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Source: 210th. Assault Brigade
In late 2022, Spain provided Ukraine with twenty VAMTAC (Vehículo de Alta Movilidad Táctico; High Mobility Tactical Vehicle) vehicles. Built by the Spanish firm UROVESA (URO Vehiculos Especiales S.A.), the VAMTAC is a multi-purpose armored vehicle along the same lines as the U.S. military's HMMWV. Like the HMMWV, the VAMTAC has many variants, to include an armored ambulance, anti-tank vehicle, anti-aircraft vehicle, and other roles. In November 2024, articles appeared showing men of the Ukrainian 2nd. Artillery Battery, 210th. Assault Regiment “Berlingo” training with VAMTAC ST5 vehicles fitted with the Alakrán mortar system using a 120mm mortar built by the French company Thales. This is one of those photographs.
The basis of the mortar carrier is a VAMTAC ST5, the current production version of the vehicle. The ST5 can be fitted with a number of Steyr Motors engines. The most powerful is a 245 horsepower 6.7 litre, 6-cylinder, turbocharged diesel engine. This is mated to an automatic transmission with a 7-speed gearbox (6 forward, 1 reverse). A total of 29 gallons of diesel fuel is carried and provides for a maximum cruise range of 370 miles. Top road speed is 84 miles per hour. The cab is protected by at least STANAG 4569 Level 1 or Level 2 armor which is proof against 5.56x45mm/7.62x51mm ball ammunition (Level 1) or 7.62x39mm API (Armor-Piercing Incendiary) ammunition (Level 2). A separate model, the VAMTAC ST5 BN3 supports STANAG 4569 Level 3 armor which can defeat 7.62x51mm AP (Armor-Piercing) and 7.62x54R API ammunition.
The Alakrán (Scorpion) system was developed and is produced by the Spanish company Milanion NTGS. It can be fitted to many suitable vehicles and the system has seen use already by Ukraine, fitted to Bogdan Bars-6 armored vehicles. As can be seen here, the remainder of the VAMTAC ST5 is made up of the Alakrán system. The mortar, when in travel order, lays between the ammunition cabinets. Just behind the cab is the controls for deploying the mortar, storage cabinet, and a spare tire. When being deployed, the mortar is raised upward in its cradle by a electro-pneumatic arm. On the bottom of the cradle is a base plate which is used to spread out the mortar's recoil forces when a projectile is fired. The mortar cradle permits a total of 60 degrees of traverse and between 45 to 85 degrees of elevation. A feature of the Alakrán is a barrel cooling system and this permits the mortar to fire a sustained 16 projectiles per minute. The Alakrán incorporates a fire control system (FCS) that utilizes a geographic information system (GIS) that permits the mortar to conduct zonal shooting (the FCS automatically makes slight adjustments to the barrel to permit wide area strikes) as well as simultaneous impact (the FCS adjusts the mortar to permit multiple rounds to hit the target at the same time). The Alakrán system, from the halt, can be ready to fire in half a minute. A trained crew can halt, deploy the mortar, fire two rounds, then be on the move to a new firing location in under a minute. If there is a fault with the deployment system, the mortar can be set up manually. Likewise, if the FCS goes down, the mortar can be manually aimed. The mortar has a maximum range of 8 miles. Spanish produced mortar bombs provided to the Ukrainians are HE (High-Explosive) though inert training munitions are also likely included.
It is not known how large the purchase order for the VAMTAC mortar carriers was but at least six are known to be in service as of November 2024.
