The Ukrainian "Novator" armored vehicle impressed military personnel with its off-road capabilities on the front lines
The Ukrainian “Novator” armored vehicle demonstrated high effectiveness while carrying out combat missions off-road. Soldiers from the 428th Regiment reported that the vehicle confidently navigates forests, swamps, and challenging terrain and can operate for over a year without major repairs.
In the video, the armored vehicle is shown with additional anti-drone mesh-and-grille protection; however, according to the soldiers, this had almost no effect on its off-road capability or maneuverability.
A driver with the call sign “Boroda,” who has been operating the vehicle for over a year, speaks of it almost as if it were a living being.
“As long as the Novator is on the move, the mission will be accomplished. It doesn’t ask permission from bushes and trees. It breaks through, drives on, and gets the job done. Sometimes we’d be driving through very dense forest, and it would plow through bushes and small trees. We couldn’t veer off course, so we just kept moving forward,” the driver says.
“Yes, we’ve gotten stuck sometimes, but it always managed to get out on its own. We’ve never had a situation where we had to call for technical support or repair the vehicle,” says the driver.
The “Novator” was developed by the Ukrainian company “Ukrainian Armored Vehicles.” Initially, the vehicle was designed for rapid-response units, but the full-scale war has significantly expanded its range of tasks—from logistics and evacuation to supporting mobile fire teams and unmanned systems units.
The design is based on the Ford F-550 chassis, which ensures high speed and good maintainability, and Ukrainian engineers have supplemented it with an armored capsule, reinforced suspension, and special military systems.
The vehicle features a 4×4 drivetrain and is equipped with a 6.7-liter Ford Power Stroke turbo-diesel engine delivering up to 330 k.s. of power and 996 N·m of torque. The automatic transmission provides a top speed of up to 140 km/h, and the driving range exceeds 500 km.
The armored vehicle, with 300 mm of ground clearance and all-wheel drive, features a reinforced suspension, and the RunFlat system allows it to continue moving even after tire damage.
The ballistic protection withstands 7.62-mm caliber bullets, and the seats are mine-resistant.
A remotely controlled combat module equipped with a large-caliber machine gun or an automatic grenade launcher can be mounted on the roof.
A video published by the 428th Separate Unmanned Systems Regiment shows the vehicle not on a training ground or at a demonstration, but in routine combat operations—while transporting ammunition, rotating personnel, and moving through areas where roads have effectively ceased to exist.
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