Ukrainian Conflict 'Scorpion' UAZ-469
This is a stripped down and heavily modified UAZ-469, that has been retrofitted with additional armour and a heavy machinegun in 2014. It is part of a series of Ukrainian vehicles that have been nicknamed after animals, with this one being the open-topped 'Scorpion' technical based on a UAZ-469 Light Utility Vehicle, sporting a 72 horsepower petrol engine with a top speed of 100KM and 4x4 drive in it's standard configuration. This modified individual vehicle was given the nickname 'Scorpion' 'Grasshopper' or 'Scorpio' by it's creators and it was fitted with a bathtub style armoured shell and a heavy machinegun mount for a 12.7 DShK.
As much of the original chassis was possible was removed in order to support the new armour while still remaining a smaller vehicle and with an open top, as well as using a V shaped hull to provide some protection against mines and IED's. The white stripes are for identification purposes and for IFF/ to prevent friendly fire by Ukrainian forces, similar to using armbands on infantry during the conflict. Different Ukrainian units had different sets of stripes with meanings such as command vehicle, frontline or rearguard vehicle.
These types of improvised vehicles were supposedly used as stop-gap solutions when supplies of actual professional armoured MRAP support or better designs known as "Dozor-B" and KrAZ Spartan's was not available during the earlier periods of the conflict in the ATO region before August of 2014 when the development of this vehicle began.
The 'Scorpio' was built from the hull of a UAZ-469 with the bodywork removed- here you can see the vehicle mid-way in construction at Kramatorsk in July of 2014. Several names were considered for the project such as 'Grasshopper' but in the end the final name was 'Scorpio' or 'Scorpion' for the vehicle which was made from an ordinary UAZ-469 (1) in a garage by a group of military enthusiasts as an independent volunteer project, not connected with any particular Ukrainian organisation and who also documented their process for use by others online-
"The authors specifically shared the secrets of creating "Scorpio" so that their experience could be used by others."
One of the authors of the project simply presented an old UAZ-469 to the other members group involved in the vehicles' construction and it formed the base vehicle for the armoured and armed conversion. The body had to be cut, to create an armored car [and] they used only one UAZ frame and engine. Further, a V-shaped hood, a body and a 2-seater cab were made of metal sheets.'
Armour was added to the vehicle after much experimentation that is 7.62x39 ballistic protection rated despite being thin and light which was accomplished by using three different layers of armour, the outer layer which was flat metal plates and underneath a second layer of armour that was made from continuous V shaped metal plates backed by a final flat metal plate. Original testing was done with other armour configurations, which was unsuccessful so the final design was chosen using three differently orientated and shaped layers of metal.
The reason for that is the first layer of armour was not enough to protect against steel core military 7.62x39 bullets at closer ranges but would significantly slow the round's velocity and energy by having it penetrate it, and the second armour layer with the angles was more effective at then deflecting the rounds than a simple second flat armour plate while a third layer of flat armour prevented any further penetration or bullet spalling, almost resembling how cardboard is reinforced with V patterns inside the two flat plates but with metal. Once this armour design was decided on and considered superior proof testing rounds were fired from a 7.62x39 AKM at the now-armoured engine block as well as the two seater armoured cabin and considered a success.
Armoured glass would also be acquired by the team and used on the front windshield, which was replaced with armoured glass as well as a folding metal armour plate that could be lowered for additional protection depending on the situation but would leave the crew blind.
Once the armour design and armoured glass had been acquired, tested and decided upon, the full conversion process would then take place over the course of a week in August of 2014.
The original plan was for V shaped armour around the engine compartment and the 2 seater crew position only, leaving the rear end of the vehicle and the original chassis around the back wheels unmodified. This was due to concerns about the weight of armour and additional effort they originally believed would be required to make the armour effective but after their success with the new layered armour and while it was complex to create it was still, due to the three layers, flat on both welding surfaces making it easy to apply to the chassis and it was decided while the vehicle was under construction to extend the armour over the rear wheels as well in order to prioritize reliable armour protection. The V shaped lower hull elements were intentionally designed to attempt to provide additional mine and explosive protection by re-direction blast waves from explosives underneath the vehicle off to the sides to protect the crewmen, as an improvised equivalent to Mine Resistant Armoured Vehicles (MRAP) designs which use a similar configuration.
Despite this however, the gunner position was left exposed and was later armed with an unmodified tripod mounted 12.7 DShK heavy machinegun mount.
By the end of August of 2014 the vehicle had been completed and hurriedly painted in a black and green camouflage pattern before it was driven to local forces and handed over to them for their operational use, and that was also when the white identification markings and insignia were added. The armour was also tested successfully again by the soldiers rather than the build team, and a round penetrated the first layer of armour, deflecting off the second and leaving the third untouched.
The creators of the vehicle did not intend to stop there with only the single 'Scorpion' design based on the small UAZ chassis and were already looking for a "donor" for a large MRAP-armored car following the successful donation of the the vehicle. They found the UAZ small and rather limiting so began looking for a larger vehicle that would also be a suitable technical conversion chassis like a larger GAZ-66, ZIL-131 or something similar for a larger and superior MRAP style armoured car for use in the Ukrainian conflict.
The team still have a lot of old UAZ's available in the region for use in further conversion, the new method of armour using easier to acquire metal while still providing good protection had been discovered, and they wished to expand production to even more garages where such a MRAP car can be welded. Here is a statement by the team from 2014-08-06-
"So, while the generals are still deciding what equipment to buy, the volunteers are already doing it with all their kind. The budget for the creation of such an MRAP-armored car (without the cost of the chassis) in the range of 20-25 thousand hryvnia. With the cost of the old UAZ, it is quite possible to invest in $4,000-5,000. It is the most affordable MRAP in the world."
The team used their experience and went on to be involved in the development of other improvised technicals that also saw combat during the Ukrainian Conflict from 2014 onwards that I will be covering in future articles here.
