Syrian Army Utilizing Strong Amphibious Military Vehicles in Deir Ezzur

The Arabic-language website of Russia’s state news agency, Sputnik, reported that the army that started using amphibious vehicles since mid-September to cross the Euphrates River.

It added that the PTS-2 vehicles weighing 24 tons each are capable of crossing water carrying 12 tons of equipment.

The modern Russia-made vehicles are equipped with 7.62 mm machinegun and are capable of moving at the speed of 60 km/h on land and 12.9 km/h on water.

The Arabic Sputnik reported in mid-November that the army troops started using a modern model of Russia-made tanks for the first time to build a floating bridge over the Euphrates River in the Eastern province of Deir Ezzur.

Sputnik, quoted military experts as saying that MT-55 tanks or the new model of MTO-90, which was manufactured based on T-90 tank system, were first used by Russian engineering units in 2013 to build floating bridges over rivers outside Syria.

The Arabic Sputnik added that the MTO-90 tanks that weight 47.8 tons and are capable of carrying 60 tons of equipment best suit the purpose.

It further said that the length of the bridge built in Syria’s Deir Ezzur is 20 meters, and that it has taken some two to three minutes for the engineers to mount the bridge over the river with the help of the tanks.

The MTO-90 tank has two crews and can move at the speed of 60 km.