The Ukrainian enterprise AvtoKrAZ, located in Kremenchug, together with the Indian company SLDSL, located in the city of Kapnur, has created a new armored vehicle of the KrAZ-01-1-11 / SLDSL multipurpose armored transporter type. The machine is designed according to the MRAP standard, in India the machine will bear the name "KRAZ MPV". The main purpose is the safe movement of Indian armed forces personnel, machinery and equipment. In addition, additional weapons and equipment can be installed on the KRAZ MPV.
The armored vehicle is developed on the basis of the all-wheel drive KraAZ-5233VE with a 4x4 wheel formula and a right-hand drive. The YaMZ-238DE2 engine has a power of 330 hp. As you know, the Ukrainian platform of the new armored car will be armored by Indian designers. There is information that a KRAZ MPV sample with a 6X6 wheel formula will be created and tested. The work on armoring the vehicle according to the MRAP standard will be carried out in India, where the Ukrainian chassis will receive an aggregate reservation, and an armored module for transporting personnel will also be installed there.
Protection against defeat by small arms, fragments of grenades, shells and weapons of mass destruction will provide:
- body of one-piece type of supporting structure, equipped with reinforced armor plates;
- double doors;
- double side walls;
- 25 mm explosion-proof material is installed inside the doors and walls;
- the bottom of the body, consisting of 3 walls, forms a wedge-shaped bottom;
The capabilities of the new KrAZ-01-1-11 / SLDSL armored car are the transportation of 12 fully equipped people, the "Rigel MK1" swivel tower with free horizontal rotation, 8 embrasures inside the armored module and communication and surveillance equipment, which includes:
- audiovisual system;
- cameras: rear view, night vision with a viewing range of up to 500 meters.
In terms of the level of protection, vertical walls and bulletproof glass are comparable to level 3A (STANAG 4569) according to NATO standards. The explosion-proof material used is somewhat superior in level of protection to the NATO standard (STANAG 4569) of the 2nd level.
The company announced the creation of a prototype in a press release issued on June 13, 2012. A promising armored carrier is positioned for promotion by the Indian company "Shri Lakshmi Defense Solutions" to state security agencies and divisions.
I would like to note, no matter how sad it is for Ukraine, that for its own armed forces it is currently developing little and almost never buying new armored vehicles of its own production (and foreign production too), work is underway to develop and produce military equipment for export. This, if desired and financed, will make it possible to create the required equipment using proven technologies to provide them with the armed forces of the Ukrainian state.
