On Saturday, April 5, 2025, at the facilities of the Kazakh company Kazakhstan Paramount Engineering (KPE) in Astana — a part of the South African Paramount Group International — a prototype of the Terrex – Barys A 8×8 wheeled amphibious armored personnel carrier was presented. The vehicle is a licensed version of the Terrex II designed by the Singaporean company ST Engineering (STE). It was developed under a strategic cooperation agreement signed on December 6, 2024.
Photo: Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Kazakhstan
The presentation was attended by: Minister of Defence, General Ruslan Zhaksylykov; Deputy Minister of Industry and Construction, Rakymzhan Isakulov; founder of Kazakhstan Paramount Engineering and President of the Association of Defence Industry Enterprises of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Aibek Barys; Vice President of the Association of Defence Industry Enterprises, Kairat Bekturgenev; ST Engineering Land Systems’ Director for International Business, Tan Pek Tong; and others.
“Our army deserves to receive the latest models of weapons and military equipment. This is the requirement set before us today by the Head of State. The army must be professional, mobile, and fully equipped with all modern weaponry,” the Minister of Defence, General Zhaksylykov emphasized.
He added that the new vehicle will soon enter the phase of state trials, which will be conducted in all four seasons and under various terrain conditions.
“KPE’s production capacity allows for up to 500 various armored vehicles per year in a single shift. Moreover, Kazakhstan’s unique geographical conditions, along with our extensive experience in research and operations, enable us — in cooperation with ST Engineering — to supply the country’s Armed Forces with 8×8 wheeled armored vehicles,” said Aibek Barys, Chairman of the Association of Defence Industry Enterprises of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
During the presentation, it was noted that the production of the new vehicles will be launched at KPE’s facilities in Kazakhstan starting in 2025. If the trials are successfully completed, the vehicles will be adopted by the Kazakh Ground Forces (Qazaqstan Qūrlyq äskerlerı) in the future.
According to available information, the Terrex – Barys A has a weight of 30.2 tons and is operated by a crew of two: a commander and a driver (in the combat version, also a gunner). The vehicle can carry up to 12 fully equipped infantry soldiers (or 11 in the combat version). It can reach a speed of up to 89 km/h on paved roads and up to 11 km/h in water using propulsion screws. Its ballistic protection corresponds to Level 3 according to the STANAG 4569 standard, while its mine protection is rated to withstand 10 kg of TNT under the hull.
The Terrex II, first unveiled at the DSEI 2015 defence and security exhibition in London, was offered to the United States Marine Corps (USMC) as a replacement for the tracked AAV-7A1 amphibious assault vehicles (formerly LVT-7) under the Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) program. However, it lost to the proposal submitted by BAE Systems in cooperation with Iveco Defence Vehicles, which offered a new platform based on the joint British-Italian SuperAV/Freccia/Centauro design.
Interestingly, the main competitor to the Terrex II in Kazakhstan was the ARMA 8×8, offered by the Turkish company Otokar Automotive (part of the Koç Group). However, it failed the initial trials due to flooding during a water obstacle test and a subsequent malfunction. Additionally, STE’s industrial offer proved to be more advantageous.