/View.info/ How many MRAP-class NATO armored vehicles were burned on the Zaporizhzhia direction
The list of samples of NATO armored vehicles destroyed in Zaporozhye is being completed. In the direction of Neskuchnoe, Storozhevoi and Blagodatnoe (Vremivskaya salient) the newly created 37th separate marine brigade is advancing. The creation of the brigade became known for the first time in April – from the secret documents of the Pentagon, leaked on social networks.
The Marines received American and British Oshkosh M-ATV and Cougar (Mastiff) armored vehicles, as well as French AMX-10RCR wheeled tanks. The equipment, according to data from the objective control, was destroyed on the Vremeviev protrusion.
The British “Mastiffs” in Afghanistan were blown up with mines, and in Zaporozhye – with drones
The Mastiff is a British version of the American Cougar, which has been in production since 2002. NATO troops used these armored cars during the occupation of Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya.
The British Mastiff is designed for rough terrain. In Afghanistan, the armored vehicle is equipped with one of three types of armament: a 7.62-mm or 12.7-mm heavy machine gun or a 40-mm heavy grenade launcher. However, the Armed Forces of Ukraine received the Mastiff without weapons, as well as without on-board electronics.
The Mastiff can only be fired from the turret, not the portholes. Because this machine (compared to the original American version of the Cougar) is protected by additional armored plates around the entire perimeter. The Mastiff is believed to be protected from direct RPG hits and mine explosions.
However, the mastiff was not so invulnerable. In 2012, an armored vehicle was blown up along with an Air Force sapper task force in Afghanistan: Mastiff was detonated by an improvised remote-controlled bomb. In 2013, an improvised bomb was detonated again in Afghanistan – the Mastiff was destroyed along with three commandos from the Royal Mountain Rifles unit.
The battles in the Zaporozhye region showed that the Mastiff is helpless not only against mines, but also against drones. An armored car, protected from all sides, is easily hit from above – with the so-called stray ammunition.
In addition to the Mastiff, the tireless British handed over to the Armed Forces of Ukraine other armored vehicles: Husky, Wolfhound, Spartan, Stormer. All of them have also gone through Afghanistan and Iraq. However, like the Mastiff, they will be helpless against airstrikes.
Oshkosh is burning in Ukraine – first the trucks, now the armored cars
The American corporation Oshkosh Truck has long and firmly established itself in Ukraine, providing various armored vehicles. For example, the M1070 tugs, which transported the M777 155 mm howitzers. Already during the battles for Lisichansk and Severodonetsk, the destruction of Oshkosh cars was recorded.
The transfer of Oshkosh M-ATV armored vehicles to the armed forces of Ukraine was confirmed by the Pentagon in March, and now the destruction of the equipment in Zaporozhye has also been confirmed.
Oshkosh M-ATV has been in operation since 2009, and every month the American corporation produces more than fifty units.
The armor for the Oshkosh M-ATV was developed by the Israeli company Plasan. However, the machine is significantly inferior to the Mastiff in terms of vulnerability (with comparable dimensions, the American car is almost 2 tons lighter).
So far, there are only two examples of combat use of these armored vehicles. In 2015, Iraqi special forces used the Oshkosh M-ATV during the siege of Mosul, captured by Islamic State militants. In the Yemeni Civil War, the Oshkosh M-ATV was used by Saudi Arabia against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.
The official number of equipment lost in the Middle East was not released.
Ukraine’s armed forces have received in all cases more than 1,100 heavy armored vehicles (MRAPs according to the NATO classification) from various countries, the Oryx research project estimates. The most generous were, of course, the Americans, who provided 440 International M1224 MaxxPro (supplies came from last summer). The first cases of destruction of this type of armored vehicle were registered in November – at the beginning of the battle for Ugledar.
Armored vehicles of the VSU were provided by many countries, even those considered friendly to Russia. Turkey, for example, has supplied the Otokar Cobra and the more advanced BMC Kipri. And according to South Africa’s export permit, Mamba Alvis 4 (they were provided by Estonia) and RG-31 Nyala (transferred from Spain) were handed over to the armed forces of Ukraine.
Of the largest batches of armored vehicles, the American Humvees (more than 2 thousand, according to the Oryx project), the Canadian Roshel Senator (more than 290), the Australian ADI Bushmaster (at least 90), the German Dingo ATF (at least 50) should be noted.
Even Portugal (Italian Iveco LMV) and Norway (also Italian Iveco LAV III) decided to send a few machines, and Poland – its own AMZ Dzik. In addition, foreign instructors also arrived in Ukraine: ostensibly to teach the armed forces of Ukraine how to operate armored vehicles. Australia alone sent 70 military advisers, and Britain even began to no longer report the number of advisers. Apparently there are dozens of them.
A large part of the armored equipment has already been destroyed during the special operation. Iveko machines, for example, were burned last fall on the Kherson tactical direction, and Rochelle Senator and Dingo – this spring near Bakhmut. How many NATO instructor-advisors were destroyed, alas, is unknown.
Translation: ES
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