# PTS (vehicle)

The PTS is a Soviet tracked amphibious transport. PTS stands for Plavayushchij Transportyer - Sryednyj or medium amphibious transport vehicle. Its industrial index was Ob'yekt 65.
Introduced in 1965, it is large, with a substantial payload of 10 tons, two to four times the capacity of the BAV 485, and better cross-country performance, at the cost of somewhat higher purchase costs because it is tracked. The most common model is the improved PTS-M that is powered by a 350 hp diesel engine.

## Description

The PTS has a boxy, open watertight hull, with six road wheels per side, front drive sprocket, rear idler sprocket, and no return rollers. Like the BAV 485, and unlike the DUKW, it has a rear loading ramp. The crew is seated at the front, leaving the rear of the vehicle open for a vehicle, which can be driven (or backed) in, rather than lifted over the side. The engine is under the floor. Propulsion in water is by means of twin propellers, in tunnels to protect them from damage during land operations.
The PTS-M also has a companion vehicle, the PKP, a boat-like amphibious two-wheeled trailer, with fold-out sponsons providing stability on water; the combination allows the PTS-M to accommodate an artillery tractor, field gun (up to medium caliber), its crew, and a quantity of ammunition, all in one load.

## Specifications

* Top speed: 40 km/h (25 mph) (road)

## Variants

* PTS: Original transporter fielded in 1965 based on an elongated ATS-59 chassis.
* PTS-M: Soviet engine upgrade version from 1969, weighing 36 metric tons, it can carry up to 10,000 kilograms (22,000 lb) or 20-70 soldiers.
* Vollketten Schwimmwagen: PTS-M for the National People's Army.
* PTS-MP: Modernized Polish version.
* PTS-10: Czech designation of PTS-M; can carry 70 passengers.
* PTS-2: Replacement based on new larger chassis, with higher side walls and larger loading platform.
* PTS-3: Upgrade of PTS-2 with higher sides.
* PTS-4: Based on T-80 chassis with improved armor and larger props.
* PLAM: Chinese variant on indigenous chassis with MG turret on the cab.
In 2014, the Russian Defense Ministry intends to purchase an undetermined number of PTS-4s, which underwent acceptance trials in 2011. The vehicle will be fitted with a remotely operated 12.7 mm (0.50 in) machine gun and a multi-fuel engine. The PTS-4 weighs 33 tons, with a payload of 12 tons on land (18 tons on water). Projected maximum road speed is 60 km/h (37 mph), with an expected maximum speed in water of 15 km/h (9.3 mph). Unlike its predecessors, it uses T-80 suspension components. The fully enclosed cab offers protection against small arms fire and splinter. Production began in 2014.

## Users

The PTS-M was adopted by the Soviet Army and Warsaw Pact forces, and has been supplied to Egypt, the former Yugoslavia, Iraq, Uruguay, and other nations.
* Algeria
* Egypt - PTS-M (used during operation Badr)
* Georgia
* Indonesia (Indonesian Marine Corps)
* Iraq
* Russia PTS4 OTM UralTM building, PTS 2 PTS3 . PTS1 BTR50 reactivated
* Russian separatist forces in Donbass - PTS-2
* Serbia - 12 PTSM
* Sudan
* Syria
* Uruguay - 2 PTS in service as of 2016
* Vietnam
* Poland - 282 PTS-M
* Ukraine - 15 PTS-2
* Latvia - PTS in reserve in the 54th Engineers Battalion

## Former users

* Croatia - 4 PTS-2
* Czech Republic
* Czechoslovakia
* Hungary - Some in service for use during 2024 Central European floods
* Slovakia
* Soviet Union - Passed on to successor states:
* Yugoslavia
* Republic of Srpska