Russian special operators will soon be equiped with the Typhoon family armored fighting vehicle TASS 33105161.

Interestingly, the military is planning to buy both versions of the Taifun - the Taifun-U made by the Urals Automobile Plant and the Taifun-K from KaMAZ. The decision to equip reconnaissance units and Special Forces brigades with the Taifun has been made, and modifications to their tables of organization and equipment are being mulled over to figure out the number of vehicles the Defense Ministry needs. The efforts are slated to be complete before year-end.

The reconnaissance battalions, Special Forces brigades and reactivated airborne reconnaissance companies with combined-arms brigades and divisions will receive the advanced Taifun in addition to the Tigr armored car in their inventory, which is much lighter. The Tigr is better fit for recon and operations behind the enemy’s lines, while the Taifun will come in handy for convoy escort, operations in urbanized terrain and cargo hauling.

The Defense Ministry is gearing up for the Taifun’s delivery. The drivers and maintainers, earmarked to operate the type soon, will take training courses where Ural and KaMAZ personnel will teach them to handle the advanced vehicles.

At present, about 10 Taifun-Ks and Taifun-Us have been in operational evaluation with the 10th and 346th Special Forces Brigades of the Southern Military District. In Western terms, the Russian-made Taifun is classified as MRAP (Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicle). Its crew survives even a landmine blast and remains fit for battle owing to a special design of its hull, suspension and wedge-shaped bottom design.

It is noteworthy that the MRAP was developed as far back as the 1980s for the South African police and army that had encountered mine warfare launched by the insurgents planting dozens of mines and IEDs and their relentless attacks on military and police convoys. Following the invasion of Iraq, the US forces involved in the fighting against the Iraqi resistance and al-Qaeda bought several thousand MRAPs in various variant over several years. At present, vehicles of the class are in the inventory of virtually all developed countries.

The MRAP is an embodiment of compromise. Owing to the design features of its hull and, which is more, suspension, it is next to incapable of moving across rugged terrain. It carries not more than 10 troops. After the US withdrawal from Iraq, the Pentagon had to write off several families of armored wheeled vehicles. The Russian-developed Taifun combines good off-road capability, high carrying capacity and high protection for its occupants.