Novator: A New Voice in Armored Vehicle Production by Ukraine

On the territory of Ukraine, the largest war since the Second World War is taking place, according to experts. This war requires a large number of weapons and armor – modern, efficient, and fast. Allied supplies, whatever they may be, cannot meet all the needs of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, but the Ukrainian defense industry is not standing still.

Since 2014, it has been producing modern armored combat vehicles and vehicles for the military. In particular, the company Ukrainian Armor has developed several armored vehicles, including the Novator, which has now been upgraded to the Novator-2 – a new generation vehicle operated by units of the Defense Forces.

Kyiv Post goes to test it together with Stefan Korshak.

“The advantages are that the vehicle is lighter, it has a 4-person crew, is more maneuverable, more stable, and faster,” said Oleksandr, a servicemember from one of the National Police brigades.

He claims that the possibilities of the machine are almost inexhaustible. It even came out of fire without tires.

“These wheels have Run-flat technology. You can safely leave the site of shelling. Yes, there are pieces of the tire left, but you can escape thanks to Run-flat,” Oleksandr added.

One of the developers of the vehicle, Mykola Kuzma, deputy general director of the company for development, says that one of the tasks in building the truck was to create a universal vehicle for any military need.

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“The truck itself is designed to transport personnel; for example, it can be used as an ambulance or assault vehicle. It is a multi-purpose vehicle,” Kuzma said.

The vehicle is based on the American Ford F-550 Superduty industrial-grade truck chassis. Everything is removed from it except the engine and the internal mechanisms. Then, the construction of a new vehicle on this chassis begins.

“When we buy a chassis, we completely disassemble it, including the front and rear axles. We weld and strengthen the ball bearings, hubs, and upgrade the suspension with reinforced shock absorbers. You also see airbags,” Kuzma explained as he showed us the process.

The armor is mounted in the same way, constantly updated. This includes armored glass and additional useful items for the soldiers.

“We use a very strong armored steel with a strength index of more than 580 according to Brinell. With such a hardness index, we can reduce the thickness of the steel, making our vehicle both strong and light. This truck in curb condition weighs 9 tons. Here we see the thickness of the armor – it is thin but can withstand a 7.62x54mm LP bullet,” Kuzma said.

Air suspension, a powerful engine, large wheels, and reinforced shock absorbers allow the Novator-2 to overcome almost any obstacles while remaining comfortable, fast, and protected, unlike ordinary pickups, says Denys, a sergeant in the National Guard. He survived both shelling and FPV drone attacks in this vehicle.

“There was a checkpoint in front of me, and a tank was firing on it. You could see debris flying 20-50 meters from left to right. The armor was hit, but it performed well. The guys might get concussed, but the armor dissipates the shock in waves, leaving you unharmed. The same happened with the drones. At night, when driving, you can clearly see nothing in the device's field of vision as the FPV drone approaches. It fell in front of me and started blinking,” Denys explained.

On the outside, the crew has electronic warfare tools for fighting drones, sighting holes for shooting, and other small but useful features on the truck’s exterior, like this step!

“This may be the simplest, yet my favorite part of this vehicle. Right here, we have a door handle! This vehicle is for soldiers! They always need to get to the top. The earlier versions of the vehicle didn’t have this step. So, soldiers used this handle! It’s a strong handle, as you can see, and now the designers have just added the step! A cheap solution to make the vehicle more functional!” said Stefan.

But how does it look inside? Let’s see! Thanks to the skillful combination of the original chassis and new developments, the vehicle remains as durable as the Ford F-550 it’s based on.

But let’s drive it! It feels quite stable on the move, but you have to hold the wheel firmly with both hands!

“It’s a pretty smooth ride, but that’s not the point. The point is that this vehicle is built to withstand shrapnel, bullets, and fragments of artillery shells. It’s all steel, all Ukrainian armor. It has a very strong suspension; it’s a very rugged ride. This vehicle is used to access places where things are blown up and dangerous. It’s not designed to sit pretty in a garage – it’s built for maximum capacity!”  Stefan noticed.

But let’s get back to production and service. Vladyslav Belbas says the Defense Forces have already received hundreds of such vehicles. The main advantage, compared to foreign analogs, is that you can get service from the manufacturer right here in Ukraine, near the battlefield.

“It’s not revolutionary to make an armored vehicle, but the advantage comes from good customer feedback. That’s based on your service and your reputation. We are constantly improving, adding, and changing things based on combat experience. If you have a service team ready to get as close to the battlefield as possible to help with the truck, and if it can do so quickly, you’ll get great reviews,” Belbas said.

Ukraine’s needs, given the activity of enemy drones, now require thousands of such vehicles. Potentially, they could replace all the pickups currently used by Ukrainian soldiers.