Sabrah light tank

The Sabrah light tank is series of armored fighting vehicles developed by Elbit Systems to cater to the Philippine Army's light tank/tank destroyer requirement. The tracked light tank configuration is based on ASCOD 2 platform, supplied by Spanish manufacturer GDELS - Santa Bárbara Sistemas. The wheeled light tank configuration is based on the 8×8 Pandur II platform supplied by the Czech manufacturer Excalibur Army. Elbit Systems received a three-year contract worth $172m to supply the Sabrah light tanks to the Philippine Army in January 2021.

Philippines

On 5 March 2024, the Philippine Army's Armor Division formally received and inducted into service nine (9) tracked light tank units at ceremony in its headquarters in Camp O’Donnell, Tarlac. Also inducted during that day were an ASCOD 2 command vehicle, five (5) VBTP-MR Guarani 6x6 armored personnel carriers, and a tractor head truck.

Weighing 30t, the Sabrah light tank series has a modular design. It is equipped with a common 105mm manned turret for both tracked and wheeled configurations. The vehicle’s fully-electric turret drive provides stabilization in both elevation and traverse. The dual-axis high-performance turret provides hunter-killer capability. The tank provides an optimal combination of firepower and maneuverability. It can be configured to provide enhanced lethality.

The Sabrah is fitted with armour protection systems to provide ballistic protection up to NATO STANAG 4569 Level 4. The vehicle can be integrated with active protection systems. It includes the company’s TORCH-X battle management system. The combat-proven armoured vehicle is also installed with electro-optical (EO) sights, fire control systems, and life support systems.

The Sabrah light tank is armed with a combination of an Elbit Systems Land 105mm gun and a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun. In addition, the armament includes eight 76mm smoke grenade launchers and two optional anti-tank guided missiles.

The 105mm/52 caliber coiled barrel, low recoil gun features a thermal shroud for increased probability of hitting the target. The gun is equipped with an integrated muzzle brake system. It fires at a rate of six rounds per minute with an effective range of 3,600m. The gun uses NATO standard ammunition including armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS), high-explosive squash head (HESH), and high-explosive plastic tracer (HEP-T) rounds. The high-explosive multi-purpose tracer (HE-MP-T) M110 round can also be fired from the 105mm gun. It can provide a lethal strike capability with high hit probability and low collateral damage. The ammunition is loaded using an autoloader with the option of manual loading as a backup. The tank has 12 ready-to-use ammunition rounds located in the autoloader drum and an additional 24 stored in the hull.

The coaxial machine gun feeds from a 500 round magazine, with an additional 1,500 rounds stowed in the hull.