UR-416
The UR-416 is a four-wheeled armored personnel carrier developed as a private venture by Rheinstahl Maschinenbau (this company has changed names on numerous occasions, in 2000 becoming Rheinmetall Landsysteme). This vehicle was developed and was manufactured by Thyssen Maschinenbau AG; Witten-Annen, Federal Republic of Germany. Daimler-Benz did some of the original design work and was the principal subcontractor.
Some support came from the Federal Republic of Germany's Ministry of Defense and various German internal security and police forces. The first prototype being completed in 1965. production commenced in 1969. By the time production had been completed, a total of 1,030 UR-416 series armored vehicles had been built, most for the export market. The last production model of the UR-416 was called the UR-416 M.
The UR-416 is essentially the chassis of a Mercedes-Benz UNIMOG (4 × 4) cross-country vehicle fitted with an armored body.The hull of the UR-416 M is of all-welded steel armor construction which protects the crew against small arms fire, shell splinters and anti-personnel mines. The driver is seated at the front of the vehicle on the left, just behind the engine, with the vehicle commander to his right. Both have a large bulletproof front and side window for improved visibility. Armored flaps covering the commander and driver front windows are lowered by gas pressure. The side windows are protected by swivelling armored flaps. Forward observation is maintained by two single day periscopes in the forward part of the roof.
The Mercedes-Benz OM 352 six-cylinder water-cooled diesel engine develops 120 hp and is coupled to a manual gearbox which has six forward and two reverse gears. For normal road use only the rear axle is engaged but for cross-country travel the front axle is also engaged and when travelling across very rough country the front and rear axle differential locks are engaged.The eight fully equipped troops are seated to the rear of the commander and driver, three down each side of the hull facing outwards and two at the back facing the rear. Each man has an individual seat, which can be folded upwards.
The vehicle can be equipped as a police vehicle with (e.g. Mine-sweeping shield, search headlight) or more militarily (e.g. Tire pressure adjustment system, NBC protection facility, night-vision devices) additional devices to be modular equipped, and with turrets with machine guns or a 20mm-cannon can be used.
In equivalent 1994 United States dollars, the basic vehicle armed with a mounted 7.62 millimeter machinegun had a unit price of $341,300 per unit. The UR-416 has not been traded on the open market by international arms merchants. As of mid-1997, no significant modernization or retrofit programs have been developed for the UR-416 and none are expected.
The UR-416 series is no longer being marketed or manufactured by Rheinmetall Land Systeme (previously Thyssen Henschel) replaced by the now Rheinmetall Landsysteme TM-170 (4 × 4) vehicle. The company is now marketing the Condor (4 × 4) APC for a wide range of roles. The latest version is the Condor 2, which is based on the UNIMOG U-5000 chassis. The first customer was the Kuwait National Guard, which took delivery of seven units in 2004.
