The Mercedes-Benz Zetros is an off-road truck for extreme operations. It was first presented at the 2008
Eurosatory
Eurosatory is the largest international defence and security exhibition for land and airland that is held every two years in the Paris-Nord Villepinte Exhibition Centre, Paris, France. In 2022, it gathered over 1,700 exhibitors and over 62,000 vis ...
defence industry trade show in Paris. The Zetros is manufactured at the
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
plant in
Wörth,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. The truck is designed to be compatible with the
Hercules C-130
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally design ...
transport and also fits into a standard German railway carriage. In 2019 Mercedes-Benz presented a facelift of the Zetros with a more powerful engine a bigger number of variants.
Variants
The Zetros is available with an engine power of 360 hp (265 kW) up to 510 hp (375 kW)
in all-wheel drive and non all-wheel drive versions:
* Chassis, Tipper or Tractor
* 4x2, 4x4, 6x4, 6x6
Although normally used as a truck, the Zetros has also been put to work as an off-road tractor unit in the middle east. German company Harald Bruhn also introduced a Zetros-based agricultural trailer truck as the Secutor.
File:Mercedes-Benz Zetros as a relief vehicle for the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake.jpg, Mercedes-Benz Zetros 1833 as a relief vehicle for the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
The occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, and lasted approximately six minutes ...
File:Mercedes-Benz Zetros 1833 at IAA 2014.JPG, Zetros 1833 RV at IAA 2014
File:60 Jahre Unimog - Wörth 2011 301 Entwicklungswerkstatt (5797108035).jpg, Rolling chassis
A rolling chassis is the chassis without bodywork of a motor vehicle ( car, truck, bus, or other vehicle), assembled with suspension and wheels.
Heavy vehicles
Separate chassis remain in use for almost all heavy vehicles ranging from pickup tru ...
of a Zetros 2733
File:Mercedes-Benz Zetros 2733 6x6 Rüstwagen.jpg, alt=Mercedes-Benz Zetros 2733 6x6 Heavy fire rescue truck, Mercedes-Benz Zetros 2733 6x6 technical rescue truck
File:Mercedes-Benz Zetros GTF 6x6.JPG, Zetros 2733 of the German Army
The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...
File:Mercedes-Benz ZETROS with Mercedes-Benz EMPL.jpg, Mercedes-Benz ZETROS with Mercedes-Benz EMPL platform of Lithuanian army
The Lithuanian Armed Forces () are the military of Lithuania. The Lithuanian Armed Forces consist of the Lithuanian Land Forces, the Lithuanian Naval Force and the Lithuanian Air Force. In wartime, the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service (wh ...
Technical characteristics
The facelifted Zetros has now one type of engine in all variants.
*Engine: 12.816 cc inline 6 cylinder diesel
*Transmission: 16 speed manual transmission with shift lever, controlled via control cable, pneumatic power-assisted
*mechanical differential locks on front and rear axles and in the transfer case
*Top speed: 55 mph
*fording depths up to 0.8m
Operators
Current operators
*
Around 2 000 trucks are planned to be produced by the Algeria's National Company of Industrial Vehicles (SNVI) destined for the Algerian defence ministry. Locally further developed into self-propelled artillery systems using the
D-30 and
T-12 gun systems.
*
The Zetros is used as a fertiliser spreader in the South East of South Australia. It is a 4x4 version operated by Crossling Contractors based in
Naracoorte.
*
The
Bulgarian army
The Bulgarian Land Forces ( bg, Сухопътни войски на България, Sukhopŭtni voĭski na Bŭlgariya, lit=Ground Forces of Bulgaria) are the ground warfare branch of the Bulgarian Armed Forces. The Land Forces were established ...
ordered the Zetros in 2009 to transport personnel and supplies. As of 2012, it operates 335 trucks with 30 more on order.
*
In August 2016 Mercedes Benz has been awarded a contract to provide 330 trucks for the
Chilean Army
The Chilean Army ( es, Ejército de Chile) is the land arm of the Military of Chile. This 80,000-person army (9,200 of which are conscripts) is organized into six divisions, a special operations brigade and an air brigade.
In recent years, and a ...
. The contract includes a batch of Zetros 2733 6x6 and
Unimog
The Unimog (, ) is a range of multi-purpose tractors, trucks and lorries that has been produced by Boehringer from 1948 until 1951, and by Daimler Truck (formerly Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler AG) since 1951. In the United States and ...
U4000 4x4 vehicles.
*
The first non military application of the Zetros 2733 was announced in June 2018 by the Costa Rican Firefighters as the organization acquired one. It will serve as transport for rescue crew and equipment in emergency situations as floods, hurricanes, storms, wild fires, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.
*
The
German army
The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...
has ordered a total of 110 armoured Zetros vehicles, 72 of which are supposed to serve in logistics units.
*
Germany donated 20 Zetros 2733 A 6x6 trucks and 50 Zetros 1833 A 4x4 trucks to Jordan in order to be used for the logistics of the Jordanian security agencies when caring for refugees.
*
Unknown quantity acquired in 2019. Mercedes-Benz ZETROS with Mercedes-Benz EMPL platform for
PzH 2000 or
Bergepanzer 2
The Leopard 1 (also styled Leopard I, before the Leopard 2 simply known as Leopard) is a main battle tank designed and produced by Porsche in West Germany that first entered service in 1965. Developed in an era when HEAT warheads were thought to ...
transportation
*
Mexican Army
The Mexican Army ( es, Ejército Mexicano) is the combined land and air branch and is the largest part of the Mexican Armed Forces; it is also known as the National Defense Army.
The Army is under the authority of the Secretariat of National De ...
And
Mexican Air Force
The Mexican Air Force (FAM; es, Fuerza Aérea Mexicana) is the primary aerial warfare service branch of the Mexican Armed Forces. It is a component of the Mexican Army and depends on the National Defense Secretariat (SEDENA). The objective of t ...
have planned the purchase of 137 6x6 trucks, in three stages, beginning the first purchase of 46 in 2017. The Mexican Navy also operates an undisclosed number of Zetros trucks.
*
Finnish Defence Forces
The Finnish Defence Forces ( fi, Puolustusvoimat, sv, Försvarsmakten) are the military of Finland. The Finnish Defence Forces consist of the Finnish Army, the Finnish Navy and the Finnish Air Force. In wartime the Finnish Border Guard (which i ...
has acquired Zetros trucks to replace outdated
Sisu Auto
Sisu Auto is a truck manufacturer based in Raseborg, Finland. Its name comes from the Finnish word ''sisu'' meaning guts, grit and determination.
Sisu Auto has a subsidiary company, "Sisu Defence", producing high mobility tactical vehicles for ...
vehicles for transportation of both personnel and explosives.
*
Operated by the
Saudi Arabian National Guard
The Saudi Arabian National Guard or SANG ( ar, الحَرَس الوَطنيّ, al-Ḥaras al-Waṭanī), also known as the "White Army", is one of the three major branches of the military forces of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The national gua ...
.
*
Turkish Armed Forces
The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; tr, Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri, TSK) are the military forces of the Republic of Turkey. Turkish Armed Forces consist of the General Staff, the Land Forces, the Naval Forces and the Air Forces. The current Chi ...
use Zetros as
HISAR O+ (surface to air missile system)
Hissar ( ar, حصار, link=no) means fort or castle in Arabic, with variants adopted into Persian (hesar, hessar) and Turkish (hisar).
Hissar, Hisar and Hesar may refer to:
Places Asia (South and Central) India
*Hisar (city), a city in Haryana ...
carrier.
Possible operators
*
In 2016, Mercedes-Benz presents and exhibit the Zetros in the Directorate of Arsenals, the plant of the former TAMSE in Boulogne. As reported by the Defensa site, the Argentine Army is a former customer of Mercedes-Benz. The idea is that the Zetros can replace, in a gradual way, the current fleet of Unimog and MB 1114.
*
Royal Cambodian Army
The Royal Cambodian Army ( km, កងទ័ពជើងគោក, ) is a part of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces. It has ground forces which numbered 85,000 divided into eleven divisions of infantry, with integrated armour and artillery supp ...
will purchase 25 Mercedes-Benz Zetros from RMA Cambodia to replace older
Ural
Ural may refer to:
*Ural (region), in Russia and Kazakhstan
*Ural Mountains, in Russia and Kazakhstan
*Ural (river), in Russia and Kazakhstan
*Ual (tool), a mortar tool used by the Bodo people of India
*Ural Federal District, in Russia
*Ural econo ...
trucks.
References
External links
Zetros Official Site
{{Mercedes-Benz
Zetros
The Mercedes-Benz Zetros is an off-road truck for extreme operations. It was first presented at the 2008 Eurosatory defence industry trade show in Paris. The Zetros is manufactured at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Wörth, Germany. The truck is desig ...
Zetros
The Mercedes-Benz Zetros is an off-road truck for extreme operations. It was first presented at the 2008 Eurosatory defence industry trade show in Paris. The Zetros is manufactured at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Wörth, Germany. The truck is desig ...