Thai marines take delivery of Chaiseri amphibious vehicles

The Royal Thai Marine Corps (RTMC) has taken delivery of new 8×8 amphibious vehicles produced by local firm Chaiseri.

Seven Chaiseri Armoured Wheeled Amphibious Vehicles (AWAVs) were supplied earlier in September to the RTMC following a THB448 million (USD13.5 million) contract awarded to the company in August 2023.

Deliveries were confirmed on 19 September by the Royal Thai Army's (RTA's) Ordnance Materiel Rebuild Workshop Division in Nakhon Ratchasima. The division also said the vehicles recently passed a series of tests conducted by the Royal Thai Navy (RTN).

The division said the Chaiseri AWAVs have been deployed to the RTMC's Assault Amphibian Vehicle Battalion in Sattahip. The battalion also operates US-made AAV7A1 assault amphibious vehicles and amphibious BTR-3E1 infantry fighting vehicles from Ukraine.

Chaiseri unveiled its AWAV at the Defense & Security 2023 exhibition in Bangkok.

The AWAV measures 9.2 m in length, 3.1 m in width, and 3 m in height. Its approximate gross weight is 25.7 tonnes. Its 711 hp engine provides a top speed of 105 km/h on land and 10 km/h in water, and its combat range is 600 km, Chaiseri said.

Firepower on the AWAV is provided by Spanish company Escribano Mechanical and Engineering's (EM&E's) Guardian 1.5 remote weapon station, which incorporates a 12.7 mm machine gun. Secondary armament is 76 mm smoke grenade launchers.

The vehicle can accommodate 11 troops plus three crew (a gunner, commander, and driver). The baseline vehicle configuration is credited with a ballistic protection level of STANAG 4569 Level 3 and Level 3a/3b for mine protection.