A Polish consortium has delivered the final of 80 “AERO” air-dropped vehicles for Polish paratroopers.
The final vehicle was delivered to the 6th Airborne Brigade on October 31, a little under four years after the first contract for the vehicles was awarded to the consortium led by Kafar Bartłomiej Sztukiert.
In addition to the 80 vehicles, the contract also included the delivery of 120 special trailers, as well as a logistics package and specialist training.
Deliveries were made in 2019-2022, and the total value of the contract amounted to around 50 million Polish złoty (approx. $10.5M).
Based on the Toyota Land Cruiser design, the AERO vehicle and the trailer are intended for transporting equipment and supplies via airdrop, in the foot patrol, as well as for towing artillery weapons systems weighing more than 1.000 kg. The vehicle can also be used as a platform for the assembly of weapons or carry out casualty evacuation tasks by transporting sick, injured or injured on the battlefield.
The vehicle can be transported by a helicopter (attached below deck), and is adapted to be dropped from the C-130 or C-295M aircraft.
Poland received the first vehicles in 2019 and they performed their first “combat drop” in June 2020, during the international exercise Defender Europe 2020 at the training ground in Drawsko Pomorskie.
The vehicle was also used by Polish soldier during activities related to the migration crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border, where it was appreciated by users due to its “mobility, off-road capability and versatility of applications.”
