Privately-owned defense company Ukrainian Armor has unveiled a new 4×4 off-road vehicle to replace the country’s Soviet-era UAZ-496 jeep.
The tactical vehicle is an unarmored, modified Toyota Hilux. Changes and enhancements were made to the model according to standards set by the Ukrainian army. Speedy delivery of the new vehicle has been requested by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
Replacing the UAZ-469
The effort to replace Ukraine’s aging UAZ-469 began earlier this year when its Ministry of Defense announced the opening for proposals for the replacement project in March.
Bidders with “clearance for activities comprising access to information pertaining to State secrets” were encouraged to submit their designs.
Ukraine’s Minister of Defense, Andrii Taran, said that what they were looking for was a new vehicle that would meet the force’s requirement for “robustness, reliability, power output, fuel efficiency, load capacity, ease of maintenance and repair.”
The initial fleet of new vehicles is expected to be “fielded to elements of the Ukrainian Land Forces deployed in the Joint Forces Operation area in Donetsk and Luhansk regions.”
