At the last exhibition IDEX-2015, several dozen new models of military equipment and weapons were presented. The Canadian-Emirati company Streit Group, known for its developments in the field of armored vehicles, showed two prototypes of new armored vehicles. An interesting feature of both developments is the chassis used: to reduce the cost, the cars are built on the basis of trucks of the Ukrainian automobile plant KrAZ. The new equipment is offered for delivery to third countries. One of the first customers for these machines may be the armed forces of Ukraine.
Hurricane armored car
The first development of Streit Group, presented at the exhibition in Abu Dhabi, is the Hurricane armored car. This vehicle belongs to the MRAP class and is designed to transport soldiers or goods in dangerous areas. The vehicle is designed to protect the crew and cargo from small arms bullets and explosive devices planted on the road. The Streit Group Hurricane armored car was created in cooperation with the Ukrainian enterprise KrAZ, which provided the base chassis on which all the necessary units are mounted. According to some reports, the use of such a chassis made it possible to reduce the cost of finished equipment to a certain extent.
Externally, the Hurricane armored car is similar to other modern models of a similar purpose. It has a relatively tall armored hull mounted on a base 8x8 chassis. The layout of the internal volumes of the hull is typical for armored cars of the cabover scheme: in the front of the hull is the driver's cabin, behind it is the engine compartment. The middle and aft parts of the hull are given over to accommodate passenger seats.
The armored hull of the Hurricane machine is assembled from a set of sheets of various shapes, which accordingly affects its contours. According to the developer, the hull complies with the 4th level of the NATO standard STANAG 4569. This means that the vehicle's armor can withstand the hit of an armor-piercing bullet of 14.5 mm caliber. The bottom of the hull has a special V-shape designed to reduce the impact of a shock wave when an explosive device is detonated. The exact parameters of mine protection are unknown. Probably, the new armored car can withstand the explosion of a mine weighing up to several kilograms.
The relatively high characteristics of ballistic and mine protection affected the dimensions of the vehicle. The Streit Group Hurricane armored car has a total length of 9, 32 m, a width of 2, 58 m and a height of 3, 1 m. The curb weight of the vehicle has not yet been reported. It can be assumed that this parameter exceeds 10-15 tons.
The KrAZ N27.3EX (KrAZ-7634NE) chassis of Ukrainian design was used as the basis for the new armored car. This chassis has an 8x8 wheel arrangement with the ability to disable some axles. Initially, the chassis, presented last year, was proposed to be equipped with a diesel engine and a transmission from the Yaroslavl Motor Plant. In the version for the new armored car, the chassis uses a different type of power plant. "Hurricane" is equipped with a turbocharged diesel engine Cummins ISME 385 with a capacity of 380 hp. and an American-made Allison 400 six-speed automatic transmission.
The habitable volume of the hull, given over to accommodate people, is divided into two parts. In front of the armored hull there is a double cab for the driver and commander. Their workplaces are equipped with a set of necessary equipment. To protect against bullets and shrapnel, the front cabin has a large frontal armored glass and two relatively small windows in the side doors. A specific and controversial feature of the shown prototype is the used commander's and driver's seats. As can be seen in the available photographs, the crew of the armored car has to sit on the most ordinary seats, which do not have special "anti-mine" equipment. Thus, new risks are added to the risks associated with the cabover layout of the car in the form of the lack of special seats. Perhaps this problem will be fixed in the future.
The middle and aft parts of the hull are given over to the troop compartment. There are 10 folding seats along the sides. Under them there are boxes for transporting various property. The seats are additionally equipped with seat belts. Some questions are raised by the fastening of the seats: they are mounted on brackets installed at the sides of the hull. Modern armored vehicles of the MRAP class usually use chairs suspended from the ceiling, which can reduce the impact of the shock wave on a person. However, in the future, the Hurricane armored car may receive other seats.
Each side of the troop compartment has three bulletproof windows. For firing from personal weapons, embrasures with dampers are provided in the glasses. The rear hull has a side-opening door. A window with an embrasure is provided in its upper part. Due to the use of a door, and not a lowering ramp, a small ladder had to be installed in the aft part of the car.
While the Streit Group Hurricane armored car is shown only in the protected vehicle version. In the future, the appearance of other equipment based on this machine is possible. We can expect the development of an armored truck or other equipment with special equipment.
The first copy of the Hurricane armored car was shown just a few days ago. For this reason, it is too early to talk about its prospects. Potential customers have not yet had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with this machine normally, which is why information on possible purchases should appear later. Ukraine, which is showing interest in joint developments of Streit Group and the KrAZ automobile plant, may become the starting customer of this equipment. So, the Ukrainian army already has armored vehicles of two models, which are the result of such cooperation.
Feona armored car
The second novelty from Streit Group, created with the participation of the KrAZ plant, is the Feona armored car, also belonging to the MRAP class. Like the Hurricane, this vehicle is designed to transport fighters and protect them from small arms or explosive devices. In this case, the machine has a different layout and chassis.
Unlike the Hurricane armored car, the Feona car is built according to the bonnet layout, which is more familiar to MRAP. The power plant of the vehicle is placed in a separate volume in front of the cockpit, with the help of which an additional reduction in the effect of the shock wave on the crew is provided, since the engine and the front part of the hull take on part of its energy. A common cockpit for the crew and landing is located behind the engine compartment.
The KrAZ-6322 cargo chassis with a 6x6 wheel arrangement was chosen as the base platform for the Streit Group Feona armored car. An interesting fact is that the Feona armored car has the same power plant composition as the Hurricane. Under the armored hood is a 380 hp Cummins ISME 385 diesel engine connected to an Allison 400 automatic transmission. In combination with the relatively small dimensions and weight of the vehicle, such a power plant should provide sufficiently high performance.
The Feona armored car is inferior to the Hurricane in terms of protection. The armor of this vehicle corresponds only to level 2 of the STANAG 4569 standard. The metal hull and glass sheets are able to protect the crew only from armor-piercing bullets of 7.62 mm caliber. In addition, protection against explosive devices is provided, for which the bottom of the case has a special V-shape. There is no exact information on the level of mine protection.
All crew and landing places are located in the general volume of the hull. In the front of it there are the driver's and commander's seats, and in the back there are landing places. For embarkation and disembarkation, the doors of the commander and the driver are provided in the sides, the landing force must use the aft door. Due to the high height of the machine, there are steps underneath all the doors. To protect against attack, embrasures with flaps are installed in the windows of the troop compartment. The number of paratroopers transported has not yet been announced. Judging by its size, the vehicle can carry up to 5-6 soldiers, excluding the driver and commander.
It is argued that the troop compartment of the Streit Group Feona armored car can be equipped with any equipment that the customer requires. In particular, the car can receive seats that absorb part of the explosion energy under the bottom or wheel.
Since the "premiere" of the Feona armored car took place quite recently, there is still no information on possible orders for the supply of such equipment. Nevertheless, it can be assumed that a certain number of such machines will soon be acquired by Ukraine, which is showing great interest in the joint development of its KrAZ enterprise and the foreign company Streit Group.
Ambiguous prospects
If we take into account only the main characteristics published by the developer company, then the first shown armored cars are quite capable of taking their place in the fleet of vehicles of various armies. However, the actual performance of the Hurricane and Feona may be far from what it was claimed. The reason for such doubts is information about the operation of already delivered armored cars built by Streit Group and KrAZ. At the end of last year, the Ukrainian military received the first batch of Spartan armored cars assembled at the KrAZ plant from foreign-made components. A few weeks later, the first information about the operation of these machines in real conditions appeared.
In the course of short tests, a number of various technical shortcomings were identified. Complaints were made about the strength of the chassis, some features of the transmission, the complexity of operation and maintenance, etc. Not without problems with protection and weapons. So, the bulletproof glass could not withstand the second shot, and the design of the machine-gun turret did not provide adequate protection for the shooter.
The reasons for such problems lie in the fact that Streit Group does not have much experience in the development and refinement of military armored vehicles. Naturally, in new projects, the shortcomings inherent in previous developments should be corrected, but it is too early to talk about reaching the level of world leaders. Thus, the Hurricane and Feona armored cars can be considered interesting developments that have emerged as a result of international cooperation, which, however, have not yet shown their best side. To get a full impression of this technique, you need to wait for the test results and further operation in real conditions. In the meantime, new armored cars are able to attract potential customers only with their spectacular appearance and curious design characteristics.
