Philippine army orders GAZ Sadko Next troop carrier trucks.

According to MaxDefense Philippines, the Philippine Army has released a Notice of Award (NOA) for the supply of 90 Troop Carrier Light trucks to Conequip Philippines, which is a dealer of the Russian truck brand GAZ.
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GAZ Sadko Next (Picture source: GAZ)

Although unconfirmed to date, it is believed that Conequip Philippines offers the GAZ Sadko Next, a modernized version of the GAZ Sadko which was supplied to the Philippine National Police Special Action Force a few years ago. The truck would be slotted in between the Kia KM450 4x4 truck, and the Kia KM250 6x6 truck used as troop carriers, MaxDefense Philippines writes. So far, the contract does not appear to have been released yet, so this information remains to be confirmed. If indeed confirmed, then this would be the 2nd Russian truck model to enter service with the Philippine Army after the Ural 4320 7-ton truck, 20 units of which were donated by the Russian government, and currently used by the Army Support Command (ASCOM) for general transportation duties.

GAZ-3308 "Sadko" is a 2.5-ton, 4-wheel-drive cargo truck. The Sadko is produced by the Gorky Automobile Plant (GAZ). It is named after Sadko, a protagonist in many bylinas of the Novgorod cycle. The current GAZ-3308 series of vehicles served as a replacement for the GAZ-66, which was produced for approximately 35 years (from 1964 until 1999). The first prototype was developed by the Gorky Automobile Plant in 1995 under the designation GAZ-33097. Series production began in December 1997, receiving the designation GAZ-3308 and the name "Sadko." In the Russian Army, it replaced the GAZ-66-40 cab-over-engine truck. For this purpose, certain modifications were implemented including the cab from the GAZ-3309 with fenders featuring enlarged wheel arches as well as drive axles and transmission analogous to those used on the GAZ-66-40.

Since 2003, most GAZ-3308 trucks have been equipped with an MMZ D-245.7 turbodiesel engine, which starting in 2005, met the requirements of the Euro-2 emission standard. In 2013, this engine was replaced by the type D-245.7E4 meeting the Euro-4 emission standard. In 2005 the GAZ-33086 "Zemlyak" variant was introduced; mainly differing in that it had a 4-wheel rear axle allowing for an increased 4-ton carrying capacity. In 2013 another variant, the GAZ-33088, was introduced with a YaMZ-53442 turbodiesel engine meeting the Euro-4 emission standard.

In June 2014, GAZ presented a new version with the unofficial name of Sadko Next, which has an increased carrying capacity of 3 tons.

GAZ Sadko (Picture source: Vitaly Kuzmin)