New Russian Armoured Vehicle To Enter Preliminary Trials On August 5

Russia’s new “Atlet” armoured vehicles will enter preliminary trials on August 5 when the vehicles will be tested for their anti-shelling and anti-blast capabilities.

The tests will involve the armored vehicle’s special-designation (ASN) and five-door multi-purpose (AMN-2) prototypes. 

"From Monday [August 5], the prototypes of the Atlet armored vehicles are entering the program of preliminary trials," Alexander Krasovitsky, CEO of manufacturer Military Industrial Company, was quoted as saying by TASS on Thursday.

"Before the vehicle starts arriving for the troops and accomplishing assignments, we must be absolutely sure that it can fully protect our soldiers in a real warfare environment," the chief executive stressed.

Besides evaluating the 4x4 vehicle for their anti-shelling and anti-blast capabilities, the vehicles will also be tested for their endurance in different terrains, with and without a 2.5 tonne trailer, operability at low and high temperatures and the fording capability.

The Atlet was unveiled at the Army-2019 Forum, held just outside Moscow, in June of this year. In their standard configuration, the vehicles provide ballistic protection, and are equipped with anti-trauma seats for all the crew members. The armoured vehicle features lifting capacity of up to 1,600 kg and anti-mine resistance raised to 2 kg in TNT equivalent, YaMZ-5347-24 Russian-made diesel engine with the maximum capacity of 240 hp, and an air conditioning system.