MOSCOW, August 2. /TASS/. The latest Taifun K4386 armored vehicle developed for Russia’s Airborne Force will start arriving for the troops in 2020, the press office of Remdizel (the vehicle’s developer) told TASS on Friday.
"The state trials are coming to their concluding stage. We expect the deliveries of Taifun K4386 vehicles to begin in 2020 but only the Defense Ministry can give a more exact date," the Remdizel press office said.
The new combat vehicle is successfully completing the program of its tests, the company said.
"All the tests, both production and state trials, have been 100% implemented as maximum loads have to be tested in accordance with the chief designer’s decision to find serious faults, if any, and have the time to eliminate them before the vehicle’s acceptance," the company’s press office said.
No serious faults have been exposed during the tests, Remdizel stressed.
"Some minor improvements but this is a natural process," the company said.
"We can’t say that the vehicle has undergone any major changes. No, this has not happened," the company said. A source in the defense industry told TASS that the paratroopers’ Taifun vehicle was set for new trials at special military ranges, which would be over in 2019. "After that, the vehicle can be delivered to the troops."
The Taifun-VDV K4386 vehicle features a 4x4 wheeled formula, combined ceramic armor protection and the reduced curb weight. The vehicle can be armed with the Kord large-caliber machine-gun or other gun mounts. The combat vehicle is designated for Airborne Force personnel and can be air-dropped by parachutes from military transport aircraft of Russia’s Aerospace Force.