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German Military Buy 650th Unimog U 5000

One of the ugliest vehicles ever developed, the Unimog is highly regarded for its versatility by the German military. So much so, that today the armed forces vehicle fleet service (BwFPS) received the keys to the 650th such vehicle from German manufacturer Mercedes Benz.

The U 5000, with its claimed climbing ability of 100 percent, is regarded as the most capable all-terrain vehicle in the gross vehicle weight class between 7.5 t and 12.5 t. This title has been made possible by the use of suspension and running-gear which allows it to perform great in the tough off-road conditions provided for it by military service.

The model is powered by Mercedes-Benz OM 924 LA diesel engine, which in its Euro-5 version is capable of developing 218 horsepower.

For the army, the Unimog has been fitted with portal axles at the front and rear with differential locks, wheel hub drive, wishbones, a torque tube, coil springs, telescopic shock absorbers and stabilizers at the front and rear.

“The all-terrain Unimog chassis of the U 5000 combines traditional Unimog attributes such as solidity, robustness, durability, reliability and an almost legendary all-wheel drive concept with the very latest engine and transmission technology and ergonomics at the highest level,”
Mercedes says about its armed forces creation.

The U 5000 is not the only model created by the German manufacturer for the military. Aside from it, Mercedes-Benz also builds vehicles with payloads from 0.5 t to 110 t, all derived from civilian truck variants: 0.7 t for the G Class, 0.5 t to 2.0 t for the Mercedes-Benz vans, 3 - 5 t for the Atego, 5 - 7 t for the Axor and 7 t to 18 t for the various two, three or four-axle Actros models.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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