In the late 1970s, the Federal Republic of Germany unveiled the TM-170 armored personnel carrier, and in 1979 began mass production, which was a piece of equipment designed and built by Henschel Company, which was used as an armored troop transport or internal guard security vehicle, and later due to company changes, Henschel was merged into Rheinmetall, so the TM-170 was also said to be a product of Rheinmetall.
The TM-170 was developed from the Chassis of the Mercedes-Benz Unimog 4×4 off-road vehicle, the body was protected by fully welded steel armor, the armor thickness was 8 mm, and the front and rear and sides of the armor were obliquely distributed to further strengthen the defense. The entire housing is connected to the chassis by 5 fixing points, which can be quickly removed and lifted for vehicle maintenance.
With an engine mounted in the front of the car, the 1993 model was built with a 214 hp Daimler. Mercedes-Benz OM366 EURO 1 engine, with manual transmission, the driver can choose 4×4 or 4×2 maneuver mode according to the road conditions, all sub-models of armored vehicles are equipped with explosion-proof tires.
However, most models of the TM-170 do not have amphibious driving capability, conventional vehicles can wade 1.3 meters, and there is a special amphibious version that adds two hydraulically driven propellers and a wave shield at the front of the car, which can travel at a maximum speed of 10 km / h on the water.
Behind the engine compartment is the cab, with the driver on the left and the commander on the right, and they enter and exit through the one-piece hatch that opens backwards from the top, with a windshield made of bulletproof glass on the front and bulletproof glass windows on the doors. The windows all have hinged armor plates, and when the armor plates are raised, the two men rely on 3 daytime periscopes mounted above their heads to observe the outside world.
At the rear of the cab is the crew compartment, with a hatch on each side of the hull close to the cab, a small observation window on the hatch, and observation openings and shooting holes on both sides and behind the cabin. The crew compartment can accommodate up to 10 heavily armed soldiers, who sit in separate seats on either side.
In the center of the roof is a large hatch where machine guns can be mounted directly, or small turrets that can be equipped with machine guns, 20 mm cannons or anti-tank missiles.
Armored vehicles can choose to install equipment such as auxiliary heaters, fire extinguishing systems, winchs, three defense systems, radio equipment, police lighting equipment, broadcast equipment, users can choose according to their own needs.
TM-170 series armored vehicles were originally used by German border guards and other units, the first order occurred in 1982, and later sold some to Macedonia, Kuwait, Austria, Egypt and other countries, it is more like a police equipment, the number of countries purchased is very small, the total output is not much, about 370.
The weight of the TM-170 armored vehicle is between 8.8 and 11.9 tons (different weights vary according to different models), the length of the vehicle is 6.14 meters, the width is 2.47 meters, the height is 2.32 meters, the maximum driving speed is 100 kilometers per hour, and the maximum travel is 870 kilometers.