The KTO Rosomak (Polish: Kołowy Transporter Opancerzony Rosomak, lit. 'The Wolverine wheeled armored personnel carrier') is an 8×8 multi-role military vehicle produced by Rosomak S.A., a Polish Armaments Group company, in Siemianowice Śląskie (Silesia voivodeiship). The vehicle is a licensed variant of the Finnish Patria AMV.
KTO Rosomak | |
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Type | armored personnel carrier |
Place of origin | Finland and Poland |
Service history | |
Used by | See Operators |
Wars | Russo-Ukrainian War |
Specifications | |
Mass | 22,000 kg (49,000 lb) |
Length | 7.7 m (25 ft) |
Width | 2.8 m (9 ft 2 in) |
Height | 2.3 m (7 ft 7 in) |
Crew | 3 (commander, driver, gunner) 8 passengers |
Main armament | 1 × 30×173 mm ATK Mk44 Bushmaster II gun 1 × 12.7 mm WKM-B or 1 × 40mm Mk 19 in Rosomak M3 |
Secondary armament | 1 × 7.62×51mm NATO UKM-2000C coaxial general purpose machine gun |
Engine | DI 12 Scania diesel 360 kW (480 hp) or 405 kW (543 hp) |
Power/weight | 15.6 kW/t (21.2 PS/t) (max weight) |
Suspension | 8×8 wheeled |
Operational range | 800 km (500 mi) |
Maximum speed | over 100 km/h (60 mph) on land up to 10 km/h (6.2 mph) in water |
In December 2002, the Polish Ministry of National Defense signed a contract to buy 690 Patria AMV vehicles, to be manufactured in Poland. The main competitors of the AMV were the MOWAG Piranha and Steyr Pandur. As part of the initial order, 690 vehicles were to be delivered in two basic variants: 313 combat Armoured Personnel Carriers and 377 transport-special base vehicles. In October 2013, the order was increased to 997, for delivery between 2014 and 2019.
The name "Rosomak", Polish for "Wolverine", was chosen following a contest organized by the Nowa Technika Wojskowa magazine. The Rosomak replaced the obsolete OT-64 SKOT Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs) and partially the BMP-1 in service with the Polish Land Forces.[1]
The first export customer of Patria, AMV & WZM SA has the right to export the KTO Rosomak in some markets. In 2006 the KTO Rosomak was tested in Malaysia.[2] In 2023 Poland began supplying the KTO Rosamak to Ukraine, where it has seen battle.
The Polish Land Forces contingent, part of the International Security Assistance Force, operated over 100 KTO Rosomak vehicles, including five medevac versions, during the Afghanistan War. The APCs were equipped with additional steel-composite armor. In early 2008, a Polish Rosomak serving in Afghanistan, the version with upgraded armor, was attacked by the Taliban. The vehicle was hit by RPG-7 rockets, but managed to fire back and returned to base without requiring assistance.[6]
In June 2008, the Taliban attacked a Rosomak with an RPG, hitting it in its frontal armor without penetrating it. In 2009, the first soldier was reported killed while traveling in a Rosomak after an improvised explosive device exploded under the vehicle, which rolled over and crushed the gunner who had been standing in the open turret. Similar attacks had occurred before but had failed to inflict casualties.