The first engine start of the Utku Power Group, developed for the new generation light armored vehicles, was carried out.
Mesude Kılınç, PDI Head of Engine and Transmission Systems Department, gave important information about the Utku Power Group, which was developed for the new generation light armored vehicles, at the Defence Technologies 2021 event organized by the Istanbul Technical University Defence Technologies Club.
Mesude Kılınç stated that Utku Power Group’s engine was started for the first time and that engine test activities were started. Stating that the transmission will be started in the near future, Kılınç said that the test activities will continue until 2023. For Utku Power Group, the contract was signed in 2017, while the system acceptance is expected to be completed in 2023.
Mesude Kılınç said “We care about the localization of critical subsystems. Although it increases the difficulty of these projects, we attach great importance to the localization of these critical subsystems for both the establishment of our infrastructure and the continuation of our work in these projects.”. In this context, Kılınç emphasized that many critical subsystems of the engine and transmission have been developed domestically. Domestically developed critical subsystems are as follows;
- Turbocharger
- Electronic Engine Control Unit
- Torque Converter
- Hydro-Static Steering Unit
- Electronic Transmission Control Unit
- Transmission Brake System
Power Group Development Projects
Within the scope of the Power Group Development Projects, two different Power Groups are being developed for the New Generation Light Armored vehicles and the ALTAY Main Battle Tank. Within the scope of the New Generation Light Armored Vehicle (YNHZA) Power Group (UTKU Project), a suitable power group is designed for tracked light armored combat vehicles up to 40 tons. This power group; consists of a cross drive, “T” connection type transmission with steering and braking functions, integrated cooling package, air filtration system and exhaust system from an 8-cylinder, V-type, turbodiesel, water-cooled engine with a maximum power of at least 675 kW (920-1000 HP) and a maximum torque of at least 2700 Nm.