KADEX 2018: The “Wolf” Mobile Turret Mount, Improved Production “Technical”
A Kazakh company had on display an improved and modernized tactical pickup truck system at KADEX 2018 called the “Wolf”. “Technicals” have of course been in use for several decades, mostly in impoverished countries that cannot afford mobile vehicles that are armored. But what is unique about what the JSC Petropavlovsk company from Kazakhstan has to offer is that the system is extremely mobile and versatile compared to the vast majority of production “Technicals” on the market. The overwhelming majority of these usually have their heavy or medium machine guns positioned so as to only point within a few degrees of the 12 o’clock position of the pickup truck. Thus severely limiting the capabilities of that tactical vehicle when taking up a defense, setting up a quick perimeter or simply covering a security bubble around a moving convoy in alternating fields of fire. This presentation of the mechanism was featured in an Army Recognition episode about it-
The truck platform upon which the system is bolted to is a UAZ Patriot Pickup vehicle available from Russia. This being chosen as a vehicle bed is probably due to an economic imperative or ease of use rather than any specific need for this particular truck. It would appear the system can be affixed to any rugged 4 wheel drive pickup truck design that was able to mount the turret.
Armament at the exposition was with a 12.7x108mm NSVT heavy machine gun, but it is assumed that the company has numerous mounts available for a variety of machine guns, especially the NSV, Kord, and PKM variants. Interestingly enough, the NSV was itself initially and is still produced in Kazakhstan by Metallist JSC and Kaspex. Note in the photograph below the gunner’s armored shield, several handles for rotating the circular mount but also the spare cases of belted ammunition to the gunner’s right. One item that isn’t present is a gunner’s safety harness. When these lightly skinned tactical vehicles suffer IED strikes or RPG hits, often the worst casualties are anyone in the bed of the truck, to include the gunner.
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