The LOV-1 (Croatian: ''Lako Oklopno Vozilo'' or ''Light Armoured Vehicle'') is a wheeled non-amphibious

armoured personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...

currently in use with the

Croatian army The Croatian Army ( or HKoV) is the land force branch of the Croatian Armed Forces. It is numerically the largest of the three branches of the Croatian Armed Forces. The HKoV is the main force for the defense of the country against external threa ...

and

EULEX The European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, known as EULEX Kosovo or simply as EULEX,About EULEX
accessed 15 Jan ...

History

During the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence) and (rarely) "War in Krajina" ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Рат у Крајини, Rat u Krajini) are used. was an armed conflict fought in Croatia from 1991 to 1995 between Croats, Croat forces loyal to the Governmen ...

the

lacked a proper light armoured personnel carrier. The Croatian Ministry of Defense asked local firms to provide a solution for a light, fast and reliable armoured personnel carrier which could be produced quickly and in large quantities, without the need to import parts from abroad due to a UN arms embargo imposed on Croatia at the time. ''Torpedo'', a local firm from

Rijeka Rijeka (; Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...

, developed a basic armoured personnel carrier based on the TK-130 T-7 4x4 military truck, itself a licensed-produced and uprated TAM 110 from Slovenian TAM. The Army ordered 50 LOV-1 vehicles in late 1993, with the initial batch being delivered in 1994 and presented to the public on a military parade in May 1995 in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

. All LOV-1s are currently being replaced by numerous

Patria AMV The Patria AMV (Armoured Modular Vehicle) is an Eight-wheel drive, 8×8 multi-role list of military vehicles, military vehicle produced by the Finland, Finnish defence industry company Patria (company), Patria. The main feature of the AMV is its ...

and

MRAP Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle (MRAPV), also known as MRAP vehicle, is a type of armoured personnel carrier that is designed specifically to withstand land mines, improvised explosive device (IED) attacks, and ambushes to save troops' li ...

vehicles recently acquired. However, several specialized vehicles are still being actively used as of 2015-2016. The remainder, along with other older but operable equipment, are to be kept stored but in operational state for the needs of the 20,000-strong reserve force presently being created. For this, annual check-ups and basic maintenance works are performed regularly with vehicles kept in hangars and under roofed shelters.

Versions

* LOV-OP - basic variant armed with

M2 Browning machine gun The M2 machine gun or Browning .50-caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed near the end of World War I by John Browning. While similar to Browning's M1919 Browning machine gun, which was chamber ...

for transporting up to eight infantrymen * LOV-Z - unarmed command variant with additional radio equipment, air-conditioning and sound insulation * LOV-IZV - reconnaissance and scout vehicle armed with a 20mm RT-20 heavy sniper rifle and a light 8-round 60mm

MLRS A multiple rocket launcher (MRL) or multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) is a type of rocket artillery system that contains multiple launchers which are fixed to a single platform, and shoots its rocket ordnance in a fashion similar to a vol ...

called ''Obad'' (''Horse-fly'') * LOV-ABK - NBC warfare vehicle * LOV-RAK 24/128 mm - equipped with a 24-tube 128mm

, only 2 prototypes built * LOV-UP1 - artillery observation vehicle for directing artillery fire and spotting enemy artillery positions equipped with GPS, thermal imaging, laser range finder and ground artillery radar * LOV-UP2 - artillery command vehicle * LOV-ED - electronic warfare vehicle * LOV T2 - improved variant that entered service in 1997, only a few built

Combat history

The LOV-1 saw action in the Croatian War of Independence, particularly in Operations

Flash Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * The Flash, several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Barry Allen ** Wally West, the first Kid Flash and third adult Flash ...

and

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References

{{Modern IFV and APC Wheeled armoured personnel carriers Combat vehicles of Croatia Military vehicles introduced in the 1990s Armoured personnel carriers of the post–Cold War period