Kozak (armored personnel carrier)

The Kozak (Ukrainian: Козак, romanized: Kozak, lit. 'Cossack') is a Ukrainian family of infantry mobility vehicles with a V-hull intended to transport personnel and various loads.

Kozak
Nota electronic warfare system on Kozak-2
Type	Infantry mobility vehicle with MRAP capabilities
Place of origin	Ukraine
Production history
Designed	2008–2009
Manufacturer	Practika [uk]
Produced	Prototype: 2009 Serial: 2014–present
Specifications
Mass	5.5 t
Length	5.475 m
Width	1.95 m
Height	2.3 m
Crew	5
Armor	Steel
Engine	Diesel 176 hp
Suspension	4x4
Maximum speed	120 km/h

Production

The vehicles are produced by the company Praktika, which specialized in Safes as well as bulletproof glass. The first Kozak vehicle (also known as Kozak-1) first appeared on August 24, 2009 at the Independence Day of Ukraine military parade in Kyiv.^[1]

Only two vehicles were manufactured^[2] prior to March 2014.^[3] The third vehicle (also known as "Kozak-2014") was built in November 2014 and was intended to be a proof of concept to address a growing requirement for a mobile MRAP.^[4][5] In March 2015 the vehicle was armed with the NSV machine gun.^[6]

Another variant, the Kozak-2, was built in 2015 and armed with an anti-tank guided missile system. It appeared at the 169th Training Centre in May 2015.^[7]

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry conducted comparative tests of 11 armored vehicles from various manufacturers in early 2016, but only three of them, including the Kozak-2, passed the state tests, the Ministry said. The trials of the Kozak-2M1, an improved tactical version of the Kozak-2, continued from October 2018 to July 2019, during which time the vehicle was tested with over 50 techniques and in a simulated combat environment.^[8]

The Defense Minister of Ukraine Stepan Poltorak on March 21, 2017 signed a decree officially adopting the "Kozak-2” into service.^[9]

Variants

Kozak-5

• SRM-1 "Kozak-" (Ukrainian: СРМ-1 "Козак-1") – Light armored vehicle based on the Iveco Daily 55S18W 4x4 chassis
• "Kozak-001" (Ukrainian: "Козак-001") – The first production batch of the Kozak-2, adopted by the National Guard.^[10]
• "Kozak-2" (Ukrainian: "Козак-2") – Multipurpose armored vehicle combining durability and high operational payload with dynamic mobility and mine resistance. Based on the Iveco Eurocargo 4×4 truck chassis. ^[10]
  • "Kozak-2M1" – An improved version of the Kozak-2, intended to be used as a tactical combat vehicle.^[11]
• "Kozak-4" – A light armoured utility vehicle based on the Iveco Daily chassis.
• "Kozak-5" – A special operations vehicle for police and special forces, based on the commercially available Ford F550 chassis with the 6.7L engine, specially modified using the official Ford “DBL Design” conversion.^[12]

Operators

Operators of Kozak.

•  Bangladesh^[13][14][15]
•  Indonesia
•  Saudi Arabia Kozak-5 variant
•  Russia – captured several dozen vehicles during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.^[16]
•  Belarus In (2023) - Belarusian special forces Vityaz captured show case, came to the country with parts of the Wagner PMC.; also operators from the Wagner PMC train with captured also KrAZ Cobra Belarusian territorial defence troops. (2023)^{[citation needed]}
•  Ukraine

• State Border Guard Service of Ukraine – received one "Kozak-2" on January 19, 2015.^[17] The second "Kozak-2" vehicle was received by the Border Guard Service^[18] on May 28, 2015.^[19] There were further deliveries.
• National Guard of Ukraine – received ten "Kozak-001" vehicles on July 6, 2015.^[20] There were further deliveries.
• Ukrainian Armed Forces^[9] - 44 Kozak 2M1 delivered in December 2021,^[21] with a further 15 Kozak 2M1 and 25 Kozak 5 in April 2024.