A new armored vehicle has been developed for the Russian Airborne Forces, the Defense Ministry said on its website.
The vehicle has been named the Typhoon-VDV (Typhoon-Airborne). It is built on the Typhoon 6x6 armored personal carrier (APC) chassis, but utilizes an upgraded, four-wheel drive version of the platform.
"Over the last several years, the Airborne Command has teamed up with defense companies to work out a common approach to the development of advanced protective vehicles for special purposes, based on a wheeled chassis and equipped with combat systems," the statement said.
Col. Nikolai Anokhin, head of the logistics department of the Airborne Forces, pointed out that the need for a new APC is due to the fact that personnel needs to be more protected, taking into account the development of modern small arms.
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The Typhoon-VDV is currently undergoing field trials and its serial production is scheduled to start in 2019 upon completion of the tests.
The Defense Ministry also said that the Typhoon-VDV is armed with a modern weapons system. In addition to a high level of armor protection, the key advantage of the new vehicle will be its ability to be dropped by air.
The new vehicle will be an addition to the Typhoon family of multifunctional, armored, ambush-protected vehicles, which includes the Typhoon-K and the Typhoon-U.
Both vehicles are capable of transporting several tons of cargo or up to 16 servicemen across rough terrain at speeds of up to 100 km/h. The vehicles’ armor is capable of withstanding high-caliber projectiles and protecting the crew from explosive devices with a yield of up to eight kilograms of TNT. Typhoon-K vehicles have been spotted in Syria and used by units of the Russian Military Police.
