Otokar Cobra
Channel: Main Battle Tank
Date: 2023-02-20

The Otokar Cobra is an armored car developed for the Turkish Armed Forces. It is specifically categorized as an "Infantry Mobility Vehicle" and intended as a light-class, lightly-armored go-anywhere, do-anything solution for the modernizing Army service. The Cobra sports a high-ground clearance for excellent cross-country capabilities and a V-shaped hull to help deflect blasts from land mines and other hidden explosive threats. The vehicle entered service in 1997 and has already seen combat service in Afghanistan, Georgia and Kosovo as well as locally - pitting Turkish military forces against the PKK.

Two major variants of the Cobra have appeared - the original Cobra vehicle and the updated Cobra II (the latter debuting in 2013). The original fits a General Motors V8 6.5L diesel-fueled, water-cooled turbocharged engine of 190 horsepower while the Cobra II carries a 6.7L, six-cylinder, water-cooled turbocharged engine of 281 horsepower. Both vehicles utilize a Helical coil suspension system and similar forms. Dimensions between the two vary only slightly with the Cobra II being heavier (12,000kg vs 6,200kg) and dimensionally larger (5.6mx2.5mx2.2m) with seating for 2+7 (as opposed to 1+8).

The Cobra can reach out to ranges of 752 kilometers whereas the Cobra II mark maxes out at 700 kilometers. Road speeds are 115 kmh versus 110 kmh respectively. An amphibious capability is built into each vehicle with propellers fitted to the far rear corners of the hull.

Armament options are variable but the vehicles are traditionally fitted with a roof-mounted turret showcasing a 7.6mm or 12.7mm/14.5mm machine gun and/or a 40mm Automatic Grenade Launcher (AGL).

The base vehicle design forms the basis for other needed battlefield forms including ambulance, observation vehicle and Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) carrier.

To date (2017), the Cobra has proven popular as an export product with operators in Azerbaijan, Algeria, Bahrain, Bangaldesh, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Maldives, Mauritania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Nigeria, Pakistan, Slovenia, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The United Nations has also utilized the type. A small collection fell to ISIS forces in Syria and have been used against their former operators.