- Yes
- No
Marder 1A3 SLM
History:
In 2008, Chile acquired a first batch of 146 Marders 1A3 that belonged to the German Army. Later, more of these vehicles were purchased from Germany, reaching a total of 270 Marders 1A3, thus making Chile one of the few countries that acquired the Marder and the second largest user of this vehicle in the world only behind Germany.
In Chile it is used as the perfect companion for the Chilean Leopards 2A4CHL as it provides them with fire support against enemy infantry, vehicles or helicopters that may be a threat to the Chilean Leopards. These vehicles are located in the north of the country, which is a desert setting, so they are seen using camouflage for that environment.
The FAMAE project
In 2022, a prototype of a Marder 1A3 from Chile carrying a 70 mm rocket launcher manufactured by the national company FAMAE was presented during Fidae (International Air and Space Fair). The rocket launch system is called SLM Tralcan, which consists of a 70 mm rocket launcher capable of carrying up to 20 ready-to-fire rockets. For this, the turret equipped with a 20 mm MK 20 Rh 202 cannon was removed and was replaced with the rocket launcher designed and built by FAMAE which is a public institution dedicated to the manufacture of weapons for the Chilean Army. The rocket launcher container is capable of moving vertically allowing the range of the rockets to be modified and can rotate 360° as it did originally with the 20 mm machine gun.
The prototype that was presented at Fidae 2022 allowed you to see the vehicle up close and even see it inside where you could see a rack for 20 more 70 mm rockets ready to be recharged in the launcher, so the total number of rockets available amounted to 40 which is a number to consider, these rockets are manually reloaded by the crew member in charge of reloading the ammunition.
The SLM Tralcan is integrated into the Nekulpan Fire Control System, a solution developed by Famae and the Chilean company Desarrollos de Automación (Desa) for the LAR 160 Rocket Artillery System (SAC).
Detail of the Tralcan 70mm rocket launcher
Interior of the Marder 1A3 SLM, you can see the extra rocket container
The 70mm Tralcan rocket
The prototype was seen carrying the 70 mm Tralcan rockets also developed and built by Famae, these rockets are ground-to-ground type and can be used with HE anti-tank, HE anti-personnel, smoke white phosphor, impact marker or lighting warheads, they have a thrust of 7500 N (1686 pounds-force) and a total impulse of 6350 Ns and a maximum range of 10 kilometers, thus having similar characteristics to the Hydra 70 rocket.
70 mm Tralcan container, on top of it you can see some rockets that he can use
Specifications:
- Crew:
- 3 (Driver, gunner and commander)
- Armament:
- Primary: 70mm Tralcan rocket launcher, 20 Tralcan rockets ready to fire and 20 rockets to recharge inside the vehicle
- Secondary: 7.62 x 51 mm Rheinmetall MG-3 coaxial machine gun and a smoke launcher with six 76 mm grenades, 5,000 7.62 x 51 mm projectiles
- Dimensions:
- Length: 6.8 m
- Width: 3.3 m
- Height: 3 m (above the turret)
- Empty weight: 29.9 tons
- Combat weight: 33.5 tons
- Maneuverability:
- Engine: MTU MB 833 Ea-500 6-cylinder diesel that develops a maximum power of 600 hp at 2,200 rpm
- Transmission: Renk HSWL 194 with four forward and two reverse gears, integral steering and braking system
- Maximum speed: 65 km/hr
- Autonomy: 500 kilometers
- Fuel capacity: 652 liters
- Wading capacity: 1 meter without preparation
- Wading without preparation: 2.25 meters
- Vertical obstacle: 1 meter
- Trench clearance: 2.5 meters
- Slope: 60%
- Side slope: 30%
- Suspension: torsion bars
- Armour:
- Shielding type: steel
- Accessories:
- NBC System: Yes
- Sighting system: PERI-Z11 for anti-tank and anti-aircraft use of the MK 20 Rh 202
- Night vision system: WBG-X thermal camera from Carl Zeiss (today Hensoldt)
- Gun stabilization system: electrohydraulic
Photos:
Videos:
Marder 1A3 SLM during Fidae 2022 (Min. 2:30)
Demonstration of shooting of 70 mm Tralcan rocket launchers mounted on a Leopard 1V from Chile
Sources:
