The Soviet tracked swiss knife

The Soviet Army's APC (armored personal carriers) never followed the path of the USA. While the latter realized an all-enclosed fully tracked model (which became the M113 after a long evolution) was more desirable after the controversial performances of the M2/M3 half-track family during the WW2, USSR rather produced wheeled APCs, either 6x6 or 8x8 with the current line ending with nowaday's bumerang, and which went through the BTR line. Their own attempt as designing a fully tracked APC however emerged soon enough in the late 1950s when they expressed the need for a multi-purpose fully amphibious auxiliary armored tracked vehicle, which comes to be the MT-LB.

This program ended on a single vehicle, the MT-LB which was not only in service for most of the cold war but continues to serve as of today, in Russia and around 20 countries through dozens of variants and sub-variants, since it was constantly upgraded and never really replaced. Production is estimated today around 9,000, well below what could be expected of such cheap and modular vehicle, or comparable "universal carriers" of the past like the Vickers Bren carrier or French UE. MT-LB means Многоцелевой Тягач Легкий Бронированный or Mnogotselevoy Tyagach Legky Bronirovanny: "Multi-Purpose Towing Vehicle, Light, Armoured".

The MT-L and MT-LB light multi-purpose tracked transporters/prime movers were adopted by the USSR Armed Forces in 1964 pursuant to USSR Council of Ministers Resolution No. 1030–401; they were manufactured at the Sergo Ordzhonikidze Kharkiv Tractor Plant (KhTZ). Only a small batch of the MT-L was produced, as KhTZ could not manufacture two vehicles simultaneously. Currently, the MT-LB is produced in Russia by JSC Muromteplovoz and the Rubtsovsk branch of JSC NPK Uralvagonzavod (named after F. E. Dzerzhinsky).


Soviet troops used the MT-LB during the War in Afghanistan, and following the dissolution of the USSR, it saw service in virtually all major armed conflicts across the post-Soviet space. The MT-LB was also supplied in significant quantities to USSR allies and neutral nations, seeing use in a number of regional conflicts. It served as the platform for various special-purpose vehicles, and its chassis was adapted for civilian all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). Indeed, starting in the mid-1980s, the MT-LB itself—in a variant lacking a turret and machine-gun armament—was successfully employed in the civilian sector as an all-terrain vehicle in the Far North.

Currently, there is market demand for various civilian snow-and-swamp vehicle modifications based on the MT-LB, particularly models produced by the Irkutsk Tracked Vehicle Plant. Additionally, the manufacturing company Girtek produces all-terrain vehicles based on the demilitarized MT-LB under the model name MSG, issuing new self-propelled machine passports (PSM) for them. LLC Tyumenspets-tekh manufactures the SGT-31—a tracked all-terrain vehicle (capable of traversing snow and marshland) that serves as an analogue to the MT-LB. In the Ural Federal District, the Ural Plant of Tracked Prime Movers (UZGT) has launched the production of civilian variants of tracked all-terrain vehicles based on the MT-LB. Various modifications of UZGT and TGM-2 tracked vehicles are used in the civilian sector, enabling operations in off-road conditions.

Among troops, the MT-LB is known by nicknames such as "Motolyga" ("Matalyga"), "Motolaba," and "MTLB-shka". Following the dissolution of the USSR, the production facilities for the MT-LB remained in Ukraine. The Kharkiv Tractor Plant developed and manufactures the KhTZ-3N civilian all-terrain vehicle based on this vehicle's chassis.

Development history of the MT-LB

The Soviet Central Auto and Tractor Directorate started a development program to replace the AT-P series. The latter were artillery tractors based on the ASU-57, and at least in spirit, in the same lineage as the WW2-era T-20 Komsomolets tractors. The MT-L was tailored to meet the requirement, but based on the sturdier PT-76 amphibious light tank chassis. From this, two vehicles were created: The MT-L, unarmored and the MT-LB, armored, and we will concentrate here on the latter.

In the 1950s, the Soviet Central Auto and Tractor Directorate started a development program to replace the AT-P tractors by a new generation and the MT-L was developed, based on the PT-76 light tank chassis, before being fully armoired as the MT-LB. The latter entering production in the early 1970s. The vehicle was cheap, based on existing components such as the powerplant originally developed for trucks and many other commercially available off the shelf parts. In context, Post-war Soviet doctrine increasingly demanded vehicles that could operate across the full spectrum of European terrain — from the central German plains to the Arctic tundra of Finland and Norway, to the swamps of the Pripyat marshes. No existing light tractor met all these requirements simultaneously.


The lineage runs through the AT-L (Artilleriyskiy Tyagach Lyogkiy — light artillery tractor) as seen above indeed, designed at the Kharkiv Tractor Plant in 1947. The light artillery tractor AT-L was created in 1947 by the design bureau of the Kharkiv Tractor Plant, and due to the insufficient power of the only suitable diesel engine, it was necessary — for the first time in Soviet practice — to resort to a more efficient planetary transmission without side clutches, similar to that of the Panther tank. The AT-L was produced from 1947 to 1967 and gave the Kharkiv plant deep experience in light tracked vehicle design that would feed directly into the MT-LB program.


The MT-L as seen above was developed to meet the replacement requirement based on the PT-76 amphibious light tank chassis as logical starting point since the latter was already a proven, fully amphibious platform with a well-understood running gear, and basing the new tractor on its chassis allowed the designers to inherit its broad tracks and low ground pressure, which were exactly the qualities needed for Arctic and swamp operations. In addition the first MT-L being an unarmoured vehicle and straightforward utility tractor and cargo carrier, its development was fast.

It was cheap, simple, and relied heavily on off-the-shelf components. Development dates are murky, possibly 1955 for the very start, but the final vehicle was unveiled in 1970, hence NATO classification as M-1970. However some sources argued the MTL was already tested in 1964. In an case this was a very long development time for such a simple vehicle adapted from an existing base. We will not treat the MT-L there, there will be a dedicated article on trucks-encyclopedia.com.

Then came the MT-LB as the armoured variant of the MT-L. It was tested likely in 1967-68, accepted in 1968, and entering production in the early 1970s. The powerplant was the same YaMZ-238 V-8 diesel originally designed for heavy trucks, producing 240 hp at 2,100 rpm. The deliberate use of a civilian truck engine rather than a purpose-designed military unit was a cornerstone of the MT-LB's design philosophy: maximise commonality with the broader Soviet logistics chain, minimise specialist parts, and keep production costs low. The armour remained modest with a maximum of 14 mm rolled homogeneous steel armour, sufficient to defeat small arms and shell splinters but nothing more. That tractor and carrier was not a fighting vehicle, kept on supply lines and never on the front line. Keeping weight down preserved the vehicle's most important characteristic: its amphibious capability and exceptional cross-country performance.

Design of the MT-LB

What was most obvious about the MT-LB was its low-silhouette. The hull was box-like, all in welded steel. The crew compartment was placed at the front, large enough for a driver and co-driver which can be swapped with a ball-mounted machine gun or more commonly with a turret on top of his position standing. The engine was placed immediately behind, on the left side. The troop compartment took all the rear space, with two access doors at the rear and roof panels. The ten infantrymen sat on inward-facing folding canvas seats. The hull roof was given two forward opening troop exit hatches which can be also use to fire upright on the move or jump out of the vehicle.

Armament

There were two side firing ports and one more on each rear doors, four total. The co-drive small turret next to the commander's position housed a small 7.62mm PKT standard machine gun. So this, and the Infantry's own weaponry (Kalashnikov, hand mortar, MANPADS) were the only armament of the MT-LB in APC configuration. However with time, the vehicle proved very adaptable to a whole range of armament (see variants below).

Protection

The vehicle was protected by a 7 to 8 mm armor plate at all angles, however the turret front and frontal arc nose armor was 0.55 in (14 mm) thick, enough with the sloped armor to deflect heavy MG rounds. NBC collective protection system was standard, with internal spall lining.

Mobility

The MT-LB is characterized by flat-track suspension consisting of six road wheels with no return rollers but it can be fitted with extra-wide-track (565 mm wide vs 350) with an "aggressive" grouser for snow/swamp normally impassable ground. This version is designated MT-LBV and the new tracks helps reduces ground pressure from 0.46 to only 0.28 kg/cm2. Also used by local population of Siberia around Irkutsk, it is the only way to travel in these untamed wilderness.

MT-LB Variants

This is fundamentally multipurpose vehicle. The APC/command vehicle house ten personnel whereas the core crew comprised only two, the driver and commander-gunner side by side. The MT-LB was also defined as a tractor, prime mover for most field artillery types and wheeled mortars in service. The artillery crew is ranging from six to ten, with partial ammunition storage. It was the default first-line 100 mm AT gun T-12 tractor, organic to motorized infantry divisions. It was aolso used as a supply vehicle with a cargo capacity of 2.0 metric tons, and was capable of towing up to 6.5 metric tons. By combining all known variants of the vehicle many sources estimates a grand total of some 55,000 vehicles across all variants. It just underscores just how central the platform became to Soviet and Warsaw Pact ground forces.

Today the Arctic variants are the best known: The MT-LBV is the dedicated Arctic modification, fitted with extra-wide 670 mm tracks reducing ground pressure to 0.27 kg/cm² — allowing operations on snow and tundra where even the standard MT-LB would struggle. Further Siberian variants include the MT-LBV-N with a modified half-cabin, and the MT-LBV-NS Altai, a full-cabin Siberian transport version. These were particularly important for Soviet operations in the Far North, where the MT-LB essentially replaced wheeled transport entirely due to the impossibility of road operations across most of the terrain for much of the year.

If classed by roles, the MT-LB family tree could be seen that way:
Soviet/Russian combat variants: MT-LBM (IFV with 30 mm 2A72 autocannon, new turret)
MT-LBVM swapping the original 7.62 mm PKT for a 12.7 mm NSVT heavy machine gun and the MT-LBVMK further modification with the newer Kord 12.7 mm HMG.
The Toros is the combat Arctic IFV variant with 30 mm autocannon, designed for operations in extreme cold.
The 2S24 is the support, mortar carrier variants for a 82 mm 2B14 Podnos mortar in the back compartment.

The Anti-tank variant is the 9P149 Shturm-S with its retractable Shturm-V (AT-6 Spiral) ATGM launcher with autoloader, giving divisions a highly mobile anti-tank capability. The launcher retracts into the hull for transit and protection.

There is one main Air defence variant, the 9A35 launcher for the 9K35 Strela-10 (SA-13 Gopher) short-range SAM system SA-13 regimental surface-to-air missile transporter-erector-launcher, introduced around 1980, is also based on the MT-LB chassis.

The long range attack or support artillery variant is the 9P139 which could launch 30-round 122 mm Grad-1 multiple rocket launcher rockets, a system adapted from the BM-21 system mounted on the ZiL-131 truck. The Artillery fire control variant however is based on the MT-LBu.

Radar and reconnaissance variants includes the MT-SON — ground surveillance radar vehicle with the Pork Trough/SNAR-2 radar, 1L219 Zoopark-1 — artillery reconnaissance radar vehicle for locating enemy artillery by tracking shell trajectories; the SNAR-10 Big Fred battlefield surveillance radar has also been mounted on the platform, 1S80 Sborka — G-band early warning radar for air defence units with a maximum range of 80 km, known in NATO as DOG EAR, RKhM Kashalot — NBC chemical reconnaissance vehicle and K-611/K-612 — radiological reconnaissance vehicles.

Electronic warfare variants includes the R-330P Piramida-I EW vehicle designed to jam VHF communications. Engineering variants comprises the AZM Vostorg-1 armoured engineering vehicle, MT-LB M1980 Blade bulldozer variant and UR-77 Meteorit mine-clearing vehicle using a rocket-propelled explosive line charge. For technical support there is the MTP-LB with A-frame crane and roof stowage, for field recovery and maintenance (ARV). Below is a more precise, deeper dive.

Basic MTLB

• MT-LB Blade (M1980): Bulldozer variant
• MT-LBV: Arctic variant with 565 mm tracks for 0.27 kgf/cm2 pressure
  MT-LBVM: Swap a 12.7 mm NVST HMG
  MT-LBV-N: Modified Siberian version with half-cabin
  MT-LBV-NS 'ALTAI': Siberian transport version, full cabin
• MTP-LB: Tec Support version, A-frame, roof stowage
• SNAR-10 "Jaguar" 1RL-127 ("BIG FRED") Ground surveillance radar
  SNAR-10M "Pantera": Upgraded version
• 9A34 – 9K35 "Strela-10" (SA-13 Gopher) SPAAML
• 9A35 - Same with passive array
• 9P149 "Shturm-S" Antitank variant
• RKhM "Kashalot" Chemical recce & -K Command variant
• RPM: radiological reconnaissance vehicle
• K-611/612: Same
• AZM "Vostorg-1" Armored Engineering Vehicle
• MT-LBu: Overhauled, lenghtened variant (standalone)
• UR-77 "Meteorit" Mine clearing variant
• 2S1 122 mm self-propelled howitzer.
• MT-LBM (izdeliye 6M) Russian IFV, 30 mm autocannon
• 2S24 Russian mortar carrier 2B24/2B14 "Podnos" 82 mm mortar
• MT-LBVMK: Russian v. with Kord HMG instead of NSVT
• Toros: Arctic IFV with 30 mm autocannon

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Bulgarian versions

• MT-LB AT-I: minelayer
• MT-LB RHR chemical recce vehicle
• MT-LB SE armoured ambulance
• SMM B1.10 "Tundzha" mortar carrier
• KShM-R-81 "Delfin" Command vehicle
• MT-LB TMX Mortar carrier
• BRM "Sova" reconnaissance version - 3 sub-variants
• R-80 – artillery forward observer
• BMP-23 IFV (already done here)
  BMP-23D improved version
  BRM-23 Reconnaissance version
  BMP-30 with BMP-2 turret

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East German versions

• MT-LB (Pi) – combat engineer vehicle
• MT-LB (Pzj) – anti-tank support vehicle
• MT-LB (Pzj Fü) - anti-tank command vehicle
• MT-LB (BO) - SFL Artillery battery command vehicle
• SaN MT-LB - Armoured Ambulance
• MTP-LB – technical support vehicle.

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Polish versions

• MT-LB-2AP: APC with SKOT-2AP turret
• WEM Lotos: Armoured ambulance
• WPT Mors: ARV
• R-137T/ZWD-1 "Irys": Signals vehicles
• MT-LB Przebiśnieg - EWF
  MT-LB Z: EW Jamming variant
  MT-LB R: Comint/Sigint vehicle
  WD krel: EW Command post
• SPG-2: Improved vehicle
TRI Hors subvariant engineering reconnaissance vehicle
WPT Mors-II armored recovery and repair vehicle
Opal-I/II Artillery command vehicles

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Swedish versions

• Pbv 401: Ex East-German vehicles with Ksp 58/95 MG
Stripbv 4011: Batallion command vehicle
Stripbv 4021: Company command vehicle
Bgbv 4012 technical support version
Rlpbv 4014/T signals vehicle
Sjvpbv 4024: Armoured ambulance
Lvrbpbv 4016: SPAAML with RBS-70 missiles
Pvrbbv 452: AT variant RBS 56 BILL 1

The MTB-LBu

Ukrainian MTLBu in manoeuvers

The MT-LBu is a Soviet multi-purpose fully amphibious armoured carrier developed under the factory index Ob'yekt 10 in the late 1960s, based on the MT-LB. It has a more powerful engine, a 40 cm higher hull, and a longer chassis with 7 road wheels on each side. Where the standard MT-LB has 6 road wheels per side, the MT-LBu's lengthened chassis adds a seventh, providing a significantly larger internal volume. The engine is uprated to the YaMZ-238N producing 300 hp. The small forward turret of the MT-LB is removed entirely on many MT-LBu variants, replaced by mission-specific equipment in the enlarged hull — making it the ideal basis for command, electronic warfare, radar, and fire control vehicles. The MT-LBu was also built at the Kharkiv Tractor Plant in the USSR as well as Poland (Stalowa Wola) and Bulgaria (Beta JSCo).

The sturdier MT-LBu chassis is also shared with the 2S1 Gvozdika 122 mm self-propelled howitzer — one of the most important artillery pieces in the Soviet arsenal. The 2S1 is based on the MT-LBu multi-purpose chassis, mounting a 122 mm 2A18 howitzer, and is fully amphibious with very little preparation, once afloat propelled by its tracks. A variety of track widths are available to allow the 2S1 to operate in snow or swamp conditions. The 2S1 Gvozdika was designed alongside the MT-LBu at Kharkiv, with design work running from 1956–1961, and over 10,000 were eventually built.

Production of the MT-LB

It was built at the Kharkiv Tractor Plant or KhTZ in Soviet Ukraine, as well as in Bulgaria and under license in Poland at Huta Stalowa Wola (see below). The MT-LB entered production in the early 1970s. Like other Soviet vehicles it was cheap to build and reused as much common equipments as possible. The engine was originally developed for trucks and already present in very large quantities. The Kharkiv Tractor Plant charged of the production after the collapse of the USSR resumed it for exports mostly, with kits to modernized and maintain exports or to develop an IFV and many new specialized vehicle. The MT-LBV is now a familiar figure in Siberia. It is even the main transportation system on these immense wilderness devoid of any road, frequently unarmed and used for daily civilian purposes. It was produced in the Warsaw Pact, in Bulgaria and Poland. In the first as a continuation of the Soviet design, in the second under licence, which brought a bunch of new national variants.

Bulgaria

in turn manufactured the type in 1980, and declined it in eight versions and sub-variants plus a national IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle) which remained relatively confiddntial, called the BMP-23, and a BMP-2 turret variant called the BMP-30.

Poland

Polish HSW S.A. (Huta Stalowa Wola S.A.) license produced MT-LB since 1976. The polish SPG-2 has a completely revised chassis with better floating capabilities. Poland developed six main variants and many sub-variants. Nowadays Poland only retained about 15 vehicles in service, but Finland is by the far one of the largest operator of the vehicle which is snow-friendly. Finland indeed has in its inventiry recently about 389 MT-LB/v and 50 MT-LBu.

Operators of the MT-LB

Russia

By far the largest operator of the vehicle. 3,300 are listed in active service. Many new variants were developed, including an IFV. The latest is the MLBSh for the Marines with more powerful engines KAMAZ-740.50 of 360 hp and many other modifications (see the illustrations). USSR used to operate at least 6,000 vehicles. They were passed onto the successors states. Ukraine alone operated some 2,090 MT-LBs of all variants, Azerbaijan about 336, Bulgaria still 100 (mostly IFVs), Belarus 70, Georgia 66, Kazakhstan 150, Lithuania 10, Moldova 60. The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic also operated numbers (no source), now the Czech Army. Hungary operated Strela-10 and SNAR-10 vehicles. Yugoslavia also operated them (unknown quantities), used during the war by Croatia (now all sold or scrapped) although Macedonia still operated 10 recently.

Iraq

Iraq acquired some 400 MT-LBs. Post-Saddam, the country developed its own version of the "Siberian" version MT-LBV, with wide tracks for marshy area around the Tigris. Iraqi MT-LBs were also converted as SPAAGs, with a ZU-23-2 23 mm twin mount. A familiar sight during the war against Al-Qaida, many were also captured and reused by the latter. There was a ground support variant with a ZU-23-2 mounted on a platform extending beyond the hull, while the gun servants were protected by a roof. These too saw heavy actions against ISIS.

East Germany

Used to modify stock vehicles and acquired 721 Bulgarian-made MT-LBs. In addition, they operated 32 SNAR-10 and 36 Strela-10M from USSR. After the Unification, they passed to the successor state and were stockpiled. Eventually a custmer presented itself, Sweden.

Sweden

Surprising as the country's neutrality tradition rather veered towards NATO, Sweden acquired these precious German (Ex-Bulgarian) vehicles in 1993. These 460 vehicles were named the Pansarbandvagn-401 series (7 variants) and were rearmed with the Swedish Machine-gun of NATO caliber, 7.62 mm. So far, Sweden has deactivated them, after 147 were still in the inventory in 2011. All the others were resold to Finland.

Other countries adopted the type, either from Russia or second-hand Polish/Bulgarian vehicles. Countries includes: Armenia (unknown), Azerbaijan (336) plus those from Artsakh, seized by Azerbaijan after the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh, Angola (8), Bangladesh (134), Bulgaria (100 as of 2024), Belarus (70), Congo-Kinshasa (6), Croatia (6 SNAR-10 stored for scrap), Czechoslovakia (thousands, passed on to the Czech Republic, later sold or scrapped), East Germany (721 Bulgarian-made, 32 SNAR-10, 36 Strela-10M, sold or scrapped post 1990s), Eritrea (10), Finland (320 MT-LBu/MT-LBV 2024), Georgia (66+ in Service), Hungary (Strela-10 and SNAR-10, retired), Iraq (About 400), Kazakhstan (150), Lithuania (10, all retired), Moldova (60), Myanmar (350 MT-LBMSh), Nigeria (67), North Korea (unknown HT-16PGJ/Strela-10), North Macedonia (10 in 2024), Poland (15, retired, 9 to Ukraine), Russia (3,300 active pre-2022. In 2025 1,710 MT-LBs lost), Syria (unknown), Transnistria (unknown), Vietnam (Strela-10, Snar-10), Ukraine (some 2,090, so far c150 lost in 2026), Uruguay (5), United States (a few in OPFOR).

The MT-LB in combat

Ukrainian MTLB with stock ERA armour, 2014.

The MT-LB has seen combat in virtually every conflict involving former Soviet or Warsaw Pact equipment since the 1970s: the Soviet–Afghan War, Iran–Iraq War, Gulf War, Transnistrian War, First and Second Nagorno-Karabakh Wars, both Chechen Wars, the Russo-Georgian War, the Syrian Civil War, and the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War. In Ukraine specifically it has proven notably relevant — its low ground pressure and amphibious capability make it one of the few vehicles able to operate year-round in the mud and waterlogged terrain of eastern Ukraine without becoming bogged. Both Russian and Ukrainian forces operate large numbers, and improvised armed variants with anti-aircraft guns, automatic grenade launchers, and even naval guns have appeared in the conflict.

The MT-LB is a textbook example of Soviet design philosophy at its most effective: take a proven chassis, use the cheapest possible components, keep it simple and maintainable, make it amphibious and Arctic-capable, and then use the same platform as the basis for as many roles as possible to simplify logistics. The result was a vehicle produced in enormous numbers, exported across the Warsaw Pact and beyond, and still serving in active combat more than 50 years after its introduction — on both sides of the same war.

General Assessment

Among military personnel with only a superficial understanding of the vehicle, there is a prevailing view that the MT-LB is slow, poorly protected, and lacks firepower. This assessment stems from comparing the MT-LB with infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) and armored personnel carriers (APCs), failing to account for the fact that these represent entirely different classes of military hardware. Unlike IFVs, APCs, or BMDs, the MT-LB was not designed as an infantry support vehicle. Instead, it was conceived as an all-terrain cargo carrier, an artillery prime mover, a chassis for mounting various systems, and an ambulance.

Given these design objectives, its light armor and Kalashnikov machine gun should be viewed as advantages rather than shortcomings. In fact, compared to the standard army truck whose roles it often fulfills, the MT-LB offers superior cross-country mobility thanks to its tracked chassis, as well as bullet-resistant armor and machine-gun armament. The vehicle is not intended for offensive operations; its machine gun is strictly for self-defense. Experience from the War in Afghanistan demonstrated that, beyond its primary role, the MT-LB could—when necessary—use its machine-gun fire to effectively protect not only itself but also the artillery crews it supported as a prime mover.

Improvized armament

Gallery

Illustrations

Regular MT-LB APC, 1960.


9P149-Shturm-SM antitank variant


9K31 Strela-10 SAAM variant


SA-13 Gopher used by the Taliban in 2001

Modified MT-LB SA13 at Hezb e Wahdat

With winter camo in Ukraine winter 2022/23

MT-LB from vasilek DRP Rep. Guard

ZSU: MT-LB ambulance

MT-LB with ZU-23 AA

MT-LB with ZPU in Ukraine

MT-LB of the Don Cossacks

MT-LB camouflaged, Ukraine, unit unknown

MTLB from the 180th Mot. Rifle Rgt. with 2S9 Mortar, Vasilek

LPR MTLB in 2022

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Ukrainian MT-LBu

Derived MT-LBu from the VSFR at Chupahivka in 2022

Photos

Variants

Polish ISM Kroton

Links, Books and Other Resources

Books:

Soviet MT-LB Tracked Multipurpose Armoured Vehicle & Variants by James Kinnear and Sergei Popsuevich, published by Helion & Company in their Technology@War series. It is listed in Helion's Spring 2027 catalogue — not yet published. The book runs to 104 pages with 64 black-and-white photos, 96 colour photos, and 10 colour profiles. Kinnear is one of the foremost Western authors on Soviet/Russian armoured vehicles and Popsuevich brings Russian-language primary source access, so this should be the definitive reference when it appears. You can register interest directly on the Helion website to be notified on publication.

Victor Schunkow, Armored Forces of Russia and the Soviet Union: Tanks and Armored Vehicles (An Illustrated Guide, 1919–2025) (Schiffer Military, November 2025) comprehensive illustrated history of Soviet and Russian armoured vehicles with hundreds of colour and black-and-white photos and colour profiles for each vehicle entry. Will include the MT-LB family within the broader coverage.

Anthony Tucker-Jones, Soviet Cold War Weaponry: Tanks and Armoured Vehicles (Pen & Sword, 2015) — a photographic history covering personnel carriers, assault guns, self-propelled guns, and anti-tank missiles alongside main battle tanks, with colour and black-and-white photographs including vehicles in action in proxy wars in Africa and the Middle East. A good general Cold War reference with MT-LB coverage.

Read more:

fas.org/
inetres.com
santel-2006.narod.ru/
About the Siberian version (Ru)
On Military Factory
On global-security
On tanknutdave
Constructor archive - Huta Stalowa Wola
ru.wikipedia.org
About the Ukrainian MT-LB Shturm SM2 Tank Destroyer
Ukrainian losses

3D:

Video

Model Kits:

Strela 10 kits * Generic kits catalogue on scalemates.