The Roland 4 × 4 armoured vehicle was developed as a private venture by MOWAG in the early 1960s and was marketed for a wide range of roles including use as an ambulance, armoured personnel carrier, command and radio vehicle, internal security vehicle and as a reconnaissance vehicle.

The prototypes of the Roland were completed in 1963, with series production following in 1964. It is most widely used as an internal security and reconnaissance vehicle, especially in Africa and South America, and its crew normally consists of commander, gunner, driver and three or four infantry.

Production of the MOWAG Roland was completed in 1980 and it is no longer being marketed by the company. MOWAG still continues to supply spare parts and after sales support for this vehicle as well as other vehicles that are no longer in quantity production by the company.

As far as it is known, none of the remaining users of the MOWAG Roland have carried out any major upgrade work on the vehicle. MOWAG is no longer marketing the Roland series of APC and variants. Description

The hull of the Roland is all-welded steel armour and protects the crew from 7.62 mm small arms fire and shell splinters. The driver sits at the front of the hull on the left side and has a single-piece hatch cover that opens to the right, in front of which are three day periscopes. The middle one of these can be replaced by a passive periscope for driving at night. A windscreen and wiper can be fitted in front of the driver's position in wet weather. To the left of the driver is a single day vision block protected by a grill.

In either side of the hull, to the rear of the driver's position, is an entry hatch hinged at the top. The left hatch has a day vision block protected by a grill beneath which is a firing port. A vision block and firing port are provided to the immediate rear of the right side hatch. The gunner sits on an adjustable seat in the centre of the vehicle with one man to his left facing the front and another to his right facing the rear. Over the gunner's position is a turret, which can be manually traversed through a full 360°. There is a single-piece hatch cover that opens to the rear and a day vision block, to the right of which is a small circular hatch that opens to the right. To the rear of the turret on the right side is a circular hatch cover that opens to the rear, to the left of which is the ventilator.

Another door at the rear of the vehicle on the right side opens to the right and has a day vision block and a firing port. Two men are seated in the passageway that connects the main crew compartment and the rear door, one facing forward and one facing the rear.

The power pack is at the rear of the hull on the left side and is separated from the crew compartment by a fireproof bulkhead. The suspension system, front and rear, consists of semi-elliptical springs and hydraulic shock-absorbers. The rigid axles have hypoid gears and self-locking differentials.

Late production models of the MOWAG Roland had a slightly longer wheelbase and were fitted with an automatic instead of a manual transmission.

Standard equipment for the internal security version of the MOWAG Roland as originally built included blue flashing lights, an electric roof fan, a heater, a two-tone intermittent siren and wire mesh protection for the headlamps.

The basic vehicle could be fitted with a number of different types of light armament installation, including a MOWAG-designed remote-controlled 7.62 mm machine gun mount on top of the low turret. The gunner is provided with a day sight with a magnification of ×4 for aiming the weapon. Banks of electrically operated smoke grenade dischargers could be fitted on either side of the turret if required.

Optional equipment included an air conditioning system; passive night vision equipment; an obstacle-clearing blade mounted at the front of the hull; searchlights; MOWAG-designed firing ports which allow the troops to aim and fire their weapons from within the vehicle in safety; and MOWAG bulletproof cross-country wheels consisting of metal discs either side of the tyre, which support the tyre when it has been punctured and also provide additional traction when crossing rough country. Variants

There are no MOWAG built variants of the Roland apart from the various roles that the vehicle has been designed to undertake.