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Spanish military vehicle manufacturer, UROVESA, will deliver 60 new VAMTAC ST5 light and CK3 medium sized unarmoured utility vehicles to Defence from 2027.

The current fleet is made up of Unimog and Pinzgauer vehicles, which are regularly used by New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) units for domestic training and overseas operations.

The Government has approved the first tranche of the Ministry of Defence-led project, which received $100 million in funding as part of Budget 24.

The first tranche will deliver 40 medium CK3 variants and 20 light ST5 variants to replace 25 per cent of the New Zealand Army's Pinzgauer and Unimog vehicles assigned to operational roles.

Tranche one covers the purchase of the vehicles, spare parts, computing and communications equipment, support equipment, project costs and introduction into service costs.

The new vehicles will have integrated rollover protection and a tyre inflation system, which adjusts tyre pressure for operations on difficult or soft terrain.

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A VAMTAC ST5 prototype vehicle is scheduled to land in New Zealand shortly, following its transport from the UROVESA military vehicle factory in Galicia, Spain, on board one of the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s new Hercules C-130J-30 aircraft.

The prototype vehicle will be used by a joint Ministry of Defence and New Zealand Army project team to design, install and test New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) communications and digital systems ahead of the construction of the new vehicle fleet.