We would like to share with you our conclusions that we made when we were looking for armored vehicles for the Ukrainian army
We decided to start our search from the countries of the Middle East, as there are a large number of manufacturers of armored personnel carriers (APC), which, by the way, are so cheaper than in Canada, the USA or the EU. In the Middle East, APC are produced mainly on the basis of the Toyota car, namely, the truck body, engine and gearbox box are taken and all this is hung with armored elements: doors, hood, windows, etc. The cost of such an armored personnel carrier ranges from 80 to 100 thousand dollars, depending on the degree of armor. Almost all manufacturers from these countries agreed to sell their armored personnel carriers to our non-profit organisation, but after we said that the equipment would go to the needs of the Ukrainian military forces, we were informed that they “do not want to support any side of the conflict” and refused to sell APC to us. After the Middle East, we decided to turn to sellers and manufacturers who are located in the countries of the European Union. But to our great disappointment, all manufacturers and sellers of armored vehicles in the EU, whom we contacted, also refused to buy their equipment, referring to certain circumstances. For example, sellers from the Netherlands informed us that their government does not allow them to sell armored vehicles to our non-profit organisation to transfer to Ukraine. By the way, the Netherlands increased trade turnover with the aggressor country of Russia by 32%, Belgium increased by 81%, Spain by 57%, and the United States reduced its trade turnover with Russia by 35%, these figures shocked us. Poland and the Czech Republic are worth mentioning. Sellers of armored vehicles from these countries informed us that they had already transferred to Ukraine all the APC that they had in stock.
After manufacturers in the EU and in the Middle East refused us, we turned to APC manufacturers in Canada. Manufacturers from Canada mainly produce their APC based on a Ford car, on the same principle as their competitors from the Middle East, but their price is about 260 thousand dollars, which is three times more expensive than, for example, manufacturers from the UAE.
As a result, we found used armored vehicles – Pinzgauer Vector 718 6×6, which belong to the British Army. One of these armored personnel carriers is located in Germany. These APC are of very good quality with a mileage of one thousand to seven thousand kilometers, that is, in excellent technical condition.
Now about the price. Until February 24, the cost of these APC was about 30 thousand euros, including delivery to any EU country. Now their price is 79 thousand euros. We are going to buy Pinzgauer Vector 718 6×6 for the Ukrainian Army and hand it over at the beginning of December this year.