Citing a source in the Defense Ministry, Komsomolskaya Pravda reported that a party of the light vehicles has been sent over to Syria.
The firepower in the back of the vehicles will enable their operators to suppress enemy fire in a radius of up to 2 km. The weapons can be mounted aboard a rotary turret, allowing the user to instantaneously change his arc of fire.
Additionally, if needed, the vehicle can be equipped with Konkurs or Kornet anti-tank missiles, capable of hitting enemy targets at distances of up to 5 km. It can also be fitted with with a 120 mm mortar with an effective range of 9 km.
Experts suggest the new vehicles may replace or complement the UAZ-3132 Gusar, already engaged in Syria and used for operations by Russian special forces.
Military analyst Igor Korotchenko told Komsomolskaya Pravda that the pickups will enable users "to engage in agile urban combat, attack and pursue the enemy in the desert, cover humanitarian convoys, which are regularly shelled, on the roads of Syria, and deliver ammunition to friendly checkpoints."
In 2014, soon after Daesh made itself globally known by capturing large swathes of Syria and Iraq, world media reported on the terrorist group's successful use of large numbers of Toyota pickup trucks for their operations. Now, finally, the terrorists seem to have met their match.
