The tactical Italian-made Iveco LMVs Light Multirole Vehicle was spotted during military parade rehearsals in Rostov-on-Don, Russia.
These armored cars are in service with 22-th Guards special purpose brigade stationed near Rostov-on-Don and in Russian military contingent in Syria.
The Iveco LMV, along with its adopted name Lince (Lynx, ‘Rys’), have acquired a very mixed reputation in Russia and are closely associated with the unpopular former Minister of Defense Anatoly Serdyukov. After being dismissed, Serdyukov was implicated in a corruption scheme and came to be criticized by the military for his poorly conceived and radical reforms, as well as his “Westernization” drive in military equipment procurement. As a result of his actions, the Russian armed forces possess Israeli drones and Italian armored cars; the former minister of defense is also responsible for the infamous contracts to buy Mistral helicopter carriers from France. The Italians, as has recently been shown, are seemingly more consistent in their foreign policy than the French. The Iveco supply contract, which initially appeared to be highly problematic, ultimately outlived all other procurement initiatives from Serdyukov’s tenure.
The Iveco LMV or Light Multirole Vehicle is an innovative tactical vehicle, developed to reduce threat posed by improvised explosive devices and landmines. It was developed as a private venture. The LMV is in service with Italy, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom. The LMV is called VTLM Lince by the Italian military and Panther CLV in the United Kingdom.
