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The IFV-6c Panther is a tracked Armoured Personnel Carrier used exclusively by NATO forces in ArmA 3.

Overview[]

  • Roles:
    • Troop transport
    • Fire support
« While both IFV-6c Panther and IFV-6a Cheetah are based on the Israeli armored personnel carrier chassis, they serve different roles in combat. The Panther is an APC that boasts strong armor to achieve maximal protection for the transported crew. The standard Panther is armed with an RCWS HMG, 40 mm GMG and smoke grenades and it can take up to 8 soldiers in its cargo area. The Cheetah is a dedicated AA vehicle. The cargo space is taken up by ammunition storage and vehicle is armed with two 35 mm autocannons, four long range surface-to-air missiles and smoke grenades. The CRV (Combat Recovery Vehicle) variant of the IFV-6 also exists and is used by BLUFOR, designation CRV-6e Bobcat.
Field Manual
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Design[]

The Panther is a heavily armoured troop carrier that is designed to be modular. Its chassis can be modified in order to be adapted for use in other roles, though its primary purpose remains transporting troops into or out of combat.

Armament
It is fitted with an RCWS turret that is armed with a dual-mount 12.7 mm heavy machine gun and 40 mm automatic grenade launcher.

The turret's HMG feeds from a single 200-round belt and has a further 3 belts in reserve for a combined total of 800 rounds. The GMG on the other hand, is pre-loaded with a 96-round belt with 40 mm grenades fitted with high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warheads. Unlike the HMG, the GMG only has a single belt that it can reload from.

Arma3-panther-00

Heavily protected but lightly armed, the Panther works best in conjunction with infantry support.

Features
Sharing the same chassis as its anti-aircraft and recovery vehicle variants, the Panther is well-armoured and can sustain a reasonable amount of punishment before it is rendered immobile.

Provided that it does not strike the roof or rear, the Panther is capable of withstanding a direct hit to its frontal hull from a Titan missile. Though the Panther will obviously take heavy damage from such a strike, the crew and passengers will at least be able to dismount and flee to safety.

As it uses tracks instead of wheels for locomotion, it is slightly less susceptible to being immobilised by hits from kinetic and explosive munitions. For instance, a Panther's crew have a better chance of being able to keep manoeuvring their vehicle even when its treads are damaged by heavy munitions. Such hits would have otherwise burst the tyres of vehicles like the CSAT MSE-3 Armoured Personnel Carrier or NATO's own Marshall Infantry Fighting Vehicle.

Arma3-panther-02

Mediocre mobility and firepower; both weaknesses turns Panther APCs into easy prey for ATGMs and autocannons.

Drawbacks
Being a true APC as opposed to its (roughly analogous) tracked CSAT counterpart, the Panther is armed with just a 12.7 mm HMG/40 mm GMG combo which limits the crew to being able to provide only light fire support for its dismounts.

Against anything other than infantry and light vehicles, this armament poses little threat and its armour plating will not stop enemy tanks from crippling or outright destroying the Panther. It also cannot be fitted with slat cages unlike its wheeled CSAT counterpart, which renders it vulnerable to barrages of non-AP rockets and other explosive-based munitions.

Lastly, Panthers are not amphibious and are too heavy to be airlifted by Blackfish VTOLs and Huron transports. Unlike Marshall IFVs, options are limited for Panther crews when it comes to getting to an AO quickly.

Crew Capacity
The Panther has a seating capacity of eleven personnel including the crew. The crew includes the driver, gunner and commander. Similar to all vehicles in its family (along with the Slammer), passengers mount and dismount via a small door located at the rear of the vehicle instead of using a conventional ramp.

Camouflage[]

  • Sand: Standard pattern-less dark tan paint scheme used by all NATO ground vehicles and certain aircraft. This can be universally employed in all types of terrain, but is more suited to arid and forested environments. Any camo nets fixed onto the Panther's hull will use a two-tone desert camouflage pattern scheme.
  • Olive: Tropical olive green paint scheme. Only useful for jungle or woodland environments. Camo nets attached to the Panther use a two-tone woodland camouflage pattern when this scheme is applied.

Protection[]

The Panther has a base armour value of 500 and uses Composite Armour plating. It cannot be fitted with slat cages or Explosive Reactive Armour blocks/panels.

The following highlighted positions serve as weak points on the Panther:

Arma3-panther-hitpoints

LEGEND
Green = Hull
Orange = Engine
Violet = Fuel tanks
Light blue = Treads

Note that in order to inflict actual damage, a munition must first penetrate through the surrounding armour plates and directly hit the component's weak point. Any strikes on non-highlighted parts will cause little (if any) noticeable damage.


Hull[]

The hull can resist up to 800 points of damage. Will cause a catastrophic kill if fully depleted.

Munition type Damage reduction (%) Velocity reduction (%)
Armour Piercing None 10
High-Explosive 80* 50
High-Explosive Anti-Tank 80* 80
Tandem High-Explosive Anti-Tank 80* 10

(*) Reductions only apply to the explosive component of the munition i.e. Tandem HEAT explosive charge

If the hull has been compromised, no reductions will be applied to the velocity/raw damage of incoming projectiles.

Engine[]

The engine is able to take just 150 points of damage before it fails. It takes 20% less damage from high-explosive (HE) type munitions.

At least 50% of damage inflicted upon the engine will always be shared with Panther's main "health" pool. Its destruction can potentially cause a catastrophic kill if the Panther is near critical "health" status.

If damaged: Reduces power output, acceleration is decreased and it may become impossible to climb uphill.
If destroyed: Instantly immobilises the Panther.

Fuel tank[]

The fuel tanks are able to withstand up to 250 points of damage before they rupture. They take 40% less damage from HE-type munitions.

At least 30% of incoming damage will be shared with the Panther's "health" pool. Destroying the fuel tanks will not cause a catastrophic kill unless the Panther is critically damaged.

If damaged: Gradually leak fuel over time, stopping at a threshold of 70% of the Panther's remaining fuel capacity.
If destroyed: Rapid fuel loss; the entire tank will be drained over the course of several seconds.

Treads[]

Both treads can resist 650 points worth of damage. No amount of damage inflicted on them is shared with the Panther's "health" pool. They take 20% less damage from HE-type munitions.

Destroying either one of the treads will hamper the Panther's handling but will not prevent it from moving entirely. However, the loss of even one is enough to severely degrade the Panther's handling, and can prevent it from moving altogether while driving on rough terrain.

RCWS[]

The RCWS turret can resist up to 250 points worth of damage. No amount of damage incurred is shared with the Panther's main "health" pool.

Munition type Damage reduction (%) Velocity reduction (%)
Armour Piercing None 10
High-Explosive 60* 50
High-Explosive Anti-Tank 60* 80
Tandem High-Explosive Anti-Tank 60* 10

(*) Reductions only apply to the explosive component of the munition i.e. Tandem HEAT explosive charge

If the RCWS turret's armour plating has been compromised, no reductions will be applied to the velocity/raw damage of incoming projectiles.

Commander viewfinder[]

The commander's viewfinder can only take 50 points of damage. It has no resistance to damage from HE-type munitions and can be disabled by small arms fire. No amount of damage is transferred onto the Panther's main "health" pool, however.

Disabling this component will prevent the commander from being able to rotate their optics independently.

Components[]

NOTE: Cosmetic-only component modules with no gameplay effects are deliberately excluded from this section.

  • Camo Net (Hull): Drapes the entire hull with camouflage netting. Partially conceals covered sections from thermal sensors.

Armament[]

The Panther's gunner controls both of the vehicle's weapons, the RCWS HMG 12.7 mm and the RCWS GMG 40 mm. The gunner's optics have variable zoom and can toggle a day, night or black-/white-hot thermal vision mode.

RCWS HMG 12.7 mm[]

Arma3-vehicleweapons-ifv6cpanther-rcwshmg127mm
Base damage value Aerodynamic friction Initial velocity (m/s) Penetration depth (mm)
30 -0.00086 910 35.49

General-purpose 12.7 mm heavy machine gun.

The RCWS HMG can attain a fire rate of up to 600 rounds per minute and requires 20 seconds to reload a fresh box or to fully rearm from a logistics vehicle. Accuracy-wise, it has a fixed dispersion of 0.0012 rad regardless of distance.

The Fire Control System is only able to automatically zero on stationary targets and requires 1 second to finish adjusting. Manual zeroing is also possible, though only in increments/decrements of 100 m (up to a maximum of 2000 m).

RCWS GMG 40 mm[]

Arma3-vehicleweapons-ifv6cpanther-rcwsgmg40mm
Damage type Base damage value Aerodynamic friction Initial velocity (m/s)
High-Explosive Anti-Tank 100 -0.001 241

40 mm automatic grenade launcher. Fires grenades fitted with high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warheads. They have a blast radius of 4 metres.

It can attain a fire rate of up to approximately ~ 349 RPM. It also requires at least 20 seconds to reload a fresh belt of grenades or to fully rearm from a logistics vehicle. Accuracy-wise, the GMG has a dispersion of 0.005 rad.

The FCS can only zero onto stationary targets and requires 1 second to finish adjusting. Like the RCWS HMG, manual zeroing is also possible with adjustments being made in increments/decrements of 100 m. However, it is restricted to a hard cap of 1500 m which cannot be exceeded even by the FCS.

Trivia[]

  • The Panther is based on the real-world "Namer" APC designed by IMI Systems Ltd of Israel.
  • It was not originally featured as an asset in the Alpha and was only added after the Beta's release (as part of Game Update 0.74).[1]
  • Prior to Game Update 1.12, the Panther's side skirts were not animated and would remain static even if it was driving on rough terrain.[2]
  • Following an overhaul to ArmA 3's thermal imaging systems in Game Update 2.10, the commander's terminal now properly renders its display in green-/black-hot thermal vision when either mode is activated and the user isn't "looking" through it (previously the display could only render in white- and black-hot).[3]
The information below details unused, pre-release or removed content.
  • Screenshots released during the pre-Alpha phase of ArmA 3's development suggest that the Panther, alongside several other vehicles that are now exclusive to NATO, was originally meant to be utilised by both CSAT forces and the AAF.[4][5]
    • However, the Panther was eventually replaced by the BTR-K Kamysh for CSAT use by the time of the Alpha and Beta's release[1], while the FV-720 Mora would do the same for the AAF[6].
    • The pre-Alpha CSAT and AAF textures (Texture names: apc_tracked_01_aa_body_opfor_co.paa[7], apc_tracked_01_body_indp_co.paa[8]) remain within the game files can still be applied to the Panther.[9][10] Unfortunately, this can only be accomplished via the setObjectTexture scripting command as neither are available as options in the Virtual Garage.

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 van 't Land, J.J. 2013, SPOTREP #00008, Arma 3, viewed 25 March 2023, <https://dev.arma3.com/post/spotrep-00008>.
  2. van 't Land, J.J. 2014, SPOTREP #00019, Arma 3, viewed 10 March 2024, <https://dev.arma3.com/post/spotrep-00019>.
  3. van 't Land, J.J. 2022, SPOTREP #00105, Arma 3, viewed 23 August 2022, <https://dev.arma3.com/post/spotrep-00105>.
  4. Purchese, R 2011, Arma 3 a PC exclusive for summer 2012, Eurogamer, viewed 25 February 2023, <https://www.eurogamer.net/arma-3-a-pc-exclusive-for-summer-2012>.
  5. Senior, T 2011, Arma 3 screenshots show heavy vehicles and spectacular views, PC Gamer, viewed 25 March 2023, <https://www.pcgamer.com/arma-3-screenshots-shows-heavy-vehicles-and-spectacular-views/>.
  6. van 't Land, J.J. 2013, SPOTREP #00016, Arma 3, viewed 25 March 2023, <https://dev.arma3.com/post/spotrep-00016>.
  7. ARMA 3 2013 [Video Game], Bohemia Interactive a.s., \a3\armor_f_beta\apc_tracked_01\data\apc_tracked_01_aa_body_opfor_co.paa
  8. ARMA 3 2013 [Video Game], Bohemia Interactive a.s., \a3\armor_f_beta\apc_tracked_01\data\apc_tracked_01_body_indp_co.paa
  9. ARMA 3 2013 [Video Game], Bohemia Interactive a.s., \a3\armor_f_beta\apc_tracked_01\data\apc_tracked_01_aa_tower_opfor_co.paa
  10. ARMA 3 2013 [Video Game], Bohemia Interactive a.s., \a3\armor_f_beta\apc_tracked_01\data\apc_tracked_01_crv_opfor_co.paa

External links[]

See also[]

Variants[]

Vehicles of comparable role and configuration[]

Vehicles of ArmA 3
Wheeled AFV-4 GorgonAMV-7 MarshallHatchbackHEMTTHunterIfritKartMB 4WDMSE-3 MaridOffroadProwlerQilinRhino MGS (UP) • StriderSUVTempestTractorTruckQuadbikeUGV StomperVanZamak (MRL)
Tracked 2S9 SochorAWC NyxBTR-K KamyshCRV-6e BobcatED-1D Mini UGV (ED-1E) • IFV-6a CheetahIFV-6c PantherFV-720 MoraM2A1 Slammer (A4 UP) • M4 ScorcherM5 SandstormMBT-52 KumaT-100 Varsuk (X Futura) • T-140 Angara (T-140K) • ZSU-39 Tigris
Rotor-wing AH-9 PawneeAH-99 BlackfootAR-2 DarterCH-49 MohawkCH-67 HuronDemining DroneMH-9 Hummingbird (M900) • Mi-48 KajmanMi-290 TaruMQ-12 FalconPO-30 OrcaUH-80 Ghost HawkUtility DroneWY-55 Hellcat
Fixed-wing A-143 BuzzardA-149 GryphonA-164 WipeoutCaesar BTTF/A-181 Black Wasp IIKH-3A FenghuangMQ-4A GreyhawkTo-199 NeophronTo-201 ShikraUCAV SentinelV-44X BlackfishY-32 Xi'an
Aquatic Assault BoatMotorboatRHIBSpeedboatSDVWater Scooter
(Parenthesis) denote variants.
Karts DLC | Helicopters DLC | Apex DLC | Jets DLC | Laws of War DLC | Tanks DLC | Contact DLC
Arma3-factionicon-nato NATO - Vehicles (ArmA 3)
Wheeled AMV-7 MarshallHEMTTHunterProwlerQuadbikeRhino MGS (UP) • UGV Stomper
Tracked CRV-6e BobcatED-1D Pelter (ED-1E Roller) • IFV-6a CheetahIFV-6c PantherM2A1 Slammer (A4 UP) • M4 ScorcherM5 Sandstorm
Rotor-wing AH-9 PawneeAH-99 BlackfootAL-6 PelicanAR-2 DarterCH-67 HuronMH-9 HummingbirdMQ-12 FalconUH-80 Ghost Hawk
Fixed-wing A-164 WipeoutF/A-181 Black Wasp IIMQ-4A GreyhawkUCAV SentinelV-44X Blackfish
Aquatic Assault Boat (Rescue) • Speedboat MinigunSDV
(Parenthesis) denote variants.
Helicopters DLC | Apex DLC | Jets DLC | Laws of War DLC | Tanks DLC | Contact DLC
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