The URO VAMTAC () is a Spanish four-wheel drive military vehicle manufactured by

UROVESA URO, Vehículos Especiales, S.A. (UROVESA) is a Spanish heavy vehicle manufacturer based in Santiago de Compostela, Galicia (Spain), Galicia. It is best known for the production of the URO VAMTAC, a Humvee-like four-wheel drive motor vehicle, an ...

. Externally it is similar in appearance and design to the

Humvee The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV; colloquial: Humvee) is a family of Military light utility vehicle, light, four-wheel drive Military vehicle#Military trucks, military trucks and utility vehicles produced by AM General. It ...

of the

United States Military The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...

due to similar requirements. More than 2,000 of the vehicles have been delivered to the

Spanish Armed Forces The Spanish Armed Forces are in charge of guaranteeing the sovereignty and independence of the Spain, Kingdom of Spain, defending its territorial integrity and the constitutional order, according to the functions entrusted to them by the Spanish ...

. Several other countries operate the VAMTAC as well, and it has seen in service most recently in Afghanistan and Syria. The vehicle comes in three models, named I3, S3 and ST5, and has several configurations.

Development

The URO VAMTAC was developed by the Spanish company URO, Vehiculos Especiales S.A. so that it would meet the requirements of the Spanish military for a multipurpose, air-portable, high mobility off-road vehicle with good payload capacity. Just as the HMMWV entered production in 1984 the Spanish army started to think of purchasing their own multirole vehicle that would replace Land Rovers. VAMTAC concept did not materialize until 1995 when a competition was held for a next-generation tactical vehicle. The American HMMWV was also a natural candidate for several reasons. UROVESA decided to design a vehicle that could exceed the US design. After the vehicle was tested by the Spanish Ministry of Defence, UROVESA received a five-year contract and the URO VAMTAC was produced from 1998 to 2003. In October 2005, the Ministry of Defence awarded a new five-year contract for the URO VAMTAC after a three-month trial period. This also introduced some changes, and the two models of the vehicle which were named T3 and T5, were re-designated as I3 and S3 respectively. The URO VAMTAC is similar in appearance and design to the U.S. Military's Humvee, because both vehicles were designed to meet similar requirements and specifications.

Operational history

Approximately 1,200 units were delivered to the Spanish military under the initial contract from 1998. Roughly 60 percent of these were of the T5 model (later S3), and the rest were T3 (later I3). By late 2009, around 900 more units had been delivered under the second contract, bringing the total procured by Spanish forces to approximately 2,100 vehicles. All the vehicles delivered under the second contract have been of the S3 model. The military has equipped about 25 percent of the vehicles received under the initial contract with ballistic kits, increasing their armour. URO VAMTACs have been used by the

Spanish National Police The National Police Corps (, CNP; ; also known simply as the National Police, ) is the national civilian police force of Spain. The CNP is mainly responsible for policing urban areas, whilst rural policing is generally the responsibility of t ...

as well. In April 2013, the Vamtac was selected as the chosen vehicle for all branches of the Spanish armed forces. This means they will replace HMMWVs used by Spanish Marines. A total of 772 vehicles were to be acquired over a 5-year period. The Spanish military has used the URO VAMTAC in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

, as well in Congo and

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

. Several other countries use this vehicle. All in all, according to a 2017 estimate, some 4,500 units are in service in more than 20 countries and so far in 50 different configurations.

Features and characteristics

The URO VAMTAC comes with

four-wheel drive A four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, is a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case pr ...

capability, and is available in three primary configurations – command and control, chassis-cab, and pick-up. The first comes with a four-door cab. The latter two versions are available with three cab types: two-door, four-door, or a four-door version with smaller rear doors and less cab space. Shelter type or cargo bodies such as hardtops can be added to the rear compartment, as well as weapons. It can accommodate a wide range of weapons including machine guns, grenade launchers, anti-tank missiles, 81 mm mortars,

M40 recoilless rifle The M40 recoilless rifle is a portable, crew-served 105 mm recoilless rifle made in the United States. Intended primarily as an anti-tank weapon, it could also be employed in an antipersonnel role with the use of an antipersonnel-tracer fl ...

s and light air defence missiles. The vehicle has a length of width of and a height of . The

curb weight A curb (American English) or kerb (British English) is the edge where a raised sidewalk/pavement or road median/central reservation meets a street/other roadway. History Although curbs have been used throughout modern history, and indeed ...

of the vehicle ranges from to , and has a payload capacity ranging from to . Both these specifications vary depending on the version. The URO VAMTAC has a range of more than , and can negotiate 70% gradients and 50% side slopes. It is powered by Steyr Motors' M16-"Monoblock" engine (6-cylinder, turbocharged

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

, ) coupled with a five speed automatic transmission. The I3 uses a engine, while the S3 is equipped with a one.

Versions

The URO VAMTAC has been evolved in several versions: *URO VAMTAC Rebeco (1998–2003) *URO VAMTAC I3 (initially designed URO VAMTAC T3) (2004–2010) *URO VAMTAC S3 (initially T5) (2004–2010) *URO VAMTAC S3 ARMORED (2004–2010) *URO VAMTAC ST5 (since 2013) *URO VAMTAC ST5 BN3 (STANAG armor level 3) (since 2015) *URO VAMTAC SK95 (light artillery tractor on a ST5 chassis) (since 2018) *URO VAMTAC LTV (Light Tactical Vehicle) (2018)

Variants

VAMTAC is available in many different versions with different body types. Most popular variants are pick-up, command/control and chassis-cab. The chassis-cab variant can mount different types of shelters or cargo compartments. There are several specialized variants of the URO VAMTAC according to the armament and configuration used. Several support variants have been produced with capabilities for towing, firefighting and resupplying. Notable variants include: *Ambulance vehicle with accommodation for two or four stretchers in the rear compartment. *Anti-tank vehicle equipped with either

BGM-71 TOW The BGM-71 TOW ("Tube-launched, Optically tracked, wire-guided missile, Wire-guided", pronounced ) is an American anti-tank missile. TOW replaced much smaller missiles like the SS.10 and ENTAC, offering roughly twice the effective range, a more ...

MILAN Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

guided missiles. Currently Spain is installing its Spike missiles in these vehicles. *Anti-aircraft vehicle equipped with Mistral surface-to-air missiles. Currently Malaysia have installed Starstreak missiles and

9K38 Igla The 9K38 Igla (, "needle", NATO reporting name SA-18 Grouse) is a Soviet/Russian man-portable infrared homing surface-to-air missile (SAM) system. A simplified, earlier version is known as the 9K310 Igla-1 (NATO: SA-16 Gimlet), and the latest ...

missiles on their vehicles.

Indonesian Army The Indonesian Army ( (TNI-AD), ) is the army, land branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. It has an estimated strength of 300,400 active personnel. The history of the Indonesian Army has its roots in 1945 when the (TKR) "People's Se ...

variant are equipped with Starstreak missiles. *Artillery vehicle equipped with

Type 63 multiple rocket launcher The Type 63 multiple rocket launcher is a towed, 12-tube, 107mm rocket launcher produced by the People's Republic of China in the early 1960s and later exported and manufactured globally. Although no longer serving with active infantry units, the ...

s and

M-63 Plamen M-63 Plamen (from ) is a 128mm multiple rocket launcher developed in 1963 in Yugoslavia for use in the Yugoslav People's Army. Development Serbian Prof. Obrad Vučurović, mechanical engineer at the Military Technical Institute was project mana ...

s. *Command and communications vehicle, with separate compartment in rear section to accommodate communications equipment. This versión has four-doors, cargo space and communication masts fitted on the corners of the shelter. *PSYOPS vehicle, equipped with loudspeaker arrays. *Fast Attack vehicle, designed for Special Forces and equipped for long range reconnaissance and infiltration missions.

Operators

Current operators

*Dominican Republic – 60–80 vehicles *Ghana – *Indonesia – 40+ vehicles, ST5 ( RapidRanger MMS version) & LTV ( LML/LML-NG & command version) *Iraq – 255 vehicles *Malaysia – 103 vehicles *Mali –

National Gendarmerie The National Gendarmerie ( ) is one of two national law enforcement forces of France, along with the National Police (France), National Police. The Gendarmerie is a branch of the French Armed Forces placed under the jurisdiction of the Minister ...

(

Malian Armed Forces The Malian Armed Forces (, FAMa) consists of the Army (), Republic of Mali Air Force (), and National Guard. They number some 7,000 and are under the control of the Minister of Armed Forces and Veterans. The Library of Congress as of January 200 ...

) – 2 vehicles donated by the United States in late 2022. *Morocco – 1,200 vehicles *Portugal – Leased several prior to 2006, after which they were returned to Spain. Purchased 139 ST5 BN3 variant vehicles in October 2018. 2024 Portuguese Army to receive VAMTAC ST5 4×4 vehicles: 3x vehicles with quadruple Starstreak missile launcher , 12 x 120m mortars, 6 NBC/EOD and 250 additional troop vehicles. Total 271 additional vehicles. *Romania – 42 VAMTAC S3 and 20 VAMTAC S3-HD variants. ST5 variant also used by the EOD units. *Saudi Arabia – 10 vehicles *Singapore – *Spain –

, National Police,

Guardia Civil The Civil Guard (; ) is one of the two national law enforcement agencies of Spain. As a national gendarmerie, it is military in nature and is responsible for civil policing under the authority of both the Ministry of the Interior and the Minis ...

, Emergency Units – Around 4,000 vehicles *Oman –

Royal Army of Oman The Royal Army of Oman () is the ground forces component of the Sultan of Oman's Armed Forces. It was founded in 1907 as the Muscat Garrison. It has a current strength of 35,000 personnel. History Oman has a military history which dates back to t ...

Royal Guard of Oman The Royal Guard of Oman (RGO) (Arabic: الحرس السلطاني العماني) is the royal guard of the List of rulers of Oman, Sultan of Oman. It is a separate service within the Sultan of Oman's Armed Forces, Sultan's Armed Forces (SAF) ...

*Ukraine –

Armed Forces of Ukraine The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) are the Military, military forces of Ukraine. All military and security forces, including the Armed Forces, are under the command of the president of Ukraine and subject to oversight by a permanent Verkhovna Rad ...

– 20 vehicles delivered in April 2022.

Future operators

*United Kingdom –

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

– Pending order for 12 vehicles equipped with

Lightweight Multirole Missile Martlet or the Lightweight Multirole Missile (LMM) is a lightweight air-to-surface, air-to-air, surface-to-air, and surface-to-surface missile developed by Thales Air Defence for the United Kingdom. It is named after a mythical bird from Englis ...

s to replace six

Alvis Stormer The Alvis Stormer is a military armoured vehicle manufactured by the British company Alvis Vickers, now BAE Systems Land & Armaments. The Stormer is a development of the CVR(T) family of vehicles (Scorpion, Scimitar, Spartan etc.), essenti ...

vehicles donated to Ukraine. *New Zealand –

New Zealand Army The New Zealand Army (, ) is the principal Army, land warfare force of New Zealand, a component of the New Zealand Defence Force alongside the Royal New Zealand Navy and the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Formed in 1845, as the New Zealand Mil ...

– 40 CK3 medium variants and 20 ST5 light variants on order.

Evaluation-only operators

* – (on trial, not adopted) *Paraguay – (on trial, not adopted)

Gallery

File:Urovesa Vamtac Armored.png, Version equipped with Composhield add-on armor kit, on display at IDEX 2013 File:URO VAMTAC, ST5 BN3, URO Vehículos Especiales S.A. Spain, 2015.jpg, URO VAMTAC ST5 BN3 exhibited at Homsec 2015 File:Herat2 (cropped).jpg, An URO VAMTAC S3 of the

Spanish Army The Spanish Army () is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest Standing army, active armies – dating back to the late 15th century. The Spanish Army has existed ...

Herat Herāt (; Dari/Pashto: هرات) is an oasis city and the third-largest city in Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Se ...

, in 2005 File:TOW E.T..JPG, Armed with

launcher File:URO VAMTAC with Mistral missile.jpg, Armed with Mistral launcher File:URO VAMTAC TNI-AD, Koarmada II, 2018.jpg, Armed with

Starstreak Starstreak is a British short-range surface-to-air missile that can be used as a man-portable air-defence system (MANPADS) or used in heavier systems. It is manufactured by Thales Air Defence (formerly Shorts Missile Systems) in Belfast, Northe ...

MMS launcher File:Uro vamtac - porta shelter.jpg, Communications vehicle File:EstacionMeridaB.jpg, Fully integrated van-body File:Paris Air Show 2019 - Le Bourget (48113964001).jpg, URO VAMTAC at Paris Air Show 2019 File:VAMTAC Cardom Ejército español.jpg, Spanish LWB version with armored crew-cab and weapon-system on open rear bed File:VAMTAC ambulancia.JPG, S3 Ambulance version of the

File:Tunku Sabah Cenderawasih-03.jpg,

Malaysian Army The Malaysian Army (; Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ) is the land component of the Malaysian Armed Forces. Steeped in British Army traditions, the Malaysian Army does not carry the title ‘royal’ () as do the Royal Malaysian Navy and the Royal Malaysi ...

URO VAMTAC in old Harimau Belang camouflage File:GEO in assault demonstration 3.jpg, URO VAMTAC with assault equipment from the

National Police Corps (Spain) The National Police Corps (, CNP; ; also known simply as the National Police, ) is the national civilian police force of Spain. The CNP is mainly responsible for policing urban areas, whilst rural policing is generally the responsibility of t ...

File:VAMTAC UIP.JPG, URO VAMTAC of the

File:Un VAMTAC de la Infantería de Marina en el hangar del L-61 (34258728484).jpg, URO VAMTAC ST5 of the

Spanish Marines The Marine Infantry () are the marines of the Spanish Navy. Responsible for conducting amphibious warfare. Fully integrated into the Spanish Navy's structure, the branch's history dates back to 1537 when Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor formed the ...

inside the hangar of L61 Juan Carlos I

References

External links

UROVESA home page
{{Use dmy dates, date=January 2025 Military vehicles of Spain Off-road vehicles Military light utility vehicles Military vehicles introduced in the 1990s Military trucks All-wheel-drive vehicles