JSC Ukrainian Defense Industry showcased its developments at the MSPO 2026 defense exhibition. One of the vehicles presented was the Ukrainian Pegas tracked IFV, which is being developed by the Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau (KMDB).
The vehicle is claimed to provide Level 6 frontal ballistic protection under STANAG 4569, with Level 4 protection in other areas. This allows it to withstand fire from a 30-mm cannon from the front and 14.5-mm rounds from other directions.
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The armament consists of a 30-mm cannon, a twin 7.62-mm machine gun, two anti-tank guided missiles, and a 30-mm automatic grenade launcher. All of this is housed in a combat module that, on the prototype, resembles the BM-7 Parus but is expected to enter mass production under a different name—Topaz.
To withstand fire from grenade launchers such as the RPG-7, additional armor is recommended. The vehicle's defense against drones is provided by electronic warfare systems.
The Pegas is eight m long, 3.2 m wide, and 3.3 m high, with a weight of 35 tons. It has a top speed of 70 km/h, a range of 500 km, and is capable of operating at altitudes of up to 3,000 m above sea level. The vehicle is also designed to offer enhanced off-road capability.
In terms of dimensions and weight, the Ukrainian IFV is larger and heavier than the Polish Borsuk, while its weight is roughly comparable to that of the German KF41 Lynx without a combat load. The latter was proposed for delivery to Ukraine, with around five to six units reportedly supplied.
Overall, the Ukrainian-designed vehicle appears comparable to modern foreign models and should offer adequate protection. However, no information is currently available regarding its troop-carrying capacity.
The Pegas is currently under development, but if the project reaches mass production, it will become Ukraine's first domestically produced tracked infantry fighting vehicle. Various designs in this category have been proposed in the past, often based on tank chassis or other existing armored vehicles, but none progressed beyond the model or prototype stage.
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