Sure, UTVs are cool and all, but do you know what would make them cooler? Rocket launchers. Listen, I don't make the rules, I just enforce them.
And what we have here comes from the sub-Reddit r/ShittyTechnicals which, at first glance, showcases what looks to be a home-built UTV of some sort. It even comes complete with a fully-armed rocket launcher, showcasing its arsenal somewhere in the Middle East or Africa.
But after some digging, I found out that not only isn't it cobbled together in someone's shed, but it was done up by a company out of Ukraine for the country's armed forces and modeled after the US military's Fast-Attack dune buggies. It's very much a fully-baked thing and I sorta want one.
Say hello to the VOLS buggy. Now do you want a rocket launcher, a .50 cal, or a sniper's pad with your go-fast UTV? Because all are available.
Anti tank buggy
byu/Destroyerescort inshittytechnicals
VOLS is led by Sadyk Volodymyr, the company's founder and engineer, who's been working with his hands for over 20 years. In fact, before the war with Russia, Volodymyr built metal gates, but dabbled with buggies in his free time, according to GZero Media. And since then, he's built a bunch for the Ukrainian Army, which has deployed them throughout the conflict.
The design of the VOLS borrows heavily from the US Special Forces' Desert Patrol Vehicle (DPV) built by Chenoweth Racing Products, Inc, in that it's a light, quick, and manueverable UTV-like buggy aimed at fast insertion or extraction missions. It's a killer combination.
According to Army Recognition Group, "This type of vehicle is very useful to perform guerilla operations, thanks to its anti-tank weapon system it can easily engage a target and then quickly move towards another position, without it being able to be spotted."
The VOLS is powered by a 1.9-liter turbocharged diesel engine sourced from Volkswagen sending power to the rear wheels, and a 38-liter (10 gallons) fuel tank lets it drive up to 500 kilometers (310 miles). More than enough to get into whatever locale needed. It also features 13 inches of ground clearance.
The tires are pretty interesting, too, as they seem to be a cross between a car tire and an off-road UTV tire with a heavy knob pattern, but a car-spec size. It even looks as if VOLS uses a car wheel, likely to make it easier to repair or replace in the field.
And then you get into the cool military-spec stuff.
The seats, which look like old Recaros, are said to be bullet-resistant up to a 7.62mm round (aka the AK-47 round). Likewise, VOLS states that the buggy is capable of being a platform for a machine gun, the above rocket launcher (a Ukrainian RK-3 Corsar anti-tank missile launcher), a grenade launcher, or can be used to exfil the wounded in short order and move special forces around quickly.
As of last year, VOLS had built around 60 buggies for the Army, though that number has likely increased since that report from GZero.
The concept, however, is dope and the ingenuity of Volodymyr is commendable. Who else thinks, "Hey, maybe the military needs my dune buggy design?" and then calls them up?
