Source: Reddit
Photographed sometime in April 2025, a Kozak-5 infantry mobility vehicle (IMV) sports an extensive arrangement of anti-drone screens around the vehicle and what appears to be an anti-mine apparatus fitted to the front. The Kozak-5 (“Kozak” meaning “Cossack”) is a development of Ukrainian company Praktika's Kozak-1 which first appeared in 2009.
The Kozak-5 is built using a variant of the chassis for the Ford F550 truck. While the Kozak-5 can be obtained with a stock chassis, it can be upgraded with a strengthened front axle housing, heavier shock absorbers and coil springs, and bigger wheels to support heavy-duty tires. A further upgrade involves replacing the regular axles with Meritor built axles which boost payload capacity by 2 tons on the front axle, even heavier springs and shock absorbers, Meritor quadratic brakes, CTIS (Central Tire Inflation System), and mil-spec wheels.
For an engine, a Power Stroke 6.7 liter V8 diesel motor is installed with a 330 horsepower output. This is paired to a Torq Shift 10-R-140 automatic transmission with a 11-speed gearbox (10 forward, 1 reverse). On the road, the Kozak-5 has a maximum speed of 93 miles per hour and with the onboard fuel capacity, the operational range is 497 miles.
As an IMV, the Kozak-5 supports STANAG 4569 Level 2 armor protection as standard, using a steel alloy blend which has both a high hardness but also some plasticity. As such, the all-around defense can defeat Russian BZ 7.62x39mm API (Armor-Piercing Incendiary) ammunition at 30 meters. It also protects against 155mm HE (High-Explosive) shell fragments at 80 meters. The bullet-proof glass, made by Praktika, uses a sandwich of glass panes connected by polymer film layers. Against blasts from mines and IEDs, the Kozak-5 comes standard with STANAG 4569 Level 2a and 2b defense. Thus, it can withstand running over a 13 pound explosive charge within a pressure activated mine (Level 2a) and can also protect against a mine detonation underneath the center of the vehicle, again with a 13 pound explosive charge (Level 2b). Additional protection comes from an automatic fire extinguishing system, one for the engine and the other for the crew compartment.
The Kozak-5 can be fitted out with three styles of turret. The first is the “basic turret” and that is shown in the photograph here. It consists of a front gun shield with two vision blocks, side shields with vision blocks, and a rear shield. Rear view mirrors are provided on the turret sides. The “simplistic design” is much as the first but without the front gun shield. Finally, there is the “closed design” which is a fully enclosed turret with bullet-proof glass vision panes and a roof hatch. The gun mount for all three turrets is designed for medium machine-guns like the 7.62mm PK. The turret is electrically rotated but can be manually rotated if need be. There are five gun ports (two per side and one in the rear) that permit passengers to utilize their small arms.
Other systems include ergonomic seats (IMV model capacity is 9 men, including the two man crew), internal lighting, individual “goose-neck” lights for directed illumination, self-recovery winch, heater, and air-conditioning system (with an additional AC evaporator). Optional equipment includes video cameras, GPS navigation system, radio unit(s), black-out lighting, and a rear-view video camera for use by the driver.
Returning to the photograph, the front screen is hinged to permit access to the hood for engine maintenance. There is a gap in the front screen arrangement to allow for a field of fire for the turret weapon (not fitted in this picture) though the overhead screen limits the area of attack by a FPV drone against the turret. The more interesting feature is the anti-mine apparatus. Each side has two thick rubberized material (likely conveyor belts) flaps, weighted at the bottom with a metal bar arrangement and chains can be seen which look to be what the strips are secured to via another metal bar. In turn, the chains are attached to the arms coming off the front of the Kozak-5. When in operation, the flaps would drag along the ground and hopefully would catch any lever activated landmine and set it off before the Kozak-5's wheels did. It is similar to the KMT-6 mine ploughs Soviet-era tanks utilize to dig into the ground and push buried mines to the sides of the tank before the tracks hit them.
