Unicorn class

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Unicorn
Type	Armoured personnel carrier
Place of origin	Sri Lanka
Service history
In service	1987 - Present
Used by	Sri Lanka
Production history
Designer	Sri Lanka Electrical and Mechanical Engineers^[1]
Manufacturer	Sri Lanka Electrical and Mechanical Engineers^[1]
Produced	1987 - 2000
Variants	Mark I to Mark VI
Specifications
Weight	5.8 t
Length	4.8 m (16.73 ft)
Width	2 m (6.73 ft)
Height	2.6 m (9.68 ft)
Crew	2 + 12 passengers

Armor	n/a
Primary armament	Twin 7.62mm MG (front)
Engine	Diesel Engine
Suspension	4×4 wheeled
Speed	Road 96km/h (59.61 mph) Off-road 30km/h (18.64 mph)

The Unicorn is a mine-protected wheeled APC used by the Sri Lankan military.

1 Production History
2 Variants
3 Operators
4 References
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Production History

Development began in 1985 by both the Sri Lanka Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (SLEME) of the Sri Lanka Army^[2] and the General Engineering Wing of the Sri Lanka Air Force^[3] for a locally developed armoured personnel carrier to protect troops against land mines and IEDs that became rampant in the in the north and eastern provinces with the escalation of the Sri Lankan civil war. Both designs where based on the South African Buffels which had been brought in 1985. The air force developed its own APC for the SLAF Regiment in small numbers by 1986. However the SLEME developed the Unicorn Mark I by 1987, that where produced in large numbers by the SLEME for the Sri Lanka Army and for the other services too.

A distinct feature of the Unicorn was that the driver-passenger compartment was undivided. According to soldiers in the battlefield, this feature made communication among the two sections easier than that in a Buffel where the driver was separated from the passengers.

[edit] Variants

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There were several models that where developed as a result of continuous upgrading based on combat requirements. These include Unicorn Mark I to Mark VI. Production went on till 2000 with a total of 93 Unicorns being produced by the SLEME with the Mark VI being produced^[2]. The production of the Unicorn Mark VI was stopped when the SLEME started producing the more advanced Unibuffel.