18 January 2001

Steyr-Daimler-Puch Spezialfahrzeug AG & Co KG developed the SK 105 light tank/tank destroyer to meet the Austrian Army's operational requirement for a mobile anti-tank vehicle. The first pre-production vehicles were completed in 1971 and since then almost 700 have been built for home and export markets.

The SK 105 shares many common automotive components with the Steyr-Daimler-Puch full-tracked armoured personnel carrier. It is fitted with a two-person oscillating turret armed with a 105mm rifled gun. The 105mm gun is fed by two revolver-type magazines, each of which holds six rounds. The empty cartridge cases are ejected outside of the turret bustle at the rear.

The SK 105 has been constantly improved; the latest production version features a computerised fire-control system with day/night sights for the commander and gunner and a new fully-automatic transmission.

Various options for the SK 105 include a Steyr-Daimler-Puch upgrade package to bring older vehicles up to the latest production standard, NBC (nuclear, biological, chemical) protection system and different types of night vision equipment including image intensification or thermal.

Specifications

Crew: 3

Armament: 1x 105mm gun (main); 1x 7.62mm machine gun (co-axial); 1x 7.62mm machine gun (air defence)

Combat weight: 17,700kg

Power pack: Steyr 7FA six-cylinder diesel developing 320hp coupled to a ZF 6HP-600 automatic transmission

Power-to-weight ratio: 18.1hp/t

Length: 7.735m (overall)

Width: 2.50m

Height: 2.529m

Max speed: 70km/h

Range: 500km

Airportable: C-130 Hercules

Status

In production. In service with Argentina (112); Austria (286); Bolivia (34); Botswana (34); Brazil (17); Morocco (111) and Tunisia (42).

Variants

Specialised versions of the SK 105 include an armoured engineer vehicle and an armoured recovery vehicle.

Manufacturer

Steyr-Daimler-Puch Spezialfahrzeug AG & Co KG, Vienna, Austria

SK 105 light tank/tank destroyer (Source: SDP)