Ukrainian defense company UkrArmoTech, known for its GYURZA-02 and UAT-TISA armored vehicles, is planning to showcase a prototype of its own tracked vehicle by the end of 2025, the company's CEO Hennadii Khirhii told Defense Express.
"We are paying attention to various niches of development and manufacturing of new products, including tracked vehicles — they are currently in short supply, and there is not much variety in the types of tracked vehicles offered. Therefore, our task is to demonstrate a prototype of tracked vehicles by the end of this year," Khirhii said in an interview.
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He adds that this vehicle will be an entirely proprietary development, created in cooperation between Ukrainian specialists and consultants from abroad. No other details about this project are being disclosed yet.
Defense Express expects that this tracked vehicle draws from the lessons learned from the Ukrainian Defense Forces operating foreign types, primarily the legendary American M113 armored personnel carrier. It is currently the main APC of the Ukrainian military that has been widely enjoying positive feedback from the troops on the frontline.
We can also carefully assume that the company will have to rely on Western components to a certain extent, gradually increasing the percentage of locally produced parts for this new armored vehicle.
As tracked armor is in high demand in the zone of fighting against the russian invasion forces, the appearance of a domestic development is an important milestone for Ukrainian defense industry in general. Although tracked vehicles are inferior to wheeled ones in terms of raw speed, they have better overall mobility and cross-country ability, especially useful in spring and fall when the Ukrainian soil becomes largely soft mud in rainy climate. Moreover, tracked chassis is more resistant to damage by mines and artillery shell fragmentation, which often disables vehicles running on rubber wheels.
For a reminder, UkrArmoTech has built a reputation as a manufacturer of armored vehicles: earlier, Defense Express took a detailed look at the company's wheeled armored vehicle GYURZA-02, which went all the way from its first prototype to successful testing and certification in just six months. We also covered the capabilities and specs of the UAT-TISA armored carrier, too.
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