Unicorn APC

Unicorn
A Unicorn used by the Sri Lankan Army
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
Manufacturer	Sri Lanka Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
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	Classified
Main 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 MRAP used by the Sri Lankan military based on the Buffel.

Initial research into producing a "Blast Protected Vehicle" armoured personnel carrier was begun in 1983 by a lone Infantry Major named Jayantha de Silva who was concerned by the destruction wrought by Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) that the Tamil rebels began using on military troop transport vehicles. These IEDs became rampant in the north and eastern provinces with the escalation of the Sri Lankan Civil War. The many experiments he carried out showed that explosive force dissipates in proportions to the distance travelled. These led to the production of vehicles based on commercial truck chassis with a strong metal hull about two metres from ground level. These proved so successful that the then Minister for National Security, Hon Lalith Athulathmudali, co-opted all the engineering firms in the country to build the vehicles to the specifications drafted by Major de Silva. The project was then handed over to the Electrical and Mechanical Engineers of the Army.

When the rebels found that their IEDs were ineffective, they stopped using them and the production of these vehicles ceased. The rebels began using them again about two years later, and as the Army found itself short of suitable vehicles, a few consignments of the South African made Buffel vehicles were imported, even though they provided protection only against land mines and proved ineffective against the IEDs. Further development continued in 1985, by both the Sri Lanka Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (SLEME) of the Sri Lanka Army and the General Engineering Wing of the Sri Lanka Air Force Both designs were based on the South African Buffels which had been bought in 1985.

The air force developed its own APC for the SLAF Regiment in small numbers. The SLEME developed the Unicorn Mark I by 1987, which too where produced in large numbers by the SLEME for the Sri Lanka Army and for the other services as well.