Vehicle thefts of cars, vans, and trucks are, unfortunately, fairly common occurrences. Stealing a military truck, however, is considerably less common. A German army all-terrain truck, a 32-ton MAN MULTI, was stolen from the premises of a company in the southern part of Schwerin, where it was undergoing repairs.
It happened on the night of January 23, 2024. And since then, nothing. It has vanished completely.
How to make a military truck disappear
The thieves gained access to the site by forcing the perimeter fence and took the four-axle vehicle, the first of its kind to be stolen while still in active service. More than two and a half years later, neither the police nor the Bundeswehr (the German army) have managed to recover the truck. The investigations, which have included analyses of phone data and interviews with witnesses across several regions, have yielded no results.
The vehicle, designed for military logistics, stands out for its hydraulic system of interchangeable platforms, which allows loading and unloading transport modules without the need for a crane. Its designation “15t” refers to its load capacity of 15 tons, not its weight, as the model had a maximum authorized weight of 32 tons.
In the MULTi a single tractor unit can carry ammunition, water, fuel, ISO containers or the MuConPers armored module for transporting up to 18 soldiers. It is equipped with a six-cylinder in-line turbo MAN engine with intercooler delivering 400 HP, connected to a 16-speed forward and 2-speed reverse transmission, with differential locks on the front and rear axles and a reducer. It can reach a maximum speed of 84 km/h.
The stolen truck belongs to the first generation of the MULTI, a system that the German Army is progressively replacing with the MULTI 2, built on a more modern platform from Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles. Despite the introduction of the new models, the original MULTI vehicles remained in operation at the time of the theft.
The most probable fate of a stolen military truck like this does not differ much from that of a civilian car or truck. Its main destination is the scrapyard to sell parts (engine, transmission, reinforced axles) on the industrial spare-parts market, especially where civilian versions of the same chassis are used.
It can also end up as a second-hand civilian vehicle in Eastern Europe or North Africa, where there is strong demand for heavy-duty off-road vehicles. And, of course, it can end up in conflict zones, resold to non-state actors who need off-road transport without export controls.
The Schwerin police are keeping the investigation open and are asking the public for cooperation.
Images | Schwerin Police, Neuwieser
