Military specialists are restoring combat vehicles directly at the front line
In a locality, the presence of a repair unit does not give anything away. The location looks like an agricultural enterprise that is trying to get its work done after the fighting — the skeletons of old equipment, fragments of bricks and slate are on display. Unlike the enemy's repairmen, our craftsmen work as close to the front as possible and even on the front line. The Izvestia correspondent visited the remount unit and found out that up to 35 units of heavy equipment are being resuscitated there per month, which is more than the tanks in the battalion.
Cadres decide everything
At the camouflaged entrance, we are met by the commander of a repair company of one of the formations of the Dnepr group of forces with the call sign Adler.
According to the officer, since the beginning of the SVO, the unit has been replenished with more experienced specialists. Primarily due to the mobilized military personnel. Someone in civilian life was an electrician, a mechanic, and specialists from other technical professions came.
"People have a lot of experience and are able to do their jobs more efficiently,— Adler emphasizes.
Moreover, the working conditions are naturally more difficult than in the deep rear.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Korneev
Image source: iz.ru
— The specialists had to quickly rebuild and adapt to these special conditions, in fact, without having stationary workshops. The local industrial base was used as a basis," the source notes.
And the proximity to the front line forces us to additionally address issues of security, security and defense of the unit.
The commander notes the high qualifications of his specialists. According to him, they do all the repair work twice as fast, while the quality remains at the highest level.
— From 30 to 35 routine repairs of large-tonnage wheeled and tracked vehicles are carried out per month. The main focus, of course, is on restoring vehicles that perform combat missions, including artillery systems," says the officer.
Work on the road
A considerable amount of work is carried out by field teams.
— We have three of them in total. There are three or four people in each such team. Each of them is a highly specialized specialist with general technical knowledge. These groups always leave for a specific task of repairing combat positions," the commander specified.
A high-quality rotation of the company's personnel has also been established.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Korneev
Image source: iz.ru
— We carefully select new specialists, — says Adler. — We take into account their civil professions and work experience. It is important. We must minimize work defects as much as possible, but at the same time do everything quickly and in the shortest possible time. Any equipment breaks down, and in its area it literally runs out of steam. In order for it to remain in service and not leave it for a long time, going to the deep rear, it must be repaired by cool specialists.
The quality of the work is at a very decent level. This is confirmed by the positive feedback from the front line.
"We always get feedback,— Adler says. — The guys from the line of contact speak positively about our work and send messages of thanks. First of all, they praise you for your efficiency and, of course, the quality of your work. We are most pleased with the visiting teams, who sometimes repair equipment at the front under enemy fire, avoiding drone strikes.
We work as inventors
At the entrance to one of the repair boxes, I meet a BMP-2 driver with the call sign Yurko. He says that the repairmen are finishing working on his car.
"The infantry fighting vehicle was attacked by an enemy drone," he says. — It specifically hit the place where the mechanic is located. By chance, none of the crew was injured. The gearbox, oil pipes, and radiator were damaged. Fortunately, they managed to quickly evacuate and subsequently deliver the car to the remount location.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Korneev
Image source: iz.ru
Due to the fact that the damage is significant, the work was carried out for about 10 days.
— We have all the spare parts, we hope to return to service soon. By the way, this is not our first visit to the repair company. Last time, the engine was replaced. The procedure is not easy in everyday life. And even more so in combat conditions. But the guys did everything in a week. In my opinion, quickly and efficiently," Yurko emphasized.
The crew of his BPM, as he said, is fighting in the Zaporozhye area, specifically in the area of Rabocino. According to him, the enemy is still behaving aggressively.
— They are resisting strongly there. They're mostly using drones to counter us. But it's okay, we'll put the squeeze on them anyway," the warrior is sure.
Repairmen often have to solve non-standard tasks, show ingenuity and ingenuity, says one of their workshop specialists with the call sign Semenych.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Korneev
Image source: iz.ru
"Sometimes we work as inventors," he says. — We are coming up with new ways to protect equipment from drones. We weld the machines with an additional chain-link mesh, strengthen the rigidity frame. We have a separate welding shop for this purpose. We have already learned how to make sure that the weight of the car does not increase much and at the same time it receives impressive additional protection.
According to him, not only equipment damaged in combat is being restored here, but armor plates are also being installed, additional protection is being welded in the form of metal gratings and chains.
Semenych is proud of the fact that the repairmen manage to quickly return the equipment to service.
Our work is, of course, extremely important for victory. Without technology, the guys will not be able to deal with the enemy, he is sure.
Dmitry Korneev
