Ukraine will become the first country-operator of Caracal air assault vehicles by Rheinmetall.

The company announced this on its website.

It is reported that five vehicles will be delivered to Ukraine in late 2023 or early 2024.

The Caracal is a light-air assault vehicle based on the civilian Mercedes-Benz G-Slass SUV.

The vehicle’s design allows it to transport two units in the internal cargo compartments and as the external load of CH-47F Chinook and CH-53K King Stallion helicopters.

The manufacturer provides the possibility of installing additional ballistic protection elements.

Modular design allows installing and combining various weapons, starting with machine guns, and ending with anti-tank missile systems.

Given the purpose of the vehicle, it can be assumed that it will be used in the Special Operations Forces or special forces units of the DIU.

On October 10, Militarnyi reported that a package of military assistance from Germany, under which Ukrainian SOF should have received unnamed vehicles.

It is possible that those vehicles were Caracals.

In June, it was reported that Germany and the Netherlands were jointly purchasing Caracal AAVs from the German Concern Rheinmetall.

The contract is designed for €302.5 million, and supply is planned to begin in 2025. Production will last 5 years, with 100 vehicles being manufactured per year.