Belarus began development of an 8×8 wheeled combat vehicle known as the Volat V2 or BTR-V2 sometime in the 2020s: the first prototype of the infantry fighting vehicle/armored personnel carrier multi-purpose weapon system was unveiled in 2021.
At first glance, the vehicle looks very similar to the Finnish Patria / Polish KTO Rosomak combat vehicle, the first visible difference is that the tower is different. Two Volat variants are known: one equipped with the Soviet BMP-2 gun turret, the other with the Russian T-15 / Boomerang body-controlled turret. The main weapon of both variants is a 30 mm machine gun.
These days, the Belarusian military is comprehensive https://twitter.com/TheGreyPatriot_/status/1726644883887415651 carried out with the Volatok prototypes, they hope that mass production of the device may begin soon.
Belarus is an important player in the war in Ukraine, as it helped the invasion with weapons, munitions and the stationing of Russian troops. However, the Belarusian armed forces did not openly attack Ukraine, as they are negligible both in terms of size and equipment. The regularization of new combat vehicles is part of a larger, comprehensive training and rearmament strategy.
Cover image source: Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images. The cover image is an illustration, it does not show a Volat, but a Russian BMD.
