Star 944
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The Star 944 is a Polish 4x4 truck designed for transport of cargo and personnel. Created by
Starachowice Starachowice is a city in southeastern Poland (historic Lesser Poland), with 49,513 inhabitants (31.12.2017). It is the capital of Starachowice County in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. It is situated upon the River Kamienna, a tributary of ...
-based Star Trucks company. Successor to the Star 744, also intended to partially replace the
Star 266 The Star 266 is a Polish 6x6 truck designed for transport of cargo and personnel. Created by Starachowice-based FSC Star, it was the basic transport truck used by the Polish Army. It was also available to the civilian market. A successor to the h ...
. The premiere of the new vehicle took place in 1999. It was powered by diesel engines with an output of 150 HP (maximum torque 580 Nm), and later 180 HP (650 Nm).


History

The vehicle was approved for the Polish Armed Forces as part of the new concept of the road transport structure of December 1998. It belonged to the category of medium-duty tactical and high-mobility trucks, similar to its predecessor Star 266, which, however, was replaced by heavier vehicles a dozen or so years later. There were basic versions of the 944K with a short day cab and the 944DK with a long four-door cab. Box or special bodies were used. In 2000, the Polish Army purchased 3 trucks of this model, in 2001 81, in 2002 185, in 2003 120, in 2004 197, in 2005 169, in 2006 155. The Star 944 became the basic newly purchased vehicle used to transport soldiers, supplementing the previously most numerous old Star 266, to a lesser extent it served as a chassis for special bodies. Despite systematic purchases by the
Polish armed forces The Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland (, ; abbreviated SZ RP), also called the Polish Armed Forces and popularly called in Poland (, roughly "the Polish Military"—abbreviated ''WP''), are the national Military, armed forces of the Poland, ...
, in relatively the largest quantities of trucks, the
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concern decided to end the assembly of trucks of its own design at the Star plant by 2007. In 2007, the army received the last 55 vehicles. The total number of Star 944 trucks produced in the years 2000-2007 is 910 units.


Star 944 Hiena

For the needs of the mission in
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, work began in 2004 on the modernization of the Star truck. The new version adapted for combat patrols was designated Star 944 Hiena. The basic modification was the introduction of armament - a 12.7 mm
NSW New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a state on the east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south, and South Australia to the west. Its coast borders the Coral and Tasman Seas to the east. T ...
machine gun. The rifle was placed on a pillar base mounted in the front part of the cargo box. Along with the base, a seat for the gunner and mounts for ammunition boxes were introduced. In addition, the vehicle was adapted to transport an infantry squad - benches for soldiers (sitting back to back) were mounted in the rear part of the box. Partial armor was also introduced - steel (reinforced with
composite Composite or compositing may refer to: Materials * Composite material, a material that is made from several different substances ** Metal matrix composite, composed of metal and other parts ** Cermet, a composite of ceramic and metallic material ...
material) covers were mounted to protect against light mines, and also partially against small arms projectiles and shrapnel. The bottom of the box, the floor and the door of the cab were lined with LIM-3 carpet. In addition, it was painted in desert colors.


Star 944P

Star 944P is a version of Star 944 with special armour installed at level 1
STANAG In NATO, a standardization agreement (STANAG, redundantly: STANAG agreement) defines processes, procedures, terms, and conditions for common military or technical procedures or equipment between the member countries of the alliance. Each NATO st ...
4569. This variant was developed in the 3rd District Technical Workshops from
Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki (pronounced ), often simply referred to as Nowy Dwór, is a town in east-central Poland in the Masovian Voivodeship with ca. 28500 inhabitants (2021). It is the capital of Nowy Dwór County, Masovian Voivodeship, Nowy Dwór ...
in 2007–2008. A large part of the solutions was borrowed from the Hibneryt-P anti-aircraft system presented at the
MSPO Międzynarodowy Salon Przemysłu Obronnego (International Defence Industry Exhibition) is the largest trade fair event dedicated to military equipment in Central and Eastern Europe and one of the largest in the world. Established in 1993, it i ...
2007 trade fair, where an armoured version of the Star 266M truck was used. At the end of 2007, the developed prototype was subjected to traction tests at the Military Institute of Armoured and Automotive Technology in
Sulejówek Sulejówek is a town in Poland, about east of Warsaw city centre and part of its metropolitan area. It is located in Masovian Voivodeship, in Mińsk County. Its population numbers 19323 (2011). The town is well known in Poland as the place wher ...
. The results of these tests were promising, due to the high engine power the vehicle's performance did not decrease significantly. Later, the vehicle was subjected to ballistic strength assessment, consisting solely of theoretical determination of the armour strength. Positive test results resulted in an order for 20 Star 944P vehicles from the 3rd OWT. Twelve of them were sent to the
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and two to the in
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.{{citation needed, date=December 2024


References

Trucks FSC Star vehicles Military vehicles introduced in the 2000s Military trucks Cab over off-road vehicles