Georgia unveils new infantry fighting vehicle

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Georgian Defense Ministry has unveiled a domestically designed and produced infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) at the Vasiani military testing grounds, RIA Novosti reported.

The 14-ton Lazika IFV, developed by the DELTA design bureau, features multi-layered armor providing protection from 14.5-mm armor-piercing rounds.

“When manufacturing Lazika, its producers took the experience of international military industry into account,” Georgian Defense Minister Bacho Akhalaia told reporters after testing the vehicle on February 25.

Lasika is equipped with night-vision and thermal-imaging sights. Its armament consists of a 23-mm autocannon and a 7.62-mm machine gun mounted on a remote-controlled weapon platform.

The vehicle has a 3-man crew and can transport seven soldiers with full combat gear.

Lazika is the second combat vehicle developed and produced by Georgian manufacturers. The first vehicle, the Didgori light reconnaissance armored car, was unveiled to the public during a military parade in Tbilisi on May 26, 2011.