Buggies at the front: 9 advantages of ultralight tactical vehicles
The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine explains the advantages of ultralight tactical buggies in modern warfare and which buggies Ukrainian defenders use.
The Defence Forces of Ukraine operate a fairly diverse fleet of wheeled vehicles. On the battlefield, defenders use motorcycles, quad bikes, hexacycles (six-wheeled ATVs), buggies, ultralight, light, and medium tactical vehicles, as well as dozens of different armored vehicles, pickup trucks, trucks, and special-purpose vehicles.
With unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) dominating the modern battlefield and the high risk of being struck by them, ultralight tactical vehicles, known as buggies, are increasingly being used.
What are the advantages of military buggies?
Compared with traditional tactical vehicles such as SUVs, pickup trucks, and minibuses, as well as armored vehicles of all classes, ultralight buggies have a number of advantages.
High speed
Modern buggies can reach speeds of up to 140 km/h off-road. No other tactical vehicle or tracked vehicle can match this level of high-speed performance.
High speed can protect against fiber-optic drones, one of the main weapons on today’s front line. Drones with a fiber-optic control link cannot accelerate to such speeds.
Maneuverability
Ultralight buggies are specifically designed to perform sharp maneuvers. This provides additional protection against fiber-optic UAVs.
Such FPV drones cannot perform sharp maneuvers because they are “tethered” to the control unit by a fiber-optic cable.
Off-road capability
Thanks to their low weight, low center of gravity, long suspension travel, and off-road wheels, buggies have greater all-terrain capability than any other wheeled vehicle.
A buggy’s ability to move off-road often exceeds that of tracked vehicles. Buggies can move through forests, tree lines, and dense urban areas.
Low signature
Buggies are smaller and lower than other types of motor vehicles. This makes them harder to hit not only with drones but also with conventional weapons.
They have a much smaller thermal signature, which provides additional protection against weapons with thermal-imaging guidance.
Versatility
Buggies are designed to perform a wide range of tasks: reconnaissance, assault, logistics, evacuation, patrolling, surveillance, and special roles.
Other vehicles have a much narrower range of functions and less potential for modification.
Protection against powerful mines
A fully equipped buggy weighs no more than 1.5 tonnes. This weight is evenly distributed across four wide wheels, so a buggy exerts less ground pressure than any other motor vehicle.
Buggies do not trigger powerful mines designed for heavy vehicles.
Low price
The average cost of a buggy is several times lower than that of a military vehicle and dozens of times lower than that of a tactical armored vehicle.
Simple and inexpensive maintenance
Buggies have a simple design with inexpensive, easy-to-repair components and assemblies.
Line units of military formations can maintain and repair buggies. Conventional repair equipment for passenger cars is sufficient for this.
Ease of operation
Modern military buggies are equipped with simple, intuitive control systems. Any soldier can learn to drive a buggy. By contrast, learning to drive a medium or heavy tactical vehicle requires appropriate physical attributes and several months of training.
At the same time, the biggest drawbacks of buggies are the lack of crew protection against weapons and limited payload capacity.
Which buggies do Ukraine’s Defence Forces use?
Today, the Defence Forces of Ukraine use dozens of different buggies on the battlefield, both Ukrainian-made and foreign-made.
The Varan, VOLS, Khyzhak, and Dracarys are among the Ukrainian-developed buggies that have passed testing and have been used in combat. Some of them have already been codified, meaning they are officially authorized for procurement and operation.
Buggies have thus become a fairly common sight at the front, and their role is growing alongside the mass use of drones. The advantages described above make it possible to use these vehicles where conventional equipment becomes vulnerable.
As previously reported, the Defence Procurement Agency DOT has contracted buggies for the Defence Forces for the first time: more than 2,000 units. The tender resulted in savings of about UAH 1.5 billion.
