Novator is a Ukrainian Armor light armored vehicle family built around a modified Ford F-550 4x4 chassis. The baseline vehicle provides protected mobility for reconnaissance or personnel transport, while the Novator-2 branch adds greater troop capacity and front-line adaptations such as electronic-warfare integration for Ukraine's forces in the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War.
Ukraine fields Novator and Novator-2 armored vehicles in the war, including National Guard Novator-2 vehicles with integrated electronic-warfare systems for front-line combat missions. Reporting also documents Azov/National Guard use to move personnel under firefight and drone-strike threat.
Role detailsNovator's cataloged value is protected movement rather than heavy direct fire. Ukrainian Armor's own material emphasizes a modified Ford F-550 chassis, 4x4 drive, reinforced suspension, run-flat inserts, bullet-resistant crew protection, and anti-mine seating for reconnaissance or personnel transport roles.
Ford F-550, 4x4, six-speed automatic transmission, reinforced suspension, ventilated brakes with ABS.
Crew compartment protection against 7.62 mm 57-N-323S impact at 10 m; floor blast protection against two RGD-5 hand grenades in the official brochure.
Up to 140 km/h on road, up to 500 km drive range, 300 mm ground clearance, 0.75 m fording, 30 degree gradient, and 20 degree side slope.
Sources: Ukrainian Armor Novator product page; Ukrainian Armor Novator brochure.
The Novator family separates the original protected-mobility vehicle from the larger Novator-2 branch and mission-specific ambulance, EOD, command, electronic-warfare, and reinforced-protection configurations.
| Variant | Role | Source-backed distinction |
|---|---|---|
| Novator | Baseline protected mobility | Official data lists a Ford F-550 4x4 chassis, five-seat reconnaissance layout, 8/10-seat personnel-carrier layout, 140 km/h road speed, 500 km range, and 6400 x 2350 x 2385 mm dimensions. |
| Novator-2 | Higher-capacity carrier | Developed from Novator after combat feedback, with 10 seats, improved mine protection, suspension, and control system. |
| Novator-2S / 2C | Medical evacuation | Carries six wounded seated or four lying down and provides space for medical equipment. |
| Novator OPM | EOD operations | Built for EOD team and equipment transport in high-threat demining environments. |
| Novator-2 Krechet | Air-defense command post | Integrates the Krechet tactical-group control system for coordinating air-defense units and mobile fire groups. |
| Novator PZSA-5 | Reinforced protection | Five-seat 2025 update with PZSA-5 / STANAG 4569 Level 2-equivalent hull protection. |
Sources: Ukrainian Armor Novator product page; Ukrainian Armor Novator-2 National Guard delivery; Defense Express Novator three configurations; Oboronka Novator-2S medical evacuation production; Ukrainian Armor Novator-2 Krechet MSPO 2025; Ukrainska Pravda Novator PZSA-5 and Krechet.
Open sources use Novator for the original five-seat light armored vehicle and Novator-2 for the larger, more heavily adapted second-generation branch. Later Novator-2 derivatives include evacuation, command, EOD, and reinforced-protection variants.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
| Novator-2 | Second-generation 10-seat armored carrier | Defense Express reported that Novator-2 increased troop capacity, enclosed the rear section in armor, added 5 cm bulletproof windows, and entered National Guard deliveries after almost a year of testing. |
| Novator-2 with KVERTUS AD KRAKEN Counter FPV F3 M50 | Counter-FPV electronic-warfare configuration | Ukrainian Armor said it tested Novator-2 with the integrated KVERTUS AD KRAKEN Counter FPV F3 M50 system and that the first EW-equipped vehicles were already performing front-line combat missions. |
| Novator-2S | Medical evacuation variant | Defense Express and Oboronka reported that the Novator-2S/2C medical evacuation variant can carry six wounded seated or four lying down; Oboronka reported mass production and delivery to combat units. Sources: Defense Express Novator three configurations, Oboronka Novator-2S medical evacuation production |
| Novator OPM | Operational EOD / demining vehicle | Defense Express described Novator OPM as an operational EOD vehicle for safe transport of EOD teams and specialized equipment in high-threat demining environments, with development beginning in 2023. |
| Novator command-and-staff vehicle | Command-and-staff modification | Ukrainian Armor said it developed, tested, and launched a Novator command-and-staff modification in 2024. |
| Novator-2 Krechet | Air-defense command-and-staff platform | Ukrainian Armor presented Novator-2 Krechet at MSPO 2025 as a command-and-staff vehicle with an integrated Krechet tactical-group control system for coordinating air-defense units, mobile fire groups, and reconnaissance. |
| Novator PZSA-5 | Reinforced-protection five-seat Novator | Ukrainska Pravda, citing Ukrainian Armor, described Novator PZSA-5 as a 2025 five-seat updated Novator with hull protection raised to PZSA-5, analogous to STANAG 4569 Level 2. |
Novator-2 has been used as a host vehicle for counter-FPV electronic-warfare equipment as Ukraine adapts protected mobility vehicles to drone-threat conditions.
| Carried item | Item type | Carriage evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | Counter-UAV electronic-warfare package | Kvertus said Ukrainian Armored Vehicles began installing Kraken electronic-warfare systems on specialized Novator armored vehicles, while Ukrainian Armor later described testing Novator-2 with the KVERTUS AD KRAKEN Counter FPV F3 M50 system. Sources: Kvertus Ukrainian Armor cooperation article, Ukrainian Armor Novator-2 KRAKEN test |
Open reporting and the 2019 Wikimedia image record place Novator in Ukrainian Armor's late-2010s public armored-vehicle program before wider service deliveries.
Sources: Kyiv Post Novator field report, Wikimedia Commons Novator 2019 image
Defense Express reported that Ukrainian Armor handed over the first Novator-2 vehicles to Ukraine's National Guard and that each combat brigade was planned to receive the type.
Sources: Defense Express Novator-2 National Guard delivery
Ukrainian Armor said Novator-2 had been tested with an integrated KVERTUS AD KRAKEN Counter FPV F3 M50 system and that the first EW-equipped vehicles were already on front-line combat missions.
Sources: Ukrainian Armor Novator-2 KRAKEN test
Ukrainian Armor said it launched Novator-2 and its versions into mass production in 2024 and developed, tested, and launched sanitary-evacuation and command-and-staff modifications.
Sources: Ukrainian Armor Novator contracts completion
Defense Express reported that Ukrainian Armor presented general-purpose, Novator-2S medical-evacuation, and Novator OPM EOD configurations at a wartime risk-management forum.
Sources: Defense Express Novator three configurations
Ukrainian Armor and Ukrainska Pravda described MSPO 2025 presentations of the reinforced-protection Novator PZSA-5 and the Novator-2 Krechet air-defense command-and-staff platform.
Sources: Ukrainian Armor Novator-2 Krechet MSPO 2025, Ukrainska Pravda Novator PZSA-5 and Krechet
UNITED24 Media, citing Ukrainian Armor's press service, reported that more than 1,000 Novator armored vehicles had been supplied to Ukraine's Armed Forces since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.
Sources: UNITED24 Novator 1000 vehicle milestone
