Iveco MPV (Medium Protected Vehicle) is a medium weight MRAP (Mine resistant ambush protected) armored personnel carrier. The development of the MPV dates from a co-operation agreement signed in 2008 between Iveco Defence Vehicles and Krauss Maffei Wegmann (KMW) of Germany for the development of a new range of military vehicles in the 18 to 25 tonne class. Since then, the MPV has evolved significantly with 4×4 ambulances, route clearance and troop carrier vehicles currently in production. The new family of vehicles known as MPV (Medium Protected Vehicle) fits between the highly successful Light Multirole Vehicle (LMV) and the Centauro/Freccia 8×8 armoured wheeled vehicles. The Iveco is known as the VTMM (Veicolo Tattico Medio Multiruolo) Orso (Bear) in Italy. The KMW version for the German Army is known as the Grizzly.
The MPV range is based on the Trakker MOTS truck chassis with a protected crew cell and is already in service with a number of European defence forces, including the UK, German and Swiss armies. Armor of the MPV is produced by Krauss-Maffei Wegmann. Vehicle has a welded steel armor hull. It provides protection against small arms fire, artillery shell splinters, mine blasts and IEDs. The cell incorporates the driver’s cab and the mission compartment and offers more than 13m³ of internal space in the standard 4×4 version, increasing to 16m³ for the ambulance/Intensive treatment unit variant. The maximum combat weight of up to 18 tonnes and a chassis which is capable of mastering the toughest of terrains, gives the MPV 4×4 excellent tactical mobility on all missions. Protection can be enhanced by add-on modular armor. With add-on armor fitted the MPV provides all-round protection against 7.62-mm armor-piercing rounds.
The inherent flexibility of the platform-design allows it to be adapted to a wide variety of roles and configurations while maintaining the same level of protection as the standard variant. The Route Clearance Project represents a unique and innovative solution to the challenges of route clearance. The Route Clearance Convoy comprises five vehicles, each fulfilling a complimentary function and includes surveillance units with mast mounted sensors and a unit with a manipulator arm designed to disarm and remove IEDs. Each vehicle within the convoy is named for its specific role: Decoy (RCP1), Detection (RCP 2), Confirmation (RCP3), and Observation (RCP4 and RCP5). Oto Melara, Selex and MBDA are also participating in the project, with Iveco acting as system integrator.
