Ukrainian volunteers have started an international crowdsourcing campaign to provide their military with a fleet of FV101 Scorpion armored reconnaissance vehicles.
The light tanks will be purchased from Great Britain and feature a high-powered primary weapon, according to the volunteer group Armored Turtle.
“We have found absolutely complete tanks! This means that in addition to armor, the vehicle has a 76-mm cannon and sight sensors,” the group stated on social media.
Armored Turtle said the Scorpions cost 90,000 pounds ($110,000) each in the UK.
Once acquired, the group said it would ensure uninterrupted transit of the tanks to Ukraine to provide immediate assistance for counter-offensives.
The Scorpion Vehicle
First entering service in 1972, the FV101 Scorpion was designed for reconnaissance and fire support.
It has a hull and turret with aluminum armor for extra strength, low weight, and excellent corrosion resistance.
The vehicle has improved protection against 14.5-millimeter projectiles and 7.62-millimeter armor-piercing rounds.
It is an air-transportable platform equipped with night vision devices and can travel up to 90 kilometers (55.9 miles) per hour.
The first Scorpions were delivered to the British Army and the Belgian Army in the 1970s.
Help Continues to Arrive
The initiative is the latest crowd-funding effort by volunteers to help Ukraine counter Russian aggression.
Earlier this year, the Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation raised over $6.4 million to purchase 101 CVR(T) tracked armored vehicles for the Ukrainian Army.
Other charity organizations also sent drone-jamming devices to the war-torn nation to neutralize enemy reconnaissance drones.
