Omani Land Forces have taken delivery of all 172 Pars III 8x8 and the Pars III 6x6 armored fighting vehicles (AFVs) built by Turkish FNSS Defense Systems.
These armoured vehicles were ordered by Oman in 2015. First batch of the AFVs were shipped two years later.
The FNSS PARS is available in 4×4, 6×6 and 8×8 configurations. The PARS III was primarily designed for the export market.
The Omani military received several versions of the Pars including: 25mm and 30mm turrets and 12.7mm remote-controlled turret vehicles, armored combat vehicles that carry 120mm of mortar, armored reconnaissance and surveillance vehicles, armored command vehicles, armored ambulances, armored rescue vehicles, armored maintenance vehicles, armored fortification chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) defense vehicles and armored combat vehicles from the Turkish company, Daily Sabah reported August 28.
The PARS III 8×8 sold to Oman are equipped with a FNSS Saber-25 power-operated turret armed with a 25mm dual-feed automatic cannon and a 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun. It is also equipped with a laser rangefinder with a range of 8,000 m and fire control system.
The Pars vehicles, including a 6x6 mine-protected model, will also join the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) inventory soon. As part of the project, the first batch of 12 vehicles will be delivered in 2021.