Kerametal Limited Aligator 4x4

     Notes: This is a common vehicle, which has been sold to numerous countries in what was formerly Warsaw Pact-held Europe.  It has also seen use by the UN in their numerous peacekeeping operations across the globe. The Aligator is usually encountered as a scout or patrol vehicle depending upon its role.  The Slovakian military originally planned to go all in on procurement of the Aligator, but heavy casualties during UN peacekeeping missions from mines and IEDs led the Slovakian Armed Forces to look at MRAP-type vehicles and procurement for the Slovakian Army was cut short at 44 Aligators. Production ended in 2008, but some are still in use as liaison vehicles and by various international aid organizations. Tires are run-flat and bullet-resistant, but the original Michelin-made run flat tires were not reliable and in one case in 2007, caused a serious car accident involving a civilian car, a truck, and the Aligator in Slovakia.  The only export customer was the Indonesian Marines, who bought small numbers of the Aligator 4x4 DPP for use in their single RM70 MLRS regiment.

     The vehicle is amphibious, propelled in the water by a small propeller. It is NBC-sealed (though it doesn’t have Overpressure) and is fast.  The Aligator is capable of swimming in up to Beaufort Scale 3 wind or Sea State 2 turbulence. There is a firing port on each side.  The Aligator can be equipped with explosive reactive armor (HF, HS) upon request, but the ERA able to be used on the Aligator is specially made for it. The vehicle is designed to shield against shell fragments and small arms fire.  Armor is of steel with ballistic ceramic cladding. Military versions have six smoke grenade launchers on the front of the roof. The engine is a Mercedes 196-horsepower turbocharged diesel, connected to a 6-speed automatic transmission.

     Police (PCM) variants have the addition of a ramming bumper, siren, PA system, and police lighting array; they have roof hatches, but not usually a mount for a weapon by the hatch like military versions.

     There are several military subtypes and variants; most differ primarily in the communications suite and ancillary equipment carried. They include the PV basic reconnaissance vehicle, PVS command vehicle with enhanced communications and a ruggedized laptop computer connected to the military internet; DPP forward observer vehicle with a laser rangefinder and hand-held vision devices and GPS mounted in brackets on the roof by the hatch; ZV engineer reconnaissance vehicle, with an inflatable rubber raft and magnification devices as well as a laptop computer and long-range radios, cans of spray paint and marking tools, a basic tool kit, and excavation tools; RCHBO NBC reconnaissance vehicle, with dosimeters, Radiac meters, and testing devices and sampling equipment for NBC contamination, as well as NBC Overpressure protection; and PLN forward air controller vehicle, similar to the DPP except for the radios installed (one extra ground-to-air radio).

     Unsold variants include the PPS observation/reconnaissance vehicle, with a MOWAG MBK-2 turret containing a weapon and a day/night camera, a thermal imager, and 500GB digital recording equipment (connected to the day/night camera); and the Mini-Samson, topped with an Israeli-made Rafael Mini-Samson turret, and being the heaviest-armed version of the Aligator, with a heavy machinegun and dual missile launcher. The Aligator 4x4 Master II was produced only as several prototypes; it is about a meter longer than the standard Aligator PV and is fitted with an RWS mounting a MAG or M2HB, along with downlinked sights and controls for use by the commander. The engine of the Master II is a 248-horsepower turbocharged Cummins diesel (probably Slovakian manufacture), giving the Aligator 4x4 Master II decent performance and the ability to haul much heavier loads and larger amounts of troops. The Master II has a winch in the front bumper with a capacity of 5.8 tons and 100 meters of cable. Development of the Aligator stopped in 2008, and similar variants of the Master II would have been produced if orders were forthcoming.

*Belly and Roof AV are 4.