Russia showed a new armored 6.5-ton pickup truck "Legionnaire"

The Russian Combat Vehicles company has developed a new light armored vehicle called the Legionnaire, Defense Blog reports. The vehicle is based on a 4×4 wheel arrangement and is designed to fill the gap between unarmored military trucks and heavier armored personnel carriers like the BTR-82A.

In appearance, the Legionnaire resembles the Soviet BTR-40 and BTR-152, but has more modern equipment and technical characteristics. The developers position it as a multifunctional platform for performing logistical and support tasks.

It is noted that the need for such equipment arose due to the experience of the war in Ukraine and other combat zones. Currently, Russian units mostly use either civilian trucks with minimal protection or full-fledged armored personnel carriers. The Legionnaire should become an intermediate option - providing mobility and load capacity with a basic level of protection.

The vehicle is equipped with an armored cabin and an open cargo platform. The rear compartment can be used to transport equipment, ammunition, personnel in non-combat conditions or to install a machine gun turret.

The weight of the machine is about 6.5 tons, and the carrying capacity is 2.5 tons. The YaMZ-234 engine with a capacity of 200 hp allows it to reach speeds of up to 100 km/h, and the pickup truck has a range of up to 750 km.

The open-platform design suggests that the Legionnaire is not intended as a replacement for full-fledged armored personnel carriers. Its primary role is to support heavier equipment, transport cargo, and provide support to units in situations where heavy armor is impractical.

By the way, in early September, Ukrainian Armored Vehicles presented the updated Novator 2 Krechet and Novator PZSA-5 armored vehicles with enhanced hull protection at the MSPO 2025 international exhibition in Poland.