View source for Unicorn APC

{{Infobox weapon
| is_vehicle = yes
| name = Unicorn
| image = [[File:Sri Lanka Military 0204.jpg|300px]]
| image_size = 300
| caption = A [[Special Task Force (Sri Lanka)|STF]] Unicorn
| type = [[Armoured personnel carrier]]
| origin = [[Sri Lanka]] <!-- Do not use flag icons here, per MOS:INFOBOXFLAG -->
| crew = 2 + 12 passengers
| length = 4.8 m (16.73 ft)
| width = 2 m (6.73 ft)
| height = 2.6 m (9.68 ft)
| weight = 5.8 [[tonne|t]]
| armour = Classified
| primary_armament = Twin 7.62mm MG (front)
| secondary_armament = 
| service = 1987–present
| used_by = See ''[[#Operators|Operators]]''
| designer = [[Sri Lanka Electrical and Mechanical Engineers]]<ref name="Article">[https://archives.sundayobserver.lk/2007/02/04/ind04.asp 59th Independence.]  Retrieved on April 22, 2008.</ref>
| design_date = 1985
| production_date = 1987–Present
| manufacturer = [[Sri Lanka Electrical and Mechanical Engineers]]<ref name="Article"/>
| variants = Mark I to Mark VI
| engine = Diesel Engine
| engine_power = 
| suspension = 4×4 wheeled
| speed = Road 96km/h (59.61 mph)<br /> Off-road 30km/h (18.64 mph)
| pw_ratio = 
| vehicle_range = 1000 km (621.37 mi)
}}
The '''Unicorn''' is a [[MRAP]] used by the [[Military of Sri Lanka|Sri Lankan military]] based on the [[Buffel]], which is made by the [[Sri Lanka Electrical and Mechanical Engineers]].

==Production history==
Initial research into producing a "Blast Protected Vehicle" [[armoured personnel carrier]] was led by then Major Jayantha de Silva, who was concerned by the destruction caused by the [[Improvised explosive device|Improvised Explosive Devices]] (IEDs) that the Tamil rebels began using on military troop transport vehicles.<ref name="SLMEH">{{Cite web|url=https://alt.army.lk/sleme/si/si-history-sleme_4|title = Sri Lanka Electrical and Mechanical Engineers}}</ref> These [[Improvised explosive device|IED]]s became rampant in the north and eastern provinces with the escalation of the [[Sri Lankan civil war|Sri Lankan Civil War]]. The many experiments Major de Silva carried out showed that explosive force dissipates in proportion to the distance travelled.

The research led to the production of vehicles based on a TATA commercial truck chassis with a strong metal hull about two metres from ground level in 1983, which was known under the name ''Yaka''.<ref name="Avalon">{{Cite web|url=http://www.sundaytimes.lk/190224/news/new-locally-made-mpv-better-at-withstanding-mines-sleme-337818.html|title=New locally made MPV better at withstanding mines: SLEME|website=The Sunday Times Sri Lanka|access-date=2019-03-10}}</ref><ref name="SLMEH"/> It resulted in the backing of then-Minister for National Security, [[The Honourable|Hon]] [[Lalith Athulathmudali]], who co-opted all engineering firms in Sri Lanka 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 against the Unicorns, 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]]<ref name="History">{{cite news|url=https://archives.sundayobserver.lk/2004/04/25/fea22.html|archive-date=2007-09-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930161026/http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2004/04/25/fea22.html |date=2007-09-30|url-status=live|title=The evolution of the indigenous armoured vehicle: From Unicorn to Unibuffel}}</ref> and the General Engineering Wing of the [[Sri Lanka Air Force]].<ref>[https://archive.today/20070811223748/http://www.airforce.lk/hist/hist1/h3c1p3.htm Sri Lanka Air Force.] Retrieved on April 22, 2008.</ref> Both designs were based on the [[South Africa]]n [[Buffel]]s which had been bought in 1985.<ref>Camp & Heitman, p. 239</ref>

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

===Combat history===
It was known to be used in the 1990s during the civil war.<ref>http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=83040 {{Dead link|date=February 2022}}</ref>

==Design==
A distinct feature of the Unicorn was that the driver-passenger compartment was undivided. According to soldiers in the battlefield, this feature made communication among the two sections easier than that in a Buffel where the driver was separated from the passengers.<ref name="History"/>

==Variants==
{{Expand section|date=May 2008}}
There were several models that were developed as a result of continuous upgrading based on combat requirements. These include Unicorn Mark I to Mark VI.

Production continued until 2000 with a total of 93 Unicorns being produced by SLEME with the Mark VI being produced.<ref name="History"/>

While production was largely stopped for the more advanced [[Unibuffel]] upgraded and modified [[Military ambulance|ambulance variant]] of the Mark VI designed in 2010 entered mass production in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|last=KATUGAMPALA|first=MANOHARI|title=Military engineers achieve success with modified Unibuffels|url=http://www.dailynews.lk/2020/08/31/features/227390/military-engineers-achieve-success-modified-unibuffels|access-date=2020-09-06|website=Daily News|language=en}}</ref>

==Operators==
*{{SRI}}
**{{army|Sri Lanka}}: It's reported that 105 Unicorns are in active service.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.armyrecognition.com/sri_lanka_army_military_uk/sri_lanka_sri_lankan_army_land_ground_forces_military_equipment_armoured_vehicle_pictures.html|title=Sri Lanka Sri lankan army land ground forces military equipment armoured vehicle pictures &#124; Sri Lanka Army Military UK &#124; Asia UK}}</ref>
**{{navy|Sri Lanka}}
**{{air force|Sri Lanka}}
** [[Special Task Force (Sri Lanka)|Special Task Force]] : Five Unicorns handed to the STF.<ref name="History"/>

==See also==
* [[Unibuffel]]
* [[Avalon MPV]]
* [[UniCOLT]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*Steve Camp & Helmoed-Römer Heitman, ''Surviving the Ride – A Pictorial History of South African-Manufactured Armoured Vehicles'', 30 Degrees South Publishers, Johannesburg (South Africa) 2014. {{ISBN|978-1-928211-17-4}} – [https://www.30degreessouth.co.za/surviving_the_ride.htm]

{{Modern IFV and APC}}
{{MRAP vehicles}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Unicorn Class}}
[[Category:Wheeled armoured personnel carriers]]
[[Category:Post–Cold War military equipment of Sri Lanka]]
[[Category:Armoured personnel carriers of the Cold War]]
[[Category:Military vehicles introduced in the 1980s]]
[[Category:Vehicles of Sri Lanka]]