Forbes: Ukraine deploys Japan’s mud-capable vehicles in high-risk defensive construction

A Japanese-made engineering vehicle made its first appearance on the Ukrainian front line, Forbes reports.

According to Forbes, the Morooka PC-065B, a tracked vehicle capable of moving through rugged terrain, represents part of Japan’s aid to Ukraine.

The Morooka PC-065B weighs five tons and comes equipped with a cargo bed and a three-ton crane.

In May 2023, the Japanese government committed to providing Ukraine with 101 vehicles, including Toyota trucks and PC-065Bs, which began arriving via Poland several weeks later.

While the vehicles lack armor and weapons, they serve a critical front-line function that places both the equipment and crews in dangerous situations.

Their primary role is supporting engineers who construct bunkers and fortifications that help Ukraine’s outnumbered infantry withstand artillery and drone attacks while repelling Russian assaults.

The PC-065Bs join hundreds of similar logistics vehicles in Ukraine’s arsenal, including ex-Australian M-113AS4 Armored Logistics Vehicles, Swedish-made BV-206s and BVS-10s, and ex-Norwegian NM199s. These vehicles share essential characteristics, particularly their tracked design and lightweight construction.

This design provides exceptional mobility in Ukraine’s notoriously muddy rural areas during spring and in the southern swamps year-round. The BVS-10s have been observed serving as ambulances with the 40th Coastal Defense Brigade, a Ukrainian marine unit defending the Dnipro River’s right bank in Kherson Oblast.

The lightweight construction that enables this mobility also makes it vulnerable to Russian attacks. Ukrainian forces lost approximately 15 tracked support vehicles over three years of war, though none of these losses have included the Japanese-made PC-065Bs.