This Is Russia’s New Battle-Ready Plastun-TT ATV

We get some pretty neat off-roaders here in the States, but the really wild stuff is reserved for the battlefield. While we’re pretty sure they’re going to be used for evil instead of something worthwhile, Plastun, a Russian company, recently revealed its TT articulated all-terrain vehicle, designed for use in Ukraine.

Sidestepping the obvious horrors of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which started more than two years ago, the Plastun-TT is a wonky-looking ATV with beefy tires and heavy pixelated-Minecraft vibes. It will land as a replacement or complement to Russia’s fleet of Chinese Desertcross 1000-3 ATVs, which first hit the battlefield late last year.

Russia had deployed 537 Desertcross vehicles by the middle of November 2023 and has stated plans to push another 1,590 out by March of 2024. The Plastun-TT would be a domestically produced alternative for Russia, and it could help the country’s military get around the destructive firepower of Ukraine’s drones, which have been particularly brutal on the Chinese ATVs.

With the Plastun-TT, Russia hopes to have a vehicle with cargo and personnel-carrying capabilities, along with strong performance to tackle the often harsh terrains encountered between the two countries. Plastun will source gearboxes and engines from the Lada Niva, and the axles come from a Gazelle, so with any luck, that “pedigree” will let Ukrainian forces handily smash the TT in battle.

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