Ukrainian VARTA 2 armored vehicle has entered state testing

3 November, 2024 Sich RWS on the Varta 2 armored vehicle, August 2024. Photo credits: Ukrainian Armor A Ukrainian armored vehicle Varta 2 prototype has passed firing tests with the Sich heavy combat module.

Ekonomichna Pravda media published the footage from the test site. Representatives of the Ukrainian Armor company reported that the combat vehicle is currently undergoing the necessary tests for codification by the Ministry of Defense, after which it will be ready for contracting by the Defense Forces. The video captures VARTA 2 broadside fire, showing high stability and thus refuting fears of rolling over due to the powerful recoil of the 30 mm automatic gun.

The armored vehicle is equipped with the Ukrainian SICH combat module, the first samples of which appeared on the armored vehicles of the Defense Forces earlier this year. It is equipped with a ZTM-1 30mm automatic cannon (a copy of the 2A72), an AG-30 automatic grenade launcher, and a PKT 7.62mm machine gun.

An operator controlled them remotely using a control panel inside the vehicle. The combat module can be used at any time of the day or night thanks to a day and night thermal imaging guidance channel and is capable of accurate fire on the move thanks to two-plane stabilization. In an interview with Militarnyi, the company's head said that especially for Varta, the module's developers are adapting the design, reducing its weight, and modifying the artillery part to reduce recoil energy.

All this should provide the vehicle with better stability during firing.

Sich RWS on the Varta 2 armored vehicle, August 2024. Photo credits: Ukrainian Armor

Previously, Ukrainian Armor presented the first prototype of VARTA 2 for the first time in early September during the MSPO 2024 international exhibition in Poland. Structurally, the vehicle is completely different from the first VARTA.

Instead of using a frame structure based on a MAZ truck, the new vehicle has a load-bearing body to which a modular chassis from the Base is already attached. The new armored hull and construction approach allowed for the reduction of weight by several tons while increasing protection to STANAG 3a/3b level. It provides protection against close fire from armor-piercing rounds of 7.62x51mm caliber, as well as explosions with 8 kg of TNT.

To date, it is the first Ukrainian 4x4 armored vehicle to carry a heavy combat module with a full 30mm automatic cannon.