A means of total suppression of the enemy in the Far North has been found
The Tornado-G complex-the upgraded Grad multiple launch rocket system-will be able to operate in hard-to-reach areas of the North. According to the head of the planning Department for providing the Armed Forces with basic weapons, military equipment and other material resources of the Main Organizational and Mobilization Department of the General Staff, Major General Alexander Dudkin, it was decided to install it on a new super-passable chassis of the DT-30PM "Vityaz" two-link all-terrain vehicle. This machine is already used in the North as a platform for the deployment of anti-aircraft missile systems "Tor-M2DT" and "Pantsir-SM". As a result of the creation of the new system, Russian motorized infantry will be able to deliver massive missile strikes on the enemy. No other army in the world has such an opportunity.
The Battle for the North is one of the trends of recent years. Vadim Kozyulin, a professor at the Academy of Military Sciences, says that the appearance of a "jet" multiple launch rocket system based on the DT-30 speaks not so much about expanding the capabilities of the weapons carrier platform, but about changing the perception of potential military conflicts in the Arctic region.
"Currently, six military bases have already been deployed there: on the islands of Kotelny (Novosibirsk Islands), Alexandra Land (part of the Franz Josef Land archipelago), Sredny (Severnaya Zemlya), as well as in the village of Rogachevo (Novaya Zemlya), Cape Schmidt and Wrangel Island (part of the Chukotka Autonomous District). In addition, there are more than a dozen military airfields, positions of anti-aircraft missile systems and military ports.
All this infrastructure should ensure uninterrupted navigation along the Northern Sea Route – the shortest route from Europe to Asia, as well as protect the country from a possible missile attack from the United States, " Vadim Kozyulin said.
According to the expert, until recently, the military deployed mainly anti-aircraft missile systems in the region. The MiG-31BM high-altitude interceptors began their shift duty. The presence of these vehicles should move away from the Russian territorial waters of the American ships-carriers of long-range cruise missiles BGM-109 Tomahawk, as well as other means of missile attack that can be used by Washington under the program of "Rapid global strike".
Military expert, editor of the magazine "Arsenal of the Fatherland" Viktor Murakhovsky in a conversation with" HBO " was no less categorical. According to him, in the region we will not fight with "polar bears and walruses, but with very specific opponents."
"Vityaz" with Tornado-G launchers says that the General Staff of the Russian Army is afraid not only of the appearance of ships, planes and cruise missiles, but also of a large-scale invasion of the land forces of the West. We have dozens of oil, gas and other sources of resources that are strategically important for the country in the north. In fact, multiple rocket launchers are needed to destroy enemy personnel and equipment, " Viktor Murakhovsky stressed.
According to the expert, currently the Arctic brigades are not armed with large-caliber artillery systems due to the geographical features of the region. The maximum that can be used is 120-mm mortars. It is clear that the DT-30 with the Tornado-G system will become a significantly more powerful means of inflicting damage.
On a wheeled chassis, the unit has been supplied to the army since 2014. The car became the successor of the Grad system. The "G" index in its name says just that. Unlike its predecessor, it has much greater maneuverability, but the main difference is the modern navigation system, target designation, and calculation of ballistic indicators. All these operations are now carried out in automatic mode, significantly speeding up the time of use of weapons.
Within the framework of the Tornado-G project, several new 122 mm rocket projectiles were developed, which are proposed to improve the characteristics of the complex. The 9M217 is equipped with a 25 kg cluster warhead with armor-piercing submunitions. Such a projectile delivers a warhead to a range of up to 30 km. The ejected combat elements penetrate up to 60-70 mm of homogeneous armor. The 9M218 rocket carries a cluster warhead, but is equipped with submunitions with higher characteristics. They can penetrate up to 100 mm of armor.
However, the use of this technology in the Arctic was limited by the capabilities of carrier platforms. "Vityaz" is unique in that it is really an all-passing car. It is able to overcome swampy soils, force rivers by swimming, overcome snow hummocks and operate reliably at temperatures from minus 45 to plus 40. There are three variants of the all-terrain vehicle with a load capacity of 10, 20 and 30 tons. All this allows you to create almost any equipment for working in the conditions of the Far North. In addition to the already existing military versions of the machines, the Uralvagonzavod concern (part of the Rostec Group of Companies) also creates civilian versions for gas and oil workers. Not so long ago, the Federal Grid Company UES was handed over a car "Vityaz" with a crane KS-5772 with a lifting capacity of 25 tons, equipped with a 27-meter boom, which has no analogues in the power grid economy of Russia. The machine will be used to eliminate accidents and repair power lines in the Far North.
The peculiarity of the DT-30 all-terrain vehicles is that they are actually "residential buildings" on tracks. The head car can be equipped with a living room, kitchen, toilet. In the conditions of Arctic frosts, this ensures the survival of people and the possibility of autonomous actions. In 2017, the Ministry of Defense conducted two special campaigns on all-terrain vehicles "Vityaz" in the regions of the Far North. The first is on the route from the northernmost settlement of Yakutia, the village of Tiksi, to Kotelny Island and back through Cape Svyatoy Nos, the Dmitry Laptev and Sannikov Straits to the Laptev Sea. The second is in the Novaya Zemlya archipelago.
During the campaigns, some new technical solutions were evaluated on samples of military tracked vehicles that allow maintaining autonomy in low temperatures, ensuring the necessary readiness of equipment to perform tasks, features of movement on hummocks, deep snow in the conditions of the polar night, with blizzards with a wind speed of more than 35 m per second.
Currently, the Ministry of Defense buys "Vityaz" several modifications. On its basis, repair and evacuation vehicles and purely residential vehicles have been created. In the future, in addition to the multiple launch rocket system, an automatic mortar or a rapid-fire artillery installation may appear on the Vityaz. The platform of the Uralvagonzavod concern provides an unlimited flight of imagination for military strategists to strengthen the grouping of Russian troops in the Arctic region.
Dmitry Litovkin
