Unibuffel


The Unibuffel is a mine-protected wheeled MRAP used by the Sri Lankan military, which is an improved version of the Unicorn, made by the Sri Lanka Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.
More than 53 Unibuffels had been manufactured as of 2006.

Production history

Although similar to the South African Buffel, it is built entirely by the Sri Lanka Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. Initial research and development started in 1997 in an effort to field modernized MRAPs in Sri Lankan military service. First production started in 2000.
In 2019, SLEME began to upgrade Unibuffels with blast shock absorption seats and better protection. In 2020 full Air Conditioning was added to those being sent for UN peacekeeping operations in Mali.

Combat Usage

The Unibuffel proved quite successful in the Sri Lankan civil war, it could transport troops through rough terrain with ease, and had good protection, it participated in all Sri Lankan Army operations 2005 onwards.
When Sri Lankan troops joined United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti, 16 Unibuffels was deployed to serve as their APC.
In June, 2020 the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali, nine Unibuffels were deployed to Mail under urgent operational requirements for peacekeeping operations in Mali.

Design

The Unibuffel has an enclosed troop compartment and has gun mounts on the front and back to equip it with machine guns. The Typhoon 25mm cannon can also be equipped as a port defense weapon on a flatbed version.
The vehicle is powered by a TATA engine which can deal easily with rough terrain. Bulletproof glass was imported from China on a needed basis.

Variants

The variants of the Unibuffel consist of following categories,