Ukrainian Soldiers have received a batch of rare Sweden-made tracked articulated, all-terrain vehicles.
The Militarnyi has reported that the Ukrainian military has already received two Bandvagn 202 (Bv 202) articulated tracked carriers.
The Bv 202 is a two-section articulating tracked vehicle, manufactured by Volvo for the Swedish Army. Production started in Arvika in 1964 and ended in 1981. The Bv 202 has since been succeeded by the Hägglunds Bandvagn 206.
This twin-unit articulated tracked vehicle can carry 10 troops or 1 000 kg of cargo. Front unit is fully enclosed, while the rear unit is covered with bows and canvas cover.
The Bv 202 was designed to transport troops and equipment through snow or boglands in the northern parts of Sweden. The last Swedish unit to use this vehicle was the Cavalry, who found that the manual gearbox Bv 202 was much quieter than the automatic transmission Bv 206.
In the Norwegian army units that had both Bv 202 and Bv 206 ran the Bv 202 as the first vehicle if the snow conditions were challenging. The Bv 202 performed better in deep and/or difficult snow conditions.
According to Ukrainian media, it is expected that the Ukrainian military will receive another 10-12 vehicles that will be upgraded to the medical evacuation version.
