Ukraine designing a new APC – based on what?

Ukraine is designing a new armored personnel carrier, driven by their years of combat against the Russians. No exactly a shocking development, given the amount of vehicular casualties they must have taken, but what they are basing the new design on is a bit shocking.

The M113.

Yep, the old aluminum box that millions have ridden in, worked on, cussed at – it’s been in our inventory since 1961. Old, yes, but it’s gonna have a new grandkid soon – after 65 years. Puts it in the same category as the B-52, the Ma Deuce, the A-10… the damn things just keep going, and going, and going…

Ukraine has begun testing a new homegrown armored personnel carrier, a tracked vehicle named Skif (Scythian, an ancient warrior tribe that also lived in parts of modern Ukraine).

“First and foremost, we relied on our contacts with the military, our understanding of their needs, and our experience with the use of wheeled vehicles on the battlefield,” UkrArmoTech CEO Hennadii Khirhii told the Ukrainian Defense Express website. “Active combat operations in Ukraine have demonstrated the need for a significant number of armored vehicles to ensure and maintain the mobility of units and formations of the Armed Forces and Defense Forces.”

The design of the Skif is heavily influenced by the U.S.-developed M113, a Cold War-era tracked APC, many hundreds of which have been supplied to Ukraine since February 2022.

Despite its age, it seems the M113 has been a success in Ukrainian hands, offering a useful combination of reliability, maintainability, troop-carrying capacity, and off-road mobility.

Seems there is an entire cottage industry (OK, possibly a poor term for making armor, but…) around the M113

According to reports, the Skif makes use of off-the-shelf components and assemblies from foreign manufacturers involved in the production of armored vehicles that are “descendants” of the M113.

It’s unclear if this implies that the Skif uses components from Western manufacturers that have built the M113 and its derivatives, or if the Ukrainian vehicle employs parts from other Western-made APCs. Noteworthy is the fact that members of the broader M113 family have been built under license in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Turkey, as well as several other countries outside Europe.

With the aluminum hull, the Skif weighs around 15 tons and is driven by a 360-horsepower diesel engine. The modular design means that different engines can be installed, for example, if more power is needed for a steel hull, or when fitted with heavier weapons.

Armor protection is in line with NATO STANAG 4569 Level 4 over the frontal section (withstanding, for example, 14.5mm machine gun fire, or a 155mm artillery projectile detonating at 25 meters), and Level 3 on the sides and rear (resistant to 7.62mm gunfire, or a 155mm artillery projectile detonating at 60 meters). Mine protection below the hull is rated at Levels 3a and 3b. The vehicle is expected to withstand the detonation of around 13 pounds of explosives under the hull or tracks.TWZ

Looks like its modular design allows it to be configured however works best for a given environment – smoke generators, drone “cope cages” armored screens, EW packages – and more.

Supposedly the Ukes like tracks over wheeled vehicles for better traction in winter mud.  (Kind of surprising they didn’t spec wider tracks for that?)  What’s old becomes new again, indeed. Read the article.

Category: Ukraine