The Terradyne Gurkha is a Canadian 4x4 tactical armored vehicle family built on Ford Super Duty commercial-truck architecture for protected patrol, troop transport, medical evacuation, command, counter-UAS, and security missions. Ukraine procured Gurkha MPV armored medical evacuation vehicles through UNITED24 for frontline casualty movement during the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War.
Ukraine procured 13 Canadian-built Gurkha MPV armored medical evacuation vehicles through the Ministry of Health and UNITED24, with the first vehicle sent to the front in October 2023 and final vehicles completed later that year with STANAG 4569 level II protection, run-flat tires, winches, and stretcher carriage for casualty evacuation.
Role detailsThe Gurkha family is a protected mobility platform rather than a primary fighting vehicle. Terradyne positions the line for police, federal law-enforcement, military, security, border, patrol, medevac, troop-transport, command, reconnaissance, counter-UAS, and light-utility missions.
Terradyne describes the Gurkha as engineered on a Ford F-550 chassis with CMVSS/FMVSS road-safety certification.
Company pages state protection availability up to NIJ IV, CEN B7, and STANAG level 2+, with testing against armor-piercing rifle impacts and blast threats.
The Ukrainian purchase was for armored medical evacuation vehicles with run-flat tires, winches, NATO stretchers, and carriage for wounded personnel sitting or on stretchers.
Terradyne markets the Gurkha as a common 4x4 armored-vehicle family with patrol, troop-transport, cargo-bed, and civilian limited-production configurations.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
| Gurkha LAPV | Light Armored Patrol Vehicle | Five-door version with enclosed cabin space for tactical operations, security forces, off-road missions, and protected patrol work. Sources: Terradyne vehicle lineup, Gurkha LAPV |
| Gurkha MPV | Multi-Purpose Vehicle | Six-door troop-transport and law-enforcement/tactical response version; the MPV page lists seating capacity up to 13 and Medevac, EOD, command-center, and tactical emergency-medical configurations. |
| Gurkha RPV | Rapid Patrol Vehicle | Lighter four-door Gurkha version with up to six seats and a separate rear cargo bed for border patrol, counter-UAS, MANPADS deployment, critical-infrastructure protection, and light-utility applications. Sources: Gurkha RPV |
| Gurkha CIV | Civilian Limited Edition Vehicle | Limited-production civilian branch derived from the Gurkha line, offered with luxury and protection options rather than as a military or police-only configuration. Sources: Terradyne vehicle lineup, Providing Protection With Unique Vehicles |
Terradyne was founded as a Magna International subsidiary focused on armored vehicles before later becoming an independent manufacturer.
Sources: Providing Protection With Unique Vehicles
A Terradyne release described the Gurkha as the company's flagship tactical vehicle and identified LAPV, MPV, and RPV as the three current configurations.
Sources: GURKHA on patrol at Bruce Power
UNITED24 reported that Ukraine's Ministry of Health had procured 13 Gurkha MPV armored medical evacuation vehicles for delivery to frontline regions in 2023.
Sources: UNITED24 Gurkha evacuation vehicles
UNITED24 reported that the first Canadian-made armored vehicle for evacuating wounded personnel was going to front areas under intense shelling.
Sources: UNITED24 first armored evacuation vehicle
Terradyne announced completion of the final vehicles ordered by Ukraine's Ministry of Health through State Enterprise Medical Procurement of Ukraine, with 13 vehicles funded through UNITED24.
Sources: Terradyne completes Ukraine evacuation ambulances
Manufacturing In Focus quoted Terradyne's president and CEO describing supplied Gurkha MPVs in Ukraine as frontline evacuation vehicles for medical forces.
Sources: Providing Protection With Unique Vehicles
