Support Equipment

PTS-2

Also known as
  • Plavayushchij Transportyer Sryednyj-2
  • Plavayushchiy Transportyor Sredniy-2
  • PTS 2
  • PTS-2 amphibious transporter
  • PTS-2 floating tracked transporter

The PTS-2 is a Soviet amphibious tracked transporter developed from the PTS family for moving troops, vehicles, casualties, and cargo across rivers, flooded ground, and rough approaches where wheeled logistics vehicles cannot operate.

PTS-2, Amphibious tracked transporter, Support Equipment
Image source: PTS-2 - RaceofHeroes-part2-35.jpg

Role in Conflicts

Profile / Specs

Profile

Origin
Soviet Union
Type
Amphibious tracked transporter
Service note
Late Cold War Soviet amphibious-engineering vehicle
Designed
Development reported from 1973
Produced
Reported from 1985; related Lugansk-built PTS-2/PTS-3 production is also described broadly in the 1970s-1980s

Specifications

Crew
2
Payload
12 tonnes on water; sources also describe carriage of up to 75 troops or 12 stretcher casualties
Dimensions
About 11.99 m long, 3.30 m wide, and 3.17 m high in PTS-2 reference data
Weight
About 24.2-24.4 tonnes empty, with maximum loaded weight described around 36-38 tonnes depending on source
Engine
V-46-5 liquid-cooled V12 diesel, about 710 hp
Mobility
Tracked amphibious cargo carrier with rear ramp, 10-tonne winch, twin water propulsors, and reported 60 km/h road speed with about 12-13 km/h water speed
Chassis
Based on the MT-T tracked transport family using T-64-derived running gear; PTS-2 has seven road wheels per side
Protection
Lightly armored crew cab with NBC/ABC protection; the open cargo bed is not an infantry fighting compartment
Variants

PTS-family designations track successive Soviet and Russian amphibious tracked transporters; the PTS-2 sits between the smaller PTS-M predecessor and later PTS-3/PTS-4 replacement efforts.

VariantConfigurationDesignation notes
PTS-MEarlier PTS-family transporter

The PTS-M used a smaller cargo area and lower payload than the later PTS-2, which carried the family onto a larger MT-T/T-64-derived tracked base.

Sources: PTS-2, PTS-10, PTS-2 and PTS-M

PTS-3Later Lugansk-built family member

Open reporting groups PTS-3 with PTS-2 as aging Lugansk-built amphibious transporters that PTS-4 was intended to replace.

Sources: Novyy plavayushchiy transporter proshel ispytaniya

PTS-4Russian successor

The PTS-4 is a later Omsktransmash/Uralvagonzavod design with heavier payload on water, better protection, and T-80/T-72-derived automotive components.

Sources: Russian Defense Ministry plans to buy new amphibious tracked armoured vehicle PTS-4 in 2014, Novyy plavayushchiy transporter proshel ispytaniya

Transport Family And River-Crossing Role

The PTS-2 sits between the earlier PTS-M and later PTS-3/PTS-4 line in published descriptions of the Soviet PTS amphibious transporter family. Its main value is functional rather than tactical: it is a tracked river-crossing cargo vehicle for moving trucks, troops, stretchers, and other loads across water obstacles.

Chassis family

WeaponSystems.net describes the PTS-2 as a development of the PTS-M built around the newer MT-T tracked chassis, with T-64 running gear and a more powerful T-72-derived engine.

Transport load

Published descriptions give the PTS-2 a 12-ton cargo capacity, enough for a light truck, about 75 troops, or stretchers, with loading through a rear ramp and support from a winch.

Successor context

Mortar Investments identifies PTS-3 as a small-production successor and PTS-4 as a later Russian replacement program, while the PTS-2 remained the practical Cold War-era transporter in this family context.

Sources: PTS-2; PTS-10, PTS-2 and PTS-M.

Timeline

PTS-2 Key Events

  1. PTS-2 development date reported

    WeaponSystems.net lists 1973 as the PTS-2 development date while separately placing service entry and production in the mid-1980s.

    Sources: PTS-2

  2. Mid-1980s service and production reporting

    WeaponSystems.net reports mid-1980s service entry and production from 1985 for the PTS-2, while other reporting groups Lugansk-built PTS-2/PTS-3 vehicles broadly in the 1970s-1980s.

    Sources: PTS-2, Novyy plavayushchiy transporter proshel ispytaniya

  3. PTS-4 qualification tests

    Army Recognition reported that the PTS-4 passed qualification tests in 2011 as the Russian successor family moved toward procurement.

    Sources: Russian Defense Ministry plans to buy new amphibious tracked armoured vehicle PTS-4 in 2014

  4. PTS-4 factory trials reported

    N+1 reported Omsktransmash factory tests of the PTS-4 and described it as intended to replace aging PTS-2 and PTS-3 transporters.

    Sources: Novyy plavayushchiy transporter proshel ispytaniya

  5. Modified Russian PTS-2 reported in Ukraine

    United24 Media reported imagery of Russian PTS-2 transporters modified with improvised protection and pushed into assault-support use in Ukraine.

    Sources: When You're Out of IFVs: Russia Sends Modified PTS-2s Into Assaults

Related Weapon Systems
BTR-50, Tracked amphibious armored personnel carrier, Armored VehiclesArmored VehiclesBTR-50Tracked amphibious armored personnel carrierThe BTR-50 is a Soviet tracked amphibious armored personnel carrier based on the PT-76 light tank chassis. Designed to move infantry and light weapons across rivers and broken terrain, it carried a small crew plus a large troop compartment behind light welded steel armor. Its record spans Arab-Israeli wars, the Iran-Iraq War, Syria, and Russia's Ukraine deployment of stored vehicles, including photographed and loss-documented BTR-50PK carriers fitted with BPU-1 turrets.
Ratel H, Heavy uncrewed ground logistics and tow vehicle, Support EquipmentSupport EquipmentRatel HHeavy uncrewed ground logistics and tow vehicleRatel H is a Ukrainian heavy uncrewed ground vehicle from Ratel Robotics built for logistics, ammunition delivery, casualty evacuation, towing, and carrying mission attachments. Official specifications place it in a 400 kg payload class with day and night cameras, long-range remote control, and a 60 km travel range; wartime reporting and Ratel's own service note document Ukrainian use for frontline cargo and evacuation missions.

Sources

PTS-2Publisher: WeaponSystems.net | Note: Supports PTS-2 origin, development date, mid-1980s service entry, reported production from 1985, Voroshilovgrad locomotive plant developer, MT-T/T-64-derived chassis context, and general technical description. | Accessed: 2026-07-13PTS-10, PTS-2 and PTS-MPublisher: Mortar Investments | Note: Supports PTS-2 cargo-area, payload, troop-capacity, rear-ramp, and winch details. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Sravnitelnyy analiz PTS-2 s analogichnymi obraztsami tekhnikiPublisher: Belarusian National Technical University | Note: Supports PTS-2 mission, two-person crew, 75-person troop carriage, 12-tonne land/water payload, 60 km/h road speed, water speed, 710 hp diesel power, NBC/ABC protection, self-entrenching equipment, radio, intercom, and night-vision equipment. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Novyy plavayushchiy transporter proshel ispytaniyaPublisher: N+1 | Note: Supports PTS-4 development and test context, T-80/T-72 component lineage, PTS-4 replacement role for aging Lugansk-built PTS-2 and PTS-3 transporters, and broad 1970s-1980s Lugansk production context. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Russian Defense Ministry plans to buy new amphibious tracked armoured vehicle PTS-4 in 2014Publisher: Army Recognition | Note: Supports PTS-4 successor-family context, 2011 qualification testing, planned 2014 procurement, 12.7 mm remote weapon station, 840 hp engine, 12-tonne land payload, 18-tonne water payload, and T-80/T-72-derived automotive lineage. | Accessed: 2026-07-13When You're Out of IFVs: Russia Sends Modified PTS-2s Into AssaultsPublisher: United24 Media | Note: Supports direct 2014 Russia-Ukraine War use by Russian forces, including images of a modified PTS-2 used as a makeshift assault vehicle in Ukraine. | Accessed: 2026-07-13PTS-2: Ukrainian Amphibious Transporter, History and Current UsePublisher: Fraza | Note: Supports direct 2014 Russia-Ukraine War use by Russian-backed formations in Donbas, including PTS-2 vehicles seized in Luhansk in 2014 and later PTS vehicles supplied from Russia to armed formations in occupied Donetsk and Luhansk. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Ukrainian Forces Captured a PTS-2 Transporter in Kharkiv RegionPublisher: StopCor | Note: Supports direct 2014 Russia-Ukraine War use by Russian forces, reporting a captured Russian PTS-2 in Kharkiv region and Russian use of similar PTS-2 vehicles for river-crossing work in Kherson and on the Siverskyi Donets. | Accessed: 2026-07-13PTS-2 - RaceofHeroes-part2-35.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports the primary PTS-2 image attribution and licensing context. | Accessed: 2026-07-13