BTR-60 with AML-90 turret

Also known as

BTR-60PB with AML-90 turret
BTR-60 AML-90
BTR-60 with AML 90 turret
BTR-60 With AML-90 Turret

The BTR-60 with AML-90 turret is a Yemeni field conversion that combines a Soviet BTR-60PB armored personnel carrier hull with the 90 mm gun turret from a French Panhard AML-90 armored car. The hybrid traded the base APC's machine-gun turret for a much heavier direct-fire weapon, reflecting Yemen's improvised use of aging armored stocks during the civil war.

BTR-60 with AML-90 turret, Improvised 8x8 armored fighting vehicle / fire-support conversion, Armored Vehicles

Image source: BTR-60 PB pic07.JPG

Role in Conflicts

Side: Yemeni government and Saudi-led coalition forces

Oryx lists BTR-60s fitted with AML-90 turrets among pre-war Yemeni Army fighting vehicles and frames the inventory as equipment available to Yemeni battlefield parties after the 2014-2015 Houthi takeover; the source does not identify a specific later unit operator.

Role details

Profile / Specs

Profile

Origin: Yemen field conversion using Soviet BTR-60PB hulls and French Panhard AML-90 turrets
Built by: UnknownGorky Automobile PlantPanhard
Built in: YemenSoviet UnionFrance
Type: Improvised 8x8 armored fighting vehicle / fire-support conversion
Service note: Converted in the mid-2010s from Cold War armored vehicle stocks and documented in the 2014 Yemen Civil War context
Designer: Field conversion based on Soviet BTR-60PB and French Panhard AML-90 components
Designed: Conversion documented in 2014-2015 open-source reporting
Produced: Mid-2010s conversion batch
Number built: Multiple Yemeni BTR-60PBs reportedly converted; exact number not publicly established

Specifications

Documented configuration: BTR-60PB hull fitted with an AML-90 turret
Base chassis: BTR-60PB 8x8 amphibious armored personnel carrier
Turret: Panhard AML-90 two-person turret adapted to the BTR-60PB hull
Gun family: GIAT 90 mm F1 / CN-90-F1 low-pressure rifled gun
Main armament: 90 mm DEFA D921 / GIAT F1 low-pressure rifled gun from the AML-90
Ammunition family: HEAT, high-explosive, smoke, and canister projectiles documented for the AML-90 gun family
Secondary armament: Coaxial 7.62 mm machine gun normally fitted with the AML-90 turret
Crew and passengers: BTR-60PB baseline is 2 crew plus up to 8 troops; the turret conversion likely reduces usable troop space
Combat weight: Baseline BTR-60PB about 10.1-10.2 tonnes before conversion
Mobility: 8x8 wheeled, amphibious BTR-60PB chassis with roughly 80 km/h road speed and 500 km road range in baseline form
Protection: Light welded-steel armor against small-arms fire and fragments; no modern mine or RPG protection documented

Variants

The record covers the BTR-60PB-hull conversion specifically; other Yemeni AML-90 turret swaps are related field conversions rather than variants of this vehicle.

Variant	Configuration	Designation notes
BTR-60PB with AML-90 turret	Yemeni BTR-60PB fire-support conversion	Oryx lists the vehicle under this configuration in its pre-war Yemeni fighting-vehicle inventory. Sources: Handbook Of Pre-War Yemeni Fighting Vehicles

Variant

Configuration

Designation notes

BTR-60PB with AML-90 turret

Yemeni BTR-60PB fire-support conversion

Oryx lists the vehicle under this configuration in its pre-war Yemeni fighting-vehicle inventory.

Sources: Handbook Of Pre-War Yemeni Fighting Vehicles

Ammunition Fired

The AML-90 turret gives the conversion a GIAT 90 mm F1 gun family weapon, with Army Guide documenting HEAT, high-explosive, smoke, and canister projectile types for the AML-90.

Ammunition	Ammunition type	Firing evidence
90 mm HEAT projectile	90 mm HEAT projectile	Oryx documents BTR-60s fitted with AML-90 turrets, and Army Guide says the AML's Giat Industries 90 mm F1 gun fires HEAT projectiles. Sources: Handbook Of Pre-War Yemeni Fighting Vehicles, AML 90 (Modernization of the vehicle) - Army Guide
90 mm HE projectile	90 mm high-explosive projectile	Oryx documents BTR-60s fitted with AML-90 turrets, and Army Guide says the AML's Giat Industries 90 mm F1 gun fires HE projectiles. Sources: Handbook Of Pre-War Yemeni Fighting Vehicles, AML 90 (Modernization of the vehicle) - Army Guide
90 mm smoke projectile	90 mm smoke projectile	Oryx documents BTR-60s fitted with AML-90 turrets, and Army Guide says the AML's Giat Industries 90 mm F1 gun fires smoke projectiles. Sources: Handbook Of Pre-War Yemeni Fighting Vehicles, AML 90 (Modernization of the vehicle) - Army Guide
90 mm canister projectile	90 mm canister projectile	Oryx documents BTR-60s fitted with AML-90 turrets, and Army Guide says the AML's Giat Industries 90 mm F1 gun fires canister projectiles. Sources: Handbook Of Pre-War Yemeni Fighting Vehicles, AML 90 (Modernization of the vehicle) - Army Guide

Documented Configuration

The vehicle is best read as a Yemeni field conversion assembled from known armored-vehicle components, not as a factory BTR-60 or Panhard model.

Element	Linked record	Documented context
Base hull	BTR-60	Oryx names the Yemeni conversion as a BTR-60 with AML-90 turret, while BTR-60 sources describe the PB-family 8x8 chassis, weight, mobility, and light armor baseline.
Turret and gun	AML-90 armored car	The AML-90 source vehicle supplies the 90 mm turret and gun family used for the conversion's direct-fire role.
Related Yemeni conversion	M113 with AML-90 Turret	Oryx also lists a separate Yemeni M113 with AML-90 turret, showing the same turret-swap pattern on a tracked hull rather than a same-family BTR-60 variant.

Timeline

BTR-60 with AML-90 turret Key Events

Sep 20, 2015
Oryx documents the Yemeni conversion
Oryx listed BTR-60s with AML-90 turrets among pre-war Yemeni Army fighting vehicles in a civil-war inventory context; the publication date does not establish the conversion build date.
Sources: Handbook Of Pre-War Yemeni Fighting Vehicles