Tatrapan Armored All-Terrain Vehicle

     Notes: This Slovakian vehicle is based upon the chassis of the TATRA T-815 VP 21 265 truck (8-ton).  The vehicle has had sales in the Middle East, and is also used by Czech armed forces.  The Tatrapan is based on a multipurpose chassis which is also used by the Dana SP howitzer and an MRL. Several APC-type versions are also used like communications, command, and medical vehicles.  Later versions have improved protection against mines and IEDs.  The Tatrapan has seen combat service with IFOR and KFOR as well as in Afghanistan.

     The basic truck chassis layout is reversed for the Tatrapan, though the engine and cab are retained in the front and the drive train layout is also unchanged.  The vehicle, therefore, has an unusual 6x6 layout, with the front two wheels being close together, and then there being a space and then the rear axle. The basic truck chassis has welded steel armor, including a heavily armored cab.  The windows have armored shutters for the windshield and side cab windows, and the windows and windshield are of bullet-resistant glass.  The rear has a double door.  There is a ring mount over the commander’s position, and another ring mount in the middle of the roof of the cargo hold.  Two other hatches are provided on the roof of the cargo area behind the front center hatch, and the doors in the rear have firing ports, as well as hatches on either side over the second wheels, both with firing ports.  There are vision blocks behind the cab on both sides, but these do not have firing ports.  The two roof hatches often have pintle mounts next to them.

     The base version of the Tatrapan, the T1, is a simple APC with troops sitting down the sides.  It carries ten troops in the rear, and four more can sit in the aisle in an emergency.  The vehicle has a 6x6 layout, with constant all-wheel drive.  Only the front axle is steerable. It has a central tire pressure regulation system. The Tatrapan is powered by a Tatra T3-930-51 355-horsepower turbocharged diesel engine, coupled to a manual transmission.  The driver has conventional controls.  The Tatrapan has an NBC overpressure system for the troops and crew as well as a collective NBC backup.  The vehicle is protected by an automatic fire detection and suppression system for the crew, troop and engine compartments as well as for the fuel tanks.  The Tatrapan is praised for its roominess inside.

     The Tatrapan ZASA is designed for peacekeeping operations, but has also seen service in Afghanistan.  It has a reinforced suspension and bottom armor layout, to protect more fully against mines.  The troops crew sit in suspended seats to isolate them from blasts, and they will suffer 10% less damage from mine blasts.  The structure in general is also reinforced, though armor protection is not improved.  The engine is replaced with an uprated version of the T3-930-51 which develops 369 horsepower.

     The Tatrapan VESPRA is a command and staff vehicle with two long-range radios (one data-capable), two medium-range radios, and two short-range radios.  It has a map board, map stowage, and plotting and office-type supplies.  It has a ruggedized laptop computer.  The VESPRA has a hand-held thermal imager, image intensifier, and laser rangefinder.  There are similar versions for air defense command (the PVO and ASTRA PVO) and artillery command (the DELSYS, BAZUS, and VPG).

     The Tatrapan AMB is an armored ambulance with capacity for four stretcher patients, two stretcher patients and four seated patients, or eight seated patients, as well as a medic.  It has the equivalent of a doctor’s medical bag and 20 personal medical kits, various bandages, splints, burn first aid, and minor medical supplies, a small refrigerator, a blanket warmer, oxygen administration set, and defibrillator.  AMBs are unarmed.

     The Tatrapan MOD is a new APC version which has an MRAP-type hull, improved armor, stronger tires, and a beefed-up suspension.  It is considerably heavier than the standard Tatrapan T1, so the engine has been replaced with an uprated version of the T3-930-51 which develops 400 horsepower.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: The Czechs began to use the Tatrapan en masse as they were easy to build or modify from existing trucks.

*Roof and Floor AV for this version is 3.

**Roof AV for this version is 3; Floor AV is 5.

***Roof AV is 3; Floor AV is 6Sp.

****See Notes for Crew and passenger capabilities.