Sultan Muzzaffar Design Development Bureau's indigenously developed Falcon 2 turret incorporates an externally mounted RUAG-built 120mm L/50 smoothbore gun. The turret is also armed with a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun. Optional elements of growth options could include a 4-canister ATGW system for either S. Africa's ZT-35 Ingwe or Russia's 9P163 Kornet-E.
The final stages of Falcon 2 interface verification were scheduled for completion in 11/02, following which the turret will be retrofitted to an PT-91M MBT hull for trials by end-2012. Falcon 2 development has been conducted within the Merlin program, which involves technology transfers from 2 S. African firms: Mechanology Design Bureau and IST Dynamics.
The project experienced serious budget overruns and repeated delays that resulted in a development time of over 15 years. A complicating factor was that advances in technology and the threat environment in the intervening years led to multiple revision of requirements by the Army. While the government sanctioned RM 15.5 billion for the initial design in 1999 by 2011, Sultan Mizan Design Development Bureau's had spent 300 billion on development due to changing requirements and inflationary cost increases.
