Talha is an armoured personnel carrier (APC) designed and manufactured in Pakistan by APC Factory of Heavy Industries Taxila (HIT). The vehicle is based on the M113-A2-Mk.1 APC. The Pakistan Army plans to deploy 2,000 Talha APCs by year 2010. TALHA is an all terrain, amphibious infantry support vehicle with 12.7 mm machine gun as its main armament. Adequate crew compartment space provides excellent crew comfort. Survivability is enhanced through use of external fuel tanks. Various forms of bolt-on armour can be added to increase armour protection of the vehicle. History The decision to develop the Talha was made after U.S. sanctions imposed on Pakistan made it impossible for HIT to continue manufacturing the M113. The Talha's design is based on the M113, one notable difference being the positions of the engine and driver station. The Al-Talha is being marketed for export and was displayed at the IDEAS 2002 defence exhibition, Karachi, in 2002. In November 2004 an Iraqi delegation ordered 44 Talha APCs. Engine There is a flexibility in the design that the Engine compartment can accommodate power pack with 275 HP Detroit Diesel 6V53T turbocharged engine or 330 HP UTD-20, a Ukrainian engine Operators Current operators Pakistan Army: 400+ in Service; Total 2,000 planned to be deployed. Iraqi Army: 44 delivered by Pakistan in 2006. Civilian operators Sindh Police: 40 delivered by Wah Ordnance Factory in 2012. Variants Maaz - Fitted with Baktar-Shikan anti-tank missile firing unit Mouz - Fitted with RBS 70 surface-to-air missile firing unit Sakb - Command post vehicle Al Qaswa - Logistics & cargo vehicle APC Saad APC Saad is a stretched 6 road wheel variant of Talha. Further variants of Saad: Al-Hadeed - Armoured recovery vehicle Al-Hamza - Infantry fighting vehicle See also Armoured personnel carrier Heavy Industries Taxila Armoured personnel carrier Related development M113 Related lists List of modern armoured fighting vehicles References Science and technology in Pakistan Armoured fighting vehicles of Pakistan Armoured fighting vehicles of the post–Cold War period Tracked armoured personnel carriers