The 8 Most Badass Military Vehicles According To You

MZKT-79221

Since the MZKT-79221’s primary role is to carry and - if required - launch RT-2PM2 Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missiles, it’s something we rather hope never gets used in anger. Since it hasn’t just yet, though, we’ll happily admire the suitably imposing way this 16-wheeled, all-terrain monster carries itself. And the bloody big missile on its roof.

Aardvark JSFU

What we have here is a badass vehicle, operated by badass people. Why? Because the job of whoever’s in the cabin is to drive over land mines. The JSFU or Joint Service Flail Unit has 72 chains which are spun around to detonate any pesky land mines in its path.

Chenowth Light Strike Vehicle

Like the HDT Storm SRTV on the previous list, this thing is all about getting in fast, doing the job, and getting the hell out as quick as possible. What the LSV lacks in armour, it makes up for in speed and terrain-bashing ability.

Built by Chenowth, the most recent versions are powered by a 160bhp engine, and can be carried aboard a CH-47 Chinook or CH-53 helicopter. Most have M60 machine guns mounted, but there’s also the option of having a TOW launcher, or - if you fancy - a pair of AT4 anti-tank launchers.

ZSU-23-4 'Shilka'

At first glance you might think that this is a tank - barring it from our original entry restrictions - but the Shilka is actually a mobile anti-aircraft platform. The 19-tonne Russian vehicle has been built since 1962, and has four 23mm, water-cooled autocanons which are capable of firing a combined 4000 rounds a minute.

Trojan Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers

While this probably looks like the most menacing thing here, the Trojan AVRE is actually more about practicality and versatility. Based on a Challenger 2 tank chassis, it carries a load of fascine at the rear for shoring things up or filling ditches, has a hydraulic excavator arm, and a plough at the front for clearing mines. It can also tow a ‘Python’ trailer, which shoots out a rocket dragging an explosive-laden hose, which falls to the earth and clears a six-metre wide, 200-metre long path through whatever pesky mine field is in your way.

Land Rover Defender

There may be scarier and more imposing military vehicles than the Defender, but it certainly deserves a place here. It’s served militaries the world over since the 1950s, in countless different roles.

It’s ended up with a somewhat underserved legacy, however, thanks to a series of widely reported fatalities aboard the Defender 110-based Snatch Land Rover variety, which didn’t have sufficient protection for its occupants against roadside bombs and rocket attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This wasn’t the Snatch’s fault, however: it was brought into conflicts and situations it simply wasn’t designed for. It was actually developed with the British Army’s Northern Ireland operations in mind, offering protection from small arms fire but not a whole lot else. It’s been largely replaced by Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected (MRAP) vehicles.

Mercedes G-Wagen

It may not have been around quite as long as the Defender, but the military versions of the G-Wagen have still served many countries in myriad roles. Our favourite? The 6x6 version, obviously…

Buffalo

Like all good MRAPs, the Buffalo features a V-shaped hull to help deflect the force of IED blasts, plus thick armour (six inches). However, it also has a variety of things to stop it from hitting roadside bombs in the first place: it can detect explosive devices using infrared technology, and has a 30-foot robotic arm to disable anything dangerous up ahead.

Click here for part one of this list!