Armored car MLS Shield for Ukraine: the protagonist of a dubious story
A prototype armored car MLS Shield. Outwardly, it differed from serial machines
The bulk of foreign military equipment comes to Ukraine in the form of assistance, but there are also direct purchases of products. So, a few weeks ago, Italian-made MLS Shield armored vehicles were seen on Ukrainian territory. A small amount of such equipment was purchased from the manufacturer, and, apparently, the main purpose of such a purchase was the development of the budget.
Purchasing process
It is now known that negotiations on the purchase of Italian armored vehicles for the needs of the Ukrainian army began in March or April. The initiator of such a deal was the former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. He also expressed his willingness to allocate part of the required amount. The rest of the money was planned to be raised with the help of volunteers.
Apparently, the negotiation process ran into difficulties, which dragged on for several months. Because of this, the purchase of Italian equipment manufactured by Tekne srl was officially announced for the first time only in early July. In the middle of the month, the initiator of the deal, P. Poroshenko, announced that the purchased MLS Shield vehicles had left Italy and were already approaching the Ukrainian border. He promised that in the near future they would get to the front.
The result of lengthy negotiations was the purchase of only 11 armored vehicles. Their total cost was UAH 95 million (approx. USD 3,3 million at the exchange rate at the time of purchase). Accordingly, each armored car cost the customer 300 thousand dollars. It is reported that about half of the funds, 50 million hryvnia, were contributed by P. Poroshenko's organizations. The rest of the money was raised through donations.
Car interior
The received armored cars were handed over to the 79th Air Assault Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The journey to the war zone took several weeks, and no later than August 10-12, all this equipment arrived in one of the occupied regions of the Donetsk People's Republic. Naturally, this event was not forgotten to be advertised.
Any information about the combat use of new armored vehicles has not yet been received. Moreover, their small number does not contribute to the frequent occurrence of such News. Nothing is yet known about the loss of equipment, although they cannot be ruled out. The objects of the 79th infantry brigade of the Ukrainian army regularly appear in the reports of the Russian Ministry of Defense as targets on which strikes are carried out. It is likely that in recent weeks, MLS Shield armored vehicles could also fall under such demilitarization.
Limited production
The MLS Shield multi-purpose armored car was developed and manufactured by the Italian company Tekne srl. She has long been engaged in automotive and special equipment for various purposes, and in the early 2016s she tried to take a place in the field of armored vehicles for law enforcement agencies. The finished MLS Shield armored car was presented in XNUMX.
The aim of this project was to create a wheeled vehicle with a high level of anti-bullet and anti-fragmentation protection. Provided for the installation of various weapons and / or special equipment. It was assumed that such an armored car would be of interest to law enforcement agencies and armies of foreign states.
Armored cars from the first batch of 2017
In order to simplify development and production, as well as reduce the cost of finished products, the MLS Shield project was carried out on the basis of available commercial components. So, the basis of the armored car was one of the Ford automobile chassis, which has undergone some refinement. Power unit, chassis elements, etc. also taken on the commercial market.
Despite the rather high performance, the Tekne armored car is not popular among customers. At the moment, only two supply contracts are known. The first was completed at the end of 2017. Then a number of vehicles were transferred to an unnamed foreign customer for use in law enforcement agencies. The second contract was obtained only this year - Ukraine became the buyer. However, this order does not differ in large volumes and cost.
Apparently, to date, Tekne has managed to sell no more than 15-20 MLS Shield armored vehicles. Its other developments are much more popular among customers and bring the corresponding money. Whether it will be possible to change this situation in the future is a big question.
Technical features
MLS Shield is a frame structure armored car. An armored body of our own design is installed on the modified chassis of a commercial vehicle. The resulting machine has a length of 6,1 m with a width of 2,5 m and a height of 2,65 m. The curb weight, depending on the configuration, reaches 11,5 tons, combat - up to 15 tons.
MLS Shield made for the Ukrainian army, July 2022
Under the armored hood is a six-cylinder Cummins diesel engine with an HP 360 power. The transmission is based on an Allison 3200SP automatic transmission and a mechanical two-speed transfer case. The latter is connected to two drive axles with a lockable differential. With such a power plant and transmission, the car develops a speed of 110 km / h.
The front axle has a suspension on vertical springs. The rear uses leaf springs. The car is equipped with 14.00R20 tires with rigid run-flat inner inserts. The front axle steering system includes a hydraulic booster.
The armored car is equipped with a two-volume layout with a protected hood and a large habitable compartment. Declared ballistic protection level FB7 European standard EN 1522 / 3 or BR7 standard EN 1063. Armor and glazing parts must withstand several hits of a 7,62 mm non-armor-piercing rifle bullet. At the request of the customer, armored glass can be covered with nets. Special mine protection is not provided.
In front of the habitable volume are the driver's and commander's seats; side doors are provided for them. The rest of the volume can accommodate 6 or 8 landing seats. They can be installed at the sides or along the axis of the hull. Access to such a landing compartment is provided by a stern ramp or door, there is a hatch in the roof. On the glazing, loopholes can be installed for the use of personal weapons.
Cars en route to the war zone, August 2022
The armored car MLS Shields does not have standard weapons. A round hatch is provided on the roof, on which a machine gun or other system of the customer's choice can be mounted. Composition of communication equipment, special equipment, etc. also determined by the buyer. For example, the armored vehicles of the first batch of 2017 received the Situational Awareness System surveillance system.
No clear benefits
In general, the MLS Shield product is a typical modern armored car on a two-axle chassis. He is able to take on board up to ten people, including the driver and / or carry some cargo. Such a load is protected from shelling and probably from light explosive devices. It is possible to install machine guns, grenade launchers, etc. The machine can move at high speed on the highway or overcome rough terrain.
The characteristics of the Italian armored car are at a fairly high level, but there are no advantages over other vehicles of this class. As a result, the machine is not of particular interest to customers - and this is confirmed by its commercial "success". For all the time, Tekne was able to sell no more than a couple of dozen of these armored cars.
The sudden interest in unpopular cars from Ukraine is not entirely clear. There are various models of armored vehicles on the market, new production and used ones, but P. Poroshenko decided to purchase precisely small-scale Italian products without obvious advantages over competitors.
The reasons for this may lie in the peculiarities of financing the purchase. Only half of the required amount was allocated by the structures of the former president, and the rest of the money was collected through donations. It cannot be ruled out that through such a mechanism the so-called. laundering illegal money. In addition, the actual cost of the purchased equipment may be lower than stated. In this case, “extra” money should have formed, which immediately found its owner.
Apparently, it was financial fraud or corruption processes that were the main reason for the purchase of Italian armored cars. The declared desire to help the Ukrainian army in this case was only an official pretext for carrying out a combination and obtaining benefits. The performance characteristics and the real potential of the purchased equipment faded into the background.
Dubious history
Thus, not the most famous and popular MLS Shield armored vehicles were at the center of a dubious stories. Ukraine has been negotiating the purchase of such equipment for several months and eventually bought only 11 vehicles. There is no real benefit from such a "park", but there are all the risks of its imminent destruction - along with the crews and troops.
However, the manufacturing company has already received the money and now, perhaps, it is waiting for new orders for its cars. The buyer, in turn, got an excellent opportunity to make financial combinations and was not left without benefits, while demonstrating his loyalty to the current Kyiv regime. And the prospects for armored cars and their crews are of no interest to anyone. They have already played their part.
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