It may look ugly...
But my front seat trip in one was quite the eye opener. Not a murmur of protest from the engines or airframe while the pilot did some pretty fast spot turns in 30 knots of wind. Rock solid and very very robust. They learned lessons in Afghanistan, just like the US learned lessons in Vietnam.
Systems at the time (1994) were pretty primitive, but they were using radar for their anti-tank missiles long before Longbow - this new radar is probably more capable.
I think the cockpit is armored for 20mm.
Shawn