A new tow truck, received by Moscow’s Domodedovo airport, can pull a weight of 125 tons and lay evacuation routes even through thick forest. Of course, it can – 'cause it’s a former tank!

The Armored Repair and Recovery Vehicle (BREM-1) was developed on the basis of the T-72 main battle tank by Russia’s State Corporation, Rostec.

The primary task of the 41-ton tow would be evacuating planes of any size in case of emergency, including when an aircraft skids off the runway.

It can easily haul off a wide-body double-decker airliner and won’t even need asphalt road to do so. Its impressive mass and chain tracks allow BREM-1 to lay evacuation routes on any surface, with not even a forest being able to stop it.

The former tank is also fitted with a circle swing crane that has a capacity of 12 tons and special equipment allowing it to cut through or weld steel.

Domodedovo has become the first airport in Russia to purchase BREM-1, but Rostec Industrial Director, Sergey Abramov, was sure that others will soon follow suit.

“Cooperation with Domodedovo shows that military hardware has a huge potential for civil use,” Abramov said.