Profile
- Type
- Amphibious tracked armored personnel carrier and artillery tractor
- Origin
- Soviet Union
- Service note
- Cold War design, in service from the 1960s to the present
Armored Vehicles
MT-LB
The MT-LB is a Soviet tracked, amphibious armored carrier developed as a light multipurpose tractor and troop/cargo vehicle. Its low silhouette, large production run, and adaptable chassis made it a common base for command, air-defense, ambulance, anti-tank, and improvised fire-support variants, including widespread use by both sides in the Russia-Ukraine War.
- Built by
- Kharkov Tractor Plant
- Built in
- Soviet Union
Service History
- In service
- Entered service in the 1960s and remains in use with multiple armed forces
- Used by
- Russian Armed Forces, Ukrainian Armed Forces
- Wars
- Russia-Ukraine War
Production History
- Designer
- Soviet design bureau
- Designed
- Early 1960s
- Built by
- Kharkov Tractor Plant
- Built in
- Soviet Union
- Produced
- Early 1960s onward
- Number built
- More than 55,000 including MT-LBu family vehicles
- Variants
- MT-LBV, MT-LBVM, MT-LBu, MT-LB-S ambulance, MT-LB with ZU-23-2
Specifications
- Crew and capacity
- 2 crew plus up to 11 troops, depending on role and fit
- Armament
- Standard 7.62 mm PKT machine gun in a small turret; many field and factory variants carry heavier weapons
- Weight
- 9.7 t empty, about 12.2 t with cargo
- Mobility
- Tracked amphibious chassis with 240 hp YaMZ-238V diesel, about 62 km/h on road and 500 km road range
- Payload and towing
- Up to 2 t cargo capacity and up to 6.5 t towed load
- Protection
- Welded steel armor, about 14 mm front and 7 mm top, sides, and rear
Conflict Usage
- Russia-Ukraine War
- Side: RussiaUkraine
Used by both Russian and Ukrainian forces as a tracked armored transport, artillery tractor, ambulance, and improvised weapons carrier; visually documented loss lists record MT-LB and MT-LBu losses for both sides during the full-scale invasion.
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MT-LBPublisher: Weaponsystems.net | Note: Supports origin, producer, production scale, service background, crew, dimensions, armament, mobility, and protection specifications. | Accessed: 2026-06-20MT-LB Multipurpose Armoured VehiclePublisher: GlobalSecurity.org | Note: Supports general description, amphibious tracked layout, personnel/cargo capacity, prime-mover role, and baseline armament. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Attack On Europe: Documenting Russian Equipment Losses During The Russian Invasion Of UkrainePublisher: Oryx | Note: Supports direct Russia-Ukraine War context by documenting Russian MT-LB and MT-LBu losses with photo or video evidence. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Attack On Europe: Documenting Ukrainian Equipment Losses During The Russian Invasion Of UkrainePublisher: Oryx | Note: Supports direct Russia-Ukraine War context by documenting Ukrainian MT-LB, MT-LBu, MT-LB-S ambulance, and improvised MT-LB losses with photo or video evidence. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Soviet MT-LB.JPEGPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Public-domain U.S. military image of a Soviet MT-LB, used for image provenance and licensing. | Accessed: 2026-06-20