Special transport vehicles for raid teams have been around since the North African campaign of the Second World War. These vehicles are known for their excellent off-road capability, long operational range, and a simplified body designed to mount weapons. One of the most modern examples of a raid vehicle is the British “Shakal.”
One of the leading manufacturers of special lightweight military vehicles is Supacat Ltd (since September 2015, it’s been known as SG Group, but the vehicles still carry the Supacat brand).
Its first successful design was the ATMP (All Terrain Mobility Platform) created in 1982 — a three-axle amphibious vehicle meant to carry up to 10 people or 1,600 kg of cargo. The ATMP, powered by a 90-horsepower Volkswagen diesel engine, isn’t exactly speedy — it tops out at just 70 km/h.
It looks nothing like a typical car — basically an open platform on six small-diameter wheels, with the driver steering it using motorcycle-style handlebars. Thanks to its wide, low-pressure tyres, it handles like a snow-and-swamp vehicle. The ATMP has been used not only by the armed forces of several countries but also in civilian sectors such as geological exploration, oil surveying and pipeline maintenance, laying optical cables, defence industries, as well as forestry and agriculture.
Highly mobile transporters
In 1999, Supacat introduced its new family of High Mobility Transporters (HMT). Unlike the ATMP, these new vehicles look much more like regular cars, though their purely utilitarian design clearly shows their military purpose. The lightest model in the family is the two-axle HMT 400 — in 2003-2004, the British military purchased 72 of these vehicles. They were adopted under the name Menacity and replaced the Land Rover 110 in special forces units.
The successful use of the Menacity in Afghanistan prompted the British military to choose the HMT 400 as the prototype for the “Shakal.” Unlike the nearly unprotected Menacity, the Shakal features a three-layer crew protection system. This includes shock-absorbing blast-resistant seats, a mine-resistant floor designed to disperse the blast wave from landmines, and add-on armour panels protecting the vehicle front, rear, and sides. The vehicle has an open top, giving the crew good visibility and the ability to dismount quickly. Its compact size and weight also mean the Shakal can be transported by helicopters—primarily the Chinook, the British military’s main transport helicopter.
The creators of the Shakal managed to strike a tough balance between two conflicting demands: on one hand, providing high protection, and on the other, ensuring good mobility. All this is complemented by impressive firepower. The Shakals can be equipped not only with 7.62mm machine guns but also heavier weapons — 12.7mm machine guns and 40mm grenade launchers.
The Shakal 2 is an upgraded version of the original, featuring a more powerful engine and a crew of four instead of three. From the outset, this model is designed to carry armour plating — both standard and enhanced kits.
The three-axle HMT 600 model (known in the British Army as the “Coyote”) is a larger version of the HMT 400 and can serve as a chassis for mounting various electronics and weapons systems. While the combat weight of the Shakal is 7.6 tonnes, the Coyote can weigh up to 10.5 tonnes.
Another member of the family — the HMT “Extend” — features a unique “convertible” design that lets you easily switch the vehicle from three-axle to two-axle and back again. Thanks to this flexibility, the Extend is quite popular with special forces in many countries.
Design Features
The Shakal is a two-axle, all-wheel-drive vehicle with high off-road capability. It’s completely open on top, has no doors, and features several safety bars. This setup allows the crew to quickly exit their seats if needed and provides excellent visibility. The V-shaped hull helps reduce the impact of blast waves from mines and improvised explosive devices.
The vehicle’s crew consists of three people: following British tradition, the driver sits on the right, with the commander’s seat to his left, equipped with a 7.62mm machine gun. Behind them sits the gunner, who operates the turret-mounted 12.7mm machine gun (which can be swapped out for a small-calibre autocannon or a 40mm automatic grenade launcher).
On the Shakal 2 model, the turret is positioned slightly further forward compared to the original version. Smoke grenade launchers are fitted at both the front and rear of the vehicle. If the customer wishes, the Shakal can be equipped with a remotely controlled weapon station instead of the standard turret—though, naturally, this significantly bumps up the cost.
The Shakal is powered by a 5.9-litre Cummins ISBe diesel engine producing 185 horsepower (the Shakal 2 variant uses a 6.7-litre engine) and features an Allison transmission. It has independent suspension with double wishbones, pneumatic springs, and shock absorbers that allow for adjustable ride height.
Service History
Alongside their traditional user, the Special Air Service (SAS), the Shakal and Shakal 2 vehicles have been adopted by three light reconnaissance regiments. They’re also used by a Royal Air Force regiment responsible for ground defence of airbases, as well as by the Royal Marines. This has led to quite a substantial production run of Shakals — numbering in the hundreds, whereas most vehicles of this type are produced in just tens of units.
The first batch of 100 Shakals began delivery in 2007. Almost straight away, the vehicles were deployed to Afghanistan, where they gradually replaced the Land Rover-based raid vehicles. Shakals were used for reconnaissance, patrolling, convoy escort, and, when needed, infantry fire support. They proved themselves brilliantly in all these roles, which led the military to order more.
To date, the UK Ministry of Defence has purchased over 460 vehicles from the Shakal family — 202 Shakal, 120 Shakal 2, and 140 Shakal 2A — with 439 still in active service. As for the three-axle Coyotes, far fewer have been acquired — just 71 units.
The high performance of the HMT vehicle family has driven notable demand. Given the specialised nature of their use, orders are typically small — usually no more than a few dozen units at a time. The first to take interest were representatives from U.S. Special Operations Command. In 2004–2005, they purchased 47 HMT 400 vehicles for the Delta Force. In the U.S., these vehicles were named “Marauder.”
In 2006, Denmark purchased 15 Extend Mk1 vehicles, which were delivered to the Jægerkorpset — its elite army special forces unit. The following year, Australia acquired 31 of the same model for its special forces, where the vehicle was named the “Nary.” In 2014, Australia placed another order for 89 Extend Mk2 vehicles. That same year and again in 2016, Norway and New Zealand also ordered Extend Mk2s for their special forces, though the number of vehicles purchased by each country wasn’t disclosed.
Technical specifications of the Shakal vehicle:
Weight, tonnes:
- Unladen weight – 5.5 tonnes
- Payload – 2.1 tonnes
Dimensions, mm:
- Length – 5,390 mm
- Height (without weapons) – 1,970 mm
- Width – 2,000 mm
Ground clearance – 380 mm
Range – 800 km
Maximum speed, km/h:
- On-highway – 145 km/h
- Off-road – 70–80 km/h
Obstacle clearance:
- Fording depth – 1 metre
- Trench width – 0.5 metres
- Wall height – 0.5 metres
- Climbing angle – 60°