- Yes
- No
- Benelux
- France
- Other / Don’t know
- I said no
The Cobra IFV 204GK is a Belgian Cobra IFV/APC fitted with an Oerlikon 204GK 20mm cannon on a GAD-AOA turret.
But what is the Cobra IFV?
The Cobra IFV was a Belgian project built in the late cold war with the aim of building an IFV/APC that was as light and nimble as possible.
To achieve this, the engineers used an electrical transmission, which didn’t take as much space and was lighter than a conventional transmission. Other than the lower weight it allowed the vehicle to have, it also came with several advantages, for example, the handling of the vehicle is much easier and smoother, it accelerated faster than with a mechanical transmission, and it had the same acceleration and top speed in reverse, allowing it to quickly get out of trouble!
As a nice bonus, they were also amphibious! But they were quite slow in the water (5 km/h) so it won’t be very exciting either.
However as you’ve probably guessed by now thanks to some clues like “APC”, “light” and “amphibious”, the armor protection on the Cobra was very low, and could only protect the crew from small-arms fire.
It shouldn’t be too much of an issue, since its very low weight (less than 10 t) and its modern transmission also means that it has a good top speed of 80 km/h, not the best top speed but remember it’s the same top speed in reverse!
Unfortunately, as the Soviet Union collapsed and military budgets dropped worldwide, it did not recieve any orders, as its electric transmission was often deemed too advanced for many armies’ mechanics.
The Cobra IFV was also designed with adaptability in mind, so it came in several variants, most of them suitable for War Thunder!
- Cobra IFV LAU97 - With a LAU97 MLRS
- Cobra IFV 90/46 LWGS - With an ugly little turret
- Cobra IFV MILAN - With a twin MILAN ATGM launcher
→ Cobra IFV 204GK - The one in this suggestion
The ACEC Cobra IFV 204GK
Specifications
Armament:
20 mm Oerlikon 204GK cannon (AKA Oerlikon KAA) (100 rounds belts)
- AP-T - 20 mm RHA at 800 m and 45° (~60 mm at point blank)
- HEI - 10 g Hexal
- HEI-T - 5/6 g Hexal
- SAPHEI - 4/7 g Hexal
- SAPHEI-T - 4/7 g Hexal
Muzzle velocity: 1100-1150 m/s
Vertical guidance: -12 / 70°
Stabiliser: no
Laser rangefinder: no
Thermal sights: no
Armor:
Hull resistant to 14.5 mm AP at 200 m
Mobility:
Cummins VT-190 engine (190 hp)
Max. speed: 80 km/h - 5 km/h in water
Power to weight ratio: 22.35 hp per ton
Crew:
3 (Driver, Co-driver, Gunner)
Dimensions:
Mass: ~8.5 t
Length: 4.52 m
Width: 2.75 m
Height: 1.76 m (without turret)
This Cobra variant has a 20mm autocannon on a fully traversible turret and can elevate to 70°, allowing it to perform an SPAA role. However the turret was traversed manually, so the turret rotation speed could suffer from it, but i don’t have enough information on that to be certain.
This could suit a possible BeNeLux tree nicely, being somewhat similar to the R3 T20 in the Italian tree but bigger, it could also tackle ground units if it needs to. Once again, due to the close relations between France and Belgium, it could also be added to France.
This wouldn’t play any differently than a standard post-war 20mm SPAA, maybe more mobile than some but a simple 20mm autocannon shouldn’t make you feel too comfortable going up against heavy tanks, and remember this also has paper-thin armor!
Sources
Jane’s Armour and Artillery 1985-86
