Vilkas

Vilkas

Vilkas

Description

The Pėstininkų kovos mašina Vilkas is an armoured fighting vehicle used by Lithuania, which was developed in collaboration with ARTEC GmbH. The vehicle's roots trace back to the German-Dutch "Boxer AFV" program, showcasing a joint effort by European nations to enhance their armoured capabilities. The Vilkas variant, specifically tailored for Lithuania, integrates advanced technologies and offers versatility in combat scenarios. Entering service in the Lithuanian Armed Forces in 2019, the Vilkas deployment represents Lithuania's strategic investment in a contemporary armoured platform, capable of meeting the challenges of modern warfare.

The Boxer Vilkas is an event gift German light tank introduced during Update "Air Superiority" as a reward for the 2023 Winter Extreme event. The Vilkas is a unique light tank choice for German top-tier players, providing fire-and-forget Spike missiles for use against tanks at longer ranges or against nearby helicopters. As such, the Vilkas presents a new playstyle to players of the German ground tree, allowing them to rush to a good position using mobility, and play as a "sniper" with decent firepower and long-range missile, or perhaps play the vehicle more aggressively and use the Spike missiles for dispatching helicopters and long-range targets of opportunity when needed. All in all, the Vilkas is a uniquely interesting vehicle to bolster the top lineups of the German tech tree.

General info

Survivability and armour

As an armoured fighting vehicle, the Vilkas can only shrug off heavy machine gun fire from the front, and light machine guns from the sides.

Armour type:

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	___ mm	___ mm Top ___ mm Bottom	___ mm	15 mm
Turret	___ - ___ mm Turret front ___ mm Gun mantlet	___ - ___ mm	___ - ___ mm	15 mm

Notes:

Mobility

Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and manoeuvrability, as well as the maximum speed forwards and backwards.

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade				1,263			__.__
Realistic				721			__.__

Armaments

Main armament

30 mm Bushmaster 2 Mk.44						Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	600 (200)	200	-10°/+60°	±180°	Two-plane	54.5	75.5	91.7	101.4	107.9	13.00	11.50	10.60	10.00
Realistic						34.1	40.1	48.7	53.9	57.3

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
	10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
APDS	87	86	81	75	70	65
HEI-T	9	8	6	5	3	3
APFSDS	116	115	110	104	99	93

Shell details
Ammunition	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
						0%	50%	100%
APDS	1,480	0.19	-	-	-	75°	78°	80°
HEI-T	1,080	0.36	0.1	0.1	54.4	79°	80°	81°
APFSDS	1,430	0.1	-	-	-	78°	80°	81°

Ammo racks

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
3	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__

Note:

• If turret ammunition storage is hit, the magazine will be lost and a new one will be reloaded.

Additional armament

Spike-LR2MR missile				Reloading rate (seconds)
Capacity (Belt)	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
4 (2)	-	-	-	13.00	11.50	10.60	10.00

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
Spike-LR II	ATGM (tandem)	900	900	900	900	900	900

Missile details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Range (m)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg)	Ricochet
								0%	50%	100%
Spike-LR II	ATGM (tandem)	180	20,000	13.5	0.4	0.01	1.27	80°	82°	90°

Ammo racks

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
2	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__

Machine guns

7.62 mm MG3A1
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	4,000 (200)	1,200	-	-

Usage in battles

The Vilkas is best played at medium range in a hull-down scenario, to use the Spike missiles and the cannon. In Realistic Battles, it is best to remain at a range (ideally further than 500 m) to use the Spike missiles efficiently, as they need at least 300 m distance to not overshoot the target. However, the 25 mm APFSDS is largely ineffective at range against heavily armoured targets unless shooting sides at a flatter angle. At closer ranges, it is easier to damage cannon barrels and tracks, but depending on the distance, the Spike missiles may be infeasible or unusable. Thus, playing at medium ranges is the best option for the Vilkas. Remaining behind cover allows the crew to be safe from all kinetic munitions, but still vulnerable to overpressure damage from explosive munitions. In addition, if the turret's ammunition is destroyed, a fire can occur. If this occurs, the Vilkas' position is easily given away by a large ammo cook-off and should be repositioned as soon as possible, ideally to a friendly capture point to re-arm. Rearming one 200-round 25 mm magazine at a capture point takes less than a minute. The excellent power-to-weight ratio of the Vilkas enables quick movements and rotations, especially in uneven environments. In addition, the commander's thermal sight permits the acquisition and firing of the Spike missiles while mostly concealed behind cover. However, due to the lacklustre payload inside the Spike missiles, multiple missiles may be required to destroy a tank.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Optics with thermal sensors for both the gunner and commander
• IR tracking system and ballistic computer for aerial targets
• Unmanned turret
• High power-to-weight ratio enables superior mobility
• Great maximum speed
• Blowout panels

Cons:

• Unreliable Spike missiles
• Inconsistent damage from the Bushmaster cannon
• Tall profile
• Only three belts of ammunition with easily targetable turret storage
• Large steering circle
• Mediocre reverse speed for a wheeled armoured vehicle
• Low Atgm ammo

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the vehicles;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• [Devblog] Winter Extreme: Boxer Vilkas