MZKT (''МЗКТ'' or ''МЗКЦ'', be, Мінскі завод колавых цягачоў, , Minsk Wheel(ed) Tractor Plant (MWTP)) is a manufacturer of heavy

off-road vehicle An off-road vehicle, sometimes referred to as an overland or adventure vehicle, is considered to be any type of vehicle which is capable of driving on and off paved or gravel surface. It is generally characterized by having large tires with dee ...

s, especially military trucks, based in

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

, in

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

; it was formerly a division of

MAZ Maz or MAZ may refer to: * IATA code for Eugenio María de Hostos Airport, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico * Minsk Automobile Plant, abbreviated in Belarusian as MAZ * Myc-associated zinc finger protein, a protein encoded by the ''MAZ'' gene * Maz, a vill ...

. MZKT civilian trucks are branded VOLAT ( be, волат, literally means Giant). MZKT specializes in the production of on-road and off-road heavy-duty vehicles and trailers for them, as well as special wheeled chassis for installation of various equipment for enterprises and transport organizations of the construction, oil and gas and engineering industries.

Organisation

In 1954, MZKT, the Minsk Wheeled Tractor Plant, was founded to develop

artillery tractor An artillery tractor, also referred to as a gun tractor, is a specialized heavy-duty form of tractor unit used to tow artillery pieces of varying weights and calibres. It may be 6x6, wheeled, continuous track, tracked, or half-tracked. Trac ...

s; it then developed a series of heavy weapons transporters for the military of the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

, including heavy offroad trucks such as the

MAZ-537 The MAZ-537 is a 12-cylinder diesel engine-powered military truck artillery tractor, originally designed for loads up to 50 tons (using semitrailers such as the ChMZAP-9990 or ChMZAP-5247G, for example) with later versions providing a maximum load ...

and

MAZ-7310 The MAZ-543/MAZ-7310 "Uragan" (russian: МАЗ-543/МАЗ-7310 "Ураган"/Hurricane) is a Soviet/Belarusian 8×8 artillery truck designed and developed by MAZ (Minsk Automobile Plant), in what is now Belarus. MAZ-543 Designed in the 1960s, ...

. It was a division of

Minsk Automobile Plant Minsk Automobile Plant (MAZ) ( be, Адкрытaе Акцыянэрнaе Таварыства «Мінскі аўтамабільны завод», ''Open JSC Minski Autamabilny Zavod'', russian: Минский автомобильный зав� ...

(known as MAZ). In 1991, MZKT was spun off into a separate company; its former parent, MAZ, continues to make a broader range of heavy vehicles. In 1992, military orders slowed, and MZKT attempted to adapt its products to civilian uses, such as mining trucks and crane carriers.

Products

Many post-independence MZKT trucks continued to use a MAZ cab which resembled the cab; starting in 2010 these were replaced with Belkarplastik cabs which resembled the 5th generation Isuzu Forward, which are also used by

Yarovit Yarovit, Iarovit (or Yerovit, Ierovit) is a Polabian god of war, worshipped in Vologošč ( Circipanians) and Hobolin ( Hobolians; modern Havelberg). Sources give only a brief description of his cult, his main temple was located in Vologošč, w ...

trucks. The civilian brand of the group Volat manufacturers tractor trucks, ballast tractors and

trailers Trailer may refer to: a Transportation * Trailer (vehicle), an unpowered vehicle pulled by a powered vehicle ** Bicycle trailer, a wheeled frame for hitching to a bicycle to tow cargo or passengers ** Full-trailer ** Semi-trailer **Horse trailer ...

for transportation and commercial use.

Military vehicles

MZKT-6922

MZKT-6922 MZKT-6922 (russian: МЗКТ-6922) is a Russian army 6×6 transporter erector launcher designed and developed by the MZKT in Belarus. It carries Tor, Osa, and Buk surface-to-air missile systems.http://www.volatdefence.com/en/katalog/440/196 ...

, used with

Tor Tor, TOR or ToR may refer to: Places * Tor, Pallars, a village in Spain * Tor, former name of Sloviansk, Ukraine, a city * Mount Tor, Tasmania, Australia, an extinct volcano * Tor Bay, Devon, England * Tor River, Western New Guinea, Indonesia Sc ...

and other

surface-to-air A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...

missile systems.

MZKT-79221

MZKT-79221 MZKT-79221 (russian: МЗКТ-79221) is a Soviet and Russian army 16x16 transporter-erector-launcher designed and developed by the MZKT in Belarus. Developed primarily for use as a RT-2PM2 Topol-M ICBM mobile launcher, the 79221 model is simila ...

transporter erector launcher A transporter erector launcher (TEL) is a missile vehicle with an integrated tractor unit that can carry, elevate to firing position and launch one or more missiles. History Such vehicles exist for both surface-to-air missiles and surface-to-su ...

for the

Topol-M The RT-2PM2 «Topol-M» (russian: РТ-2ПМ2 «Тополь-М», NATO reporting name: SS-27 "Sickle B", other designations: SS-27 Mod 1, RS-12M1, RS-12M2, formerly incorrectly RT-2UTTKh) is one of the most recent intercontinental ballistic missi ...

missile; a successor to the

MAZ-7917 The MAZ-7917 (russian: МАЗ-7917) is a Soviet and Russian army 14×12 Twelve-wheel drive transporter-erector-launcher designed and developed by the Minsk Automobile Plant (MAZ) in Belarus. Developed primarily for use as a Topol ICBM mobile la ...

, which was, in turn, a successor to the

MAZ-547 __NOTOC__ Year 547 ( DXLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 547 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar e ...

MZKT-7930

Moscow_Victory_Parade_2010_-_Training_on_May_4_-_img14

The MZKT-7930 "Astrolog" is carrying the Iskander ballistic missiles, and the

Pantsir-S1 The Pantsir (russian: Панцирь, translation="Carapace") missile system is a family of self-propelled, medium-range surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery systems. Starting with the Pantsir-S1 (russian: Панцирь-С1, NATO r ...

air defense system, and radars for the S-300 missile system.

MZKT-74135/74295

MZKT-74135 8x8 tank transporter

MZKT-490100

MZKT-490100 armored vehicle used with four ready-to-launch Shershen ATGMs or with the Groza-S jamming system.

WS2400

Some trucks made by

Wanshan Special Vehicle Wanshan Special Vehicle, officially Hubei Sanjiang Space Wanshan Special Vehicle Co., Ltd (Ch:湖北三江航天万山特种车辆有限公司), is a truck and bus manufacturer in China. Its WS-series military trucks are used by the People’s Liber ...

, in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, are based on MZKT designs; the WS2400 is based on the

MAZ-543 __NOTOC__ Year 543 ( DXLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 543 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar e ...

Volat V2

Volat V2 MZKT (''МЗКТ'' or ''МЗКЦ'', be, Мінскі завод колавых цягачоў, , Minsk Wheel(ed) Tractor Plant (MWTP)) is a manufacturer of heavy off-road vehicles, especially military trucks, based in Minsk, in Belarus; it was ...

APC (MZKT-690003) with 2A42 30mm autocannon and other weaponry was first presented at Milex-2021 exhibition.

Volat (civilian vehicles)

Trucks

*MZKT-79086, 12x12 oilfield truck *MZKT-7429, 8x8 offroad tractor *MZKT-790976, 8x8 oilfield truck *MZKT-75165 8x8 tipper *MZKT-741320,

ballast tractor A ballast tractor is a specially weighted tractor unit of a heavy hauler combination. It is designed to utilize a drawbar to pull or push heavy or exceptionally large trailer loads which are loaded in a hydraulic modular trailer. When feasible ...

*MZKT-741600, ballast tractor

Trailer

* MZKT-900110 (2 axles, 29T) * MZKT-900130 (2 axles, 36T) * MZKT-937800 (2 axles, 56T) * MZKT-5247D0-010 (2 axles, 50T) * MZKT-998670 (2 axles, 70T) * MZKT-720200 (3 axles, 45T) * MZKT-999453 (3 axles, 46T) * MZKT-998910 (3 axles, 50T) * MZKT-820100 (4 axles, 63T) * MZKT-837200 (4 axles, 65T) * MZKT-999451 (5 axles, 64T) * MZKT-999450 (6 axles, 73T) Image:MZKT truck.JPG, MZKT-65151 Image:MZKT-7004.JPG, MZKT-7004 Image:MZKT-7401.JPG, MZKT-7401 Image:MZKT-730240.jpg, MZKT-730240 (port tractor) Image:MZKT-700300.jpg, MZKT-700300 Image:MZKT-750440 (2).jpg, MZKT-750440

International sanctions

On 17 December 2020, MZKT was added to the sanctions list of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

. The United Kingdom and Switzerland have also sanctioned the company.

References

External links

MZKT product listingVolat DefenseReview
in the Russian Journal of Motor Vehicles

of vehicle manufacturers in Belarus {{DEFAULTSORT:Mzkt Truck manufacturers of the Soviet Union Defence companies of the Soviet Union Companies based in Minsk Truck manufacturers of Belarus