Russia’s Military Industrial Company (VPK) unveiled an amphibious variant of the Strela 4×4 light armoured vehicle at the Army 2020 defence exhibition being held in Kubinka near Moscow on 23-29 August.
VPK unveiled the Strela 4×4 light amphibious armoured vehicle at Army 2020. (Nikolai Novichkov)
VPK director general Alexander Krasovitskiy told Janes on 27 August that Russia has no amphibious vehicles of this class in its inventory. The vehicle has passed factory swimming tests.
He said VPK had built the first two Strelas – the utility vehicle and the amphibious platform – under the self-funded programme. VPK signed a contract for the development of the Strela family baseline utility vehicle, amphibious platform, low-payload vehicle, and buggy.
“The whole family will comprise four vehicles, including two new systems: a multipurpose swimming buggy for airborne soldiers and a soft-skin command-and-control vehicle,” said Krasovitskiy.
The use of new technologies and modular layout give Strela family vehicles the lowest price tag in their class in Russia, while also having the same protection level, manoeuverability, cross-country capabilities, and protection as the heavier Tigr and Atlet.
The Strela’s chassis shares maximum commonality with other VPK systems. For example, the armoured doors and protected windows are interchangeable with those of the VPK-Ural and Atlet vehicles.
The amphibious Strela is 4.7 m long, 2.2 m wide, and 2.1 m high, and weighs 4.9 tonnes. The payload capacity is 800 kg. The system is powered by a 2.8 litre/200 hp diesel engine, producing a top road speed of 120 km/h, a maximum swimming speed of 7 km/h, and a range of 1,000 km.
VPK enterprises will mass produce the Strela family of vehicles, while JSC Arzamas Machine-building Plant will be responsible for final assembly.
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