Development of the Hunter started in 2006 as a project of the Singapore defence ministry's Defence Science and Technology Agency. In March 2017, Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd announced that its land systems arm, Singapore Technologies Kinetics Ltd, has been awarded a contract by the Singapore Ministry of Defence for the production and supply of the Next GenerationArmoured Fighting Vehicle. The next generation AFV would replace the Ultra M113 AFV as a key component of the Singapore Armed Forces’ mechanized forces which has been in service with the Singapore Army since the early 70s. Delivery of the AFVs began in 2019. The vehicle would be delivered in troop carrier, command and recovery variants. The prototype model was exhibited at the Singapore Airshow in 2018. In June 2019, the Hunter AFV was commissioned for the Singapore Army. As of mid-2019, the pioneer batch of instructors and commanders are undergoing training, with the first battalion expected to be formed in early 2020. The 42nd Battalion, Singapore Armoured Regiment has been designated as the first battalion to operate the Hunter.
The vehicle has a tracked chassis and is crewed by a commander, a driver, and a gunner. The vehicle is equipped with an integrated combat cockpit, which allows the commander and gunner to use a common set of controls to operate the Hunter, and a drive by wire capability, which allows the vehicle commander to take over driving functions from the driver. The commander and gunners also have independent sights. The AFV mounts an all-round surveillance system with a 360-degree field of vision, enabling closed-hatch operations, as well as a laser warning system. The Hunter AFV is equipped with the Army Tactical Engagement and Information System, a command and control system that allows the crew to operate the vehicle in a fully digitised environment and enabling the wireless exchange of information between vehicles and formations. This is also integrated with the remote controlled weapon station to enable sharing of target information. It is also equipped with a Health and Utilisation Monitoring System to monitor the vehicle's health and allow predictive maintenance. The Hunter AFV is armed with a 30 mm cannon, two anti-tank guided missiles, a 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun, and eight 76 mm smoke grenade launchers. It has a maximum range of 500 km and speed of 70 km/h.
