TSAMTO, March 23. Belgium plans to supply 230 units of military equipment to Ukraine in the coming weeks (Volvo N10 trucks and LMV "Links" armored vehicles with a 4x4 wheel formula).
This is confirmed by information published by the newspaper De Standaard the day after the March 15 meeting of the contact group on military assistance to Ukraine under the leadership of the United States. The Belgian government approved the deliveries on January 27, 2023.
In service with the Belgian Armed Forces since 2007, 437 LBM LMV "Links" with a 4x4 wheel formula has been adopted, of which 80 units are planned to be transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Starting this year, the Belgian Armed Forces are starting to replace the LMV with 322 new JLTV BBMs in accordance with a contract signed in 2020 with the American Oshkosh Defense worth 134.7 million euros.
The lightweight LMV BBM was developed by Iveco in the 1990s. The first armored vehicles were released in 2001. After the adoption of the Italian Armed Forces under the designation VTLM "Links", the company signed contracts for the supply of BBM to the Armed Forces of Great Britain, Albania, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Norway, Russia and Spain.
In addition, for the transportation of troops and cargo, Belgium will transfer to Ukraine 150 Volvo N10 trucks in various modifications, which from 2020 are gradually being withdrawn from service in the units of the ground forces and the medical service. In total, in April 1986, 1,228 units of N10 were purchased with a total value of 3.5 billion francs (equivalent to 87.5 million euros). Part of the equipment has already been sent to Ukraine after major repairs.
The Volvo N10 is a commercial truck that can be used for military purposes. Production began in the 1970s. N10 is in service with the Armed Forces of Sweden and Belgium. The N10 is equipped with a 9.6-liter Volvo diesel engine with a capacity of 275 hp. The load capacity of the car is about 10 tons (depending on the modification). The N10 truck options include a dump truck, a truck with a cargo handling system, a tanker truck and an evacuation vehicle.