BBK testing the extreme off-road Unimog.

In the past, the German government assumed that it would never again be confronted with a military conflict in Europe. This was a misconception, as is now known with regard to Ukraine. For the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief (Bundesamt für Bevölkerungsschutz und Katastrophenhilfe: BBK) in Bonn, this meant that the Federal Government had no extreme off-road rescue and recovery vehicles that can be used in civil protection in such situations.

Prepared for anything.

The German Federal Office took action and presented a multifunctional civil protection vehicle based on the Unimog U 5023 at the Interschutz trade fair last summer. An identical carrier vehicle has now been added. One Unimog is equipped with a swap body so that it can also accommodate containers for specific purposes as required.

The other vehicle was fitted with a Palfinger loading crane behind the cab (lifting force of up to 5 tonnes). The special feature of this Unimog: it was equipped with an additional liquid methanol fuel cell (SFC „Emily“), which ensures that the electrical 12 and 24 volt on-board electrical system can continue to be operated for a long time when the engine is switched off. A practical feature: if the methanol cartridge is empty, it can be changed in just a few simple steps to ensure continued operation. This technology was adopted from military vehicles.

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Moving forward even in an emergency.

For emergencies, A77 tyres were fitted, which ensure that the vehicle can be driven even with a flat tyre. Spare wheel, tyre pressure control system, surround lighting, digital radio, special signalling system and a roof hatch are all equipment features of these two Unimog vehicles with pure white paintwork. Also on board is a hydraulically driven drum cable winch from Werner (front-mounted cable winch, 50 kN tractive force).

An equilateral blue triangle on an
orange background is the international
protection sign for civil protection. It has existed since 1973.

Self-loading: One of the two Unimogs has a Palfinger loading crane with a lifting capacity of 5 tonnes.

Winch power from Werner: 50 Kn of tractive force.

Norman Saalbach, clerk in the vehicle technology and procurement unit at the BBK.

„These two vehicles were purchased exclusively for testing by the Federal Government,“ explains Norman Saalbach from the Vehicle Technology and Procurement Department at the BBK. He said that, in the next step, in addition to the swap containers, the container carried on a tandem trailer will also be equipped and tested.

The two U 5023 vehicles are based at the BBK in Bonn. From here, it is taken to off-road sites for test drives. As soon as the testing phase has been successfully completed and all components have been coordinated with each other, the Federal Government can start with the final procurement.

Project realised in collaboration with Unimog general distributor:
RKF-BLESES GmbH

BBK testing the extreme off-road Unimog.

Prepared for anything.

Moving forward even in an emergency.

The Unimog in relief operations

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