumbang in our local wildlife context.

  5. Ejder Yalcin means Dragon Falcon in turkish.

    “The cendana auto is a Toyota underneath it’s exterior clothes”
    We should have just used a toyota with toyota clothes for UNIFIL rather than have a toyota with a pretend armored exterior look. Looks tough when used back home, but it is just plain dangerous when used in an actual conflict zone, where belligerents would take pot shots at armored vehicles to scare you.

    Also does the Ejder Yalcin have anything in common back in malaysia? No, so why does the 4×4 small armored vehicle needs to be so?

  6. What is an “actual conflict”? In certain conditions a Merkava might be found wanting. Also as was explained; depending on the actual threat situation troops might not even leave their compound and the Malaysians aren’t the only ones with soft skin vehicles. You will also note that in areas where it’s deemed there’s a higher threat; softskins aren’t used.

  7. IINM, Malbatt got the more docile area of operation so intensive firefights, ie Bakara Market, are unlikely to take place where everything must be clad in Stanag armour.

  8. What protection there is on any vehicle is intended to provide peacekeepers with some level of protection in the event troubles break out and they’re caught in the middle or in the event they’re directly targeted. Traditionally the main threat was seen to be mines and small arms fire.

  9. @ azlan,

    Would you go around patroling in Lebanon wearing airsoft jackets?

    That is what it looks like patrolling using the Cendana Auto vehicles. It looks like a fully armored jeep, but in reality it is just soft skinned.

    Would rather be in a clear-cut civil toyota SUV, rather than something like the Cendana Auto looking like an armored vehicle.

  10. …,

    Thanks for the effort but I didn’t say that vehicles with a certain level of protection aren’t needed or that the Cendana is adequately protected now did I? Nor did indicate that I’d ”go around patroling in Lebanon wearing airsoft jackets” [to quote your goodself].

    As I said : depending on the threat level a certain type of vehicle might be used or troops might not even leave their compound. In reference to your ”actual war” generalisation; even a Merkava might be found wanting in an ”actual war” and our troops are there not for an ””actual war” but under a UN peacekeeping mandate. If the threat level is high then neither our troops or anyone else for that matter would go around in softskins – per UN instructions. It would be nice if every single vehicle had high level of protection but it is what it is…

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