The Didgori-II ( ka, დიდგორი-II) is an armoured multi-role and special operations vehicle produced by
STC Delta
, type = State-owned enterprise
, industry = Defense
, founded =
, founder =
, hq_location_city = Tbilisi
, hq_location_country = Georgia
, area_served = Worldwide
, key_people ...
. It was developed in 2009 alongside the
Didgori-1
The Didgori-1 ( ka, დიდგორი) is a Georgian-made armoured personnel carrier developed by the " Delta" research center of the Ministry of Defence and part of the Didgori-series APC family currently constructed in five baseline variants ...
using the same internal features with some additional functions. The
armoured personnel carrier
An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world.
Acc ...
is thought to provide transport, enhanced visibility and firepower support for infantry troops and
Special Forces
Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...
in various missions including reconnaissance and convoy protection.
Specifications and mobility
The Didgori is assembled on and around the chassis of US
Ford Super Duty
The Ford Super Duty (short for F-Series Super Duty) is a series of heavy-duty pickup trucks produced by the Ford Motor Company since the 1999 model year. Slotted above the consumer-oriented Ford F-150, the Super Duty trucks are an expansion of t ...
F-550 heavy duty pickup trucks with V8
Power Stroke Turbo Diesel engines and power assisted hydraulic steering. The product basis choice has proven very effective during trials and in the field on various types of terrain.
The max. speed on paved roads is 120–140 km/h and reduced to 80 km/h on terrain. Acceleration from 0–100 km/h is achieved in 22 seconds. The cruising range at 60 km/h is 500 km. Each unit has at least one 20 litre fuel can in reserve. The vehicle can operate at temperatures ranging from -32 °C to +55 °C and remains unaffected by heavy meteorological conditions. The wheels consist of Hutchinson 12r20 mpt80 type tyres which have a run flat capability of 50 km at 50 km/h.
The Didgori has 400 mm ground clearance and is able to climb slopes at a 60% gradient and drive sideways along a slope at a 40% gradient. The vehicle base version is not amphibious - although such a variant is an option, but can move in up to 1 m deep water.
Saudi Arabian trials
On 27 August 2014, Georgia participated with a MedEvac prototype in a tender for armoured personnel carriers hosted by the Ministry of Defence of Saudi Arabia. The tests were carried out mostly in the Arabian desert but also urban areas and included movement on different altitudes - mountains, various types of terrain and gradients, weather conditions, under extreme stress and maximum weight burden at top speed. The trials culminated in a 40 km simulated fully loaded evacuation at maximum speed.
The Didgori passed every test with very good results and made it to the finals alongside the American
Lenco BearCat
The Lenco BearCat is a wheeled SWAT vehicle designed for military and law enforcement use. It is in use by several military forces and law enforcement agencies around the world.
History
Since 1981 the Massachusetts-based Lenco Industries, known ...
after eliminating four other competing vehicles, including the American
Oshkosh M-ATV
The Oshkosh M-ATV is a Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle developed by the Oshkosh Corporation for the MRAP All Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV) program. Intended to replace M1114 HMMWVs (Humvee), it is designed to provide the same levels of p ...
. Even though the Didgori also showed better results than its American finalist counterpart in every aspect, the winner was not announced earlier than January 2016, after months of consulting and evaluation. The Saudi Arabian tender was a very important event to test the vehicle's capabilities in extreme conditions, particularly in a desert environment.
DELTA consequently made necessary adjustments and changes for both its export and home products.
Electronic equipment
Every base variant is equipped with thermal imaging and night vision
FLIR Systems
Teledyne FLIR LLC (an acronym for "forward-looking infrared"), a subsidiary of Teledyne Technologies, specializes in the design and production of thermal imaging cameras and sensors. Its main customers are governments and in 2020, approximately 3 ...
attached to the front and rear end, as well as underneath the hull on each side. Information from the cameras is displayed on three monitors: one for the driver, one for the commander and one for the passengers. A special navigation system GPS is installed on the vehicle in order to provide additional information via short message service (SMS) to the crew. The system works in any meteorological condition contrary to other GPS systems.
According to the developer, the vehicle can operate at full capacity in an environment with temperatures ranging from -32 °C to +55 °C without damaging the electronics. All systems operate on 24V DC on a 200 amp alternator with a 78amp/hr battery. The vehicle has no standard issue radio mount thus can be equipped according to army requirements or customer preferences.
Armament
The standard main armament consists of a M134 minigun mount, open turret drive shafts rotational unit - external or air flow. The firing rate can be adjusted from 300 to 6,000 rounds per minute. Total mount weight is 22.7 kg without the ammunition feed system. Primary ordnance is the
7.62×51mm NATO. Ammunition capacity can range from 1,500 (total weight 58 kg) to 4,500 (total weight 134 kg) rounds. Optionally the standard armament can be a
12.7×108 mm DShK
The DShK 1938 (Cyrillic: ДШК, for russian: Дегтярёва-Шпагина Крупнокалиберный, Degtyaryova-Shpagina Krupnokaliberny, links=no, "Degtyaryov-Shpagin large-calibre") is a Soviet heavy machine gun with a V-shaped but ...
or
NSV machine gun
The NSV (Russian НСВ Никитина-Соколова-Волкова), also known as the «Utyos» (Project: ''Lonely Cliff''), is a 12.7mm caliber heavy machine gun of Soviet origin, named after the designers, G. I. Nikitin (Г. И. Ник ...
.
The latest variants have DRWS-1 remote weapon stations equipped with twinned 12.7 mm machineguns and one 7.62 mm lmg attached. Alternatively grenade launchers,
ATGM
An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armored military vehicles. ATGMs range in size from shoulder ...
s and short range low-altitude air defence weapons can be fitted on the vehicle.
Protection
Depending on build and in combination with the vehicle's angled design, which is described as monocoque, Didgoris can offer either STANAG 4569 level II or level III protection against small arms fire, including 7.62x39 mm and 7.62x54 mm AP / steel core rounds. The engine and crew compartment areas are encased in double armour layers and withstand mines and other explosives in accordance with STANAG 4569 Level 2A.
A 28 minute long combat footage from 2016 in Yemen demonstrated that a Didgori was capable of withstanding direct hits from
rocket-propelled grenade
A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) is a shoulder-fired missile weapon that launches rockets equipped with an explosive warhead. Most RPGs can be carried by an individual soldier, and are frequently used as anti-tank weapons. These warheads are a ...
s and machine gun fire, which forced the ambushing Houthi fighters to get very close to the vehicle in order to destroy it. The Didgori reportedly remained operational after it was caught in a mine detonation. However its front suspension eventually broke off from the chassis when hurriedly trying to leave the battlefield on jumpy terrain, likely as a result of the sustained blast damage.
The crew seats are specially designed to disperse blasts. Didgoris are equipped with
run-flat tire
A run-flat tire/tyre is a pneumatic vehicle tire that is designed to resist the effects of deflation when punctured, and to allow the vehicle to continue to be driven at reduced speeds - under – and for limited distances – usually , dependin ...
s, enabling them to drive on with damaged tires a distance of 50 km at 50 km/h maximum speed. Additionally, a
central tire inflation system can be installed to further increase their survivability. All four wheel flanges are ballistic.
The exact composition of the armour material is classified.
Variants
![Didgori Family Vehicle Operators](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Didgori_Family_Vehicle_Operators.svg)
* Armoured personnel carrier
* Patrol, convoy protection
* Command / Communications Vehicle
* Armoured MedEvac
* Mortar carrier
* Reconnaissance vehicle
Civilian use
A number of unarmed variants of the Didgori are deployed in several regions of Georgia as cloud dispersal units which have DELTA manufactured "CD-56" hail suppression system mounted on them. They are linked to regional weather surveying spheres automatically initializing hail suppression procedures if a hailstorm is imminent.
A customized version of the Didgori-II is also featured in the 2021 movie Fast & Furious 9.
Operators
* - 40 Didgoris were acquired by the
Georgian Defense Forces in 2020.
* - 10 recon and 2 medical evacuation vehicles.
* - Up to 100 Didgoris are in service of the
Saudi Arabian Army
Royal Saudi Land Forces ( ar, القُوَّاتُ البَرِّيَّةُ المَلَكِيَّة السُّعُودِيَّة, Al-Quwwat al-Bariyah al-Malakiyah as-Su'udiyah) is the land warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of Saudi Arab ...
. The AMEV modification took part in an extensive two year-long Saudi Arabia tender, eliminating eight foreign competitors and their counterparts in the process - including US and Poland. As a result, a USD 40 million contract was signed in 2015 for more than 100 vehicles of various configurations. The first batch - 12 vehicles, exclusively for medevac purposes, has been delivered in January 2016. Three Didgoris were lost in the
Yemen conflict since 2016.
* - An undisclosed number of the AMEV BISON variant were delivered to the Indonesian
Mobile Brigade Corps
The Mobile Brigade Corps ( id, Korps Brigade Mobil) abbreviated Brimob is the special operations, paramilitary, and tactical unit of the Indonesian National Police (Polri). It is one of the oldest existing units within Polri. Some of its main ...
in 2019 and 2020.
Gallery
File:Didgori-2 APC.jpg
File:Didgori mini.jpg
File:Didgori_APC,_rear_view.jpg
File:Didgori-2 later.jpg
File:Didgori-2 interior.jpg
File:Didgori Command and Communications vehicle 02.jpg
File:Stcdeltaeurosatory2018-2.png
File:Didgori meomari stc delta (2).jpg
File:Didgori meomari wiht 120 mm mortar module.jpg
See also
*
Didgori-1
The Didgori-1 ( ka, დიდგორი) is a Georgian-made armoured personnel carrier developed by the " Delta" research center of the Ministry of Defence and part of the Didgori-series APC family currently constructed in five baseline variants ...
*
VPK-3927 Volk
The VPK-3927 Volk (russian: Волк; English: "Wolf") is a Russian 4×4 multipurpose military armoured vehicle, manufactured by Military Industrial Company. The Volk family developed modifying a previous model by Military Industrial Company, t ...
*
Oshkosh L-ATV
The Oshkosh L-ATV (Light Combat Tactical All-Terrain Vehicle) is a light utility/combat multi-role vehicle that won the US military's Army-led Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) program. In the very early stages of the program it was suggested t ...
*
GAZ Tigr
*
Otokar Cobra
The Cobra is a family of armored vehicles produced by Otokar of Turkey. It is produced in two generations.
The Cobra ( tr, Kobra) is an armoured tactical vehicle developed by Turkish firm Otokar.
Durability
The monocoque steel v-hull provides pr ...
*
HMMWV
The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV; colloquial: Humvee) is a family of light, four-wheel drive, military trucks and utility vehicles produced by AM General. It has largely supplanted the roles previously performed by the ori ...
*
Lazika
The LAZIKA ( ka, ლაზიკა) is a proposed Georgian Infantry fighting vehicle, developed by the Scientific Technical Center STC Delta and funded by the Georgian military. One of its main characteristics is the relatively thick armor compa ...
References
External links
Ministry of Defence of GeorgiaArmored Personnel Carrier / APC - ''Didgori''TAM of Georgia
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017
Military equipment of Georgia (country)
Armoured personnel carriers of Georgia (country)
Wheeled armoured personnel carriers
Military vehicles introduced in the 2010s