The engineering troops of Russia are armed with new effective complexes of mine clearance and protection
Only lazy did not speak about the relevance of the introduction of robotic complexes into the Russian Armed Forces. This fully applies to the engineering troops of the country. Even, perhaps, more than other units and divisions: the service of military engineers is largely associated with a deadly danger for personnel.
In order to effectively minimize risks, the Russian military-industrial complex has initiated a number of projects, the functional purpose of which should be safe mine clearance. These are both IMRTK-SHR (multifunctional robotic complex of assault and barrage), and IMRTK-RT (heavy class mine clearance complex), and small robotic complexes designed to ensure the advance of troops and perform engineering work in conditions of enemy fire. And one of them is worth talking about in more detail.
"Descendant" of the Greek god
We will talk about the multifunctional robotic mine clearance complex "Uran-6".
The main "specialty" of MRTC-R "Uran-6" is the demining of mountainous, wooded or urbanized territories. In one pass of the robotic complex, a strip with a width of 1.7 meters is cleared of explosive objects. "Uran-6" is protected by sufficiently strong armor and can withstand the detonation of mine ammunition weighing up to one kilogram without consequences. Four video cameras installed on the sapper robot provide the operator with a full all-round view, and unique optoelectronic equipment allows for round-the-clock mine clearance.
"Multifunctional robotic demining complexes have proven themselves well during combat operations during the neutralization of objects and territories in the Syrian Arab Republic and Nagorno-Karabakh”
The baptism of fire of the MRTK-R "Uran-6" took place in 2014 on the territory of the Chechen Republic, where the territory of an inaccessible mountain plateau was cleared with the help of the complex. On a plot of sixty hectares, one sapper robot extracted forty kilograms of the mine legacy of the former war from the ground, replacing two dozen well-trained specialists. Note that with an absolute (!) guarantee of operator safety, since the remote control of the Uran-6 is carried out at a distance of several hundred meters. Subsequently, these multifunctional robotic mine clearance complexes proved themselves well during combat operations during the neutralization of objects and territories in the Syrian Arab Republic and Nagorno-Karabakh.
The composition of the MRTK-R "Uran-6– - essentially a self-propelled radio-controlled crawler trawl includes:
- DOOM-R or remote-controlled mine clearance machine;
- a set of replaceable trawls (roller, milling and striker) and working equipment (mechanical grab and bulldozer blade), ensuring effective work with soils of various types;
- spare parts and accessories.
Assault and... Barrage units
It is unlikely that there is at least one adult in our country who has not heard about the special purpose units of the Ministry of Defense, the FSB, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the GRU or the Airborne Forces. And how many people know about the special forces of engineering troops? Yes, such units exist and are no less elite than the famous combat swimmers or blue berets. The task that the engineering units of the assault and barrage solve is to quickly break into the enemy's defensive formations - minefields, fortifications and fortified areas, as well as to clean up pockets of resistance in urban development.
All formed units of the engineering special forces of Russia are provided with the necessary equipment and combat equipment. First of all, these are several variants of combined-arms mine clearance kits:
- OVR-2-01, designed for mine clearance groups included in combined arms units;
- OVR-2-02, used by mine clearance groups of units of the engineering Troops of the Russian Federation;
- OVR-3SH, adopted for the supply of engineering units of assault and barrage.
Let's focus on the last version of the equipment in more detail. The OVR-3SH kit is designed to protect military personnel of engineering special forces from being hit by small arms and fragments of mine-artillery ammunition. The kit includes:
- the protective suit of the Caspian sapper (6th protection class) with means of transporting ammunition and cargo, consisting of a set of ceramic, plastic and metal plates connected by means of flexible elements made of armid fabric;
- helmet of the 6th class of protection "Warrior Shako RSP Assault", withstanding a direct hit of a pistol bullet and a mine (artillery) fragment;
- two shipping bags.
Key characteristics of the OVR-3SH:
- protection from the chest (back) withstands a shot from an SVD with a 7.62 x 54 mm R cartridge from a distance of five meters;
- the protection of the torso from the side withstands a shot from a 5 mm pistol from a distance of five meters;
- equipped with sensors "alive, wounded, killed" and "friend-foe";
- the commander's communication with the fighters via a wireless channel is provided;
- availability of helmet-mounted video surveillance and GLONASS navigation module;
- the helmet is equipped with headphones with active noise reduction and an LED flashlight;
- portable water cooling is provided.
In addition, the protective suit kit includes a tactical gear transfer system, known as "MOLLE Slings", with the ability to choose a configuration determined by the personal preferences of the fighter.
Naturally, the increase in the level of equipment of the engineering troops of the Russian Federation with modern models of weapons, equipment and means of protection is not limited to the examples presented. This process has acquired a certain scale and purposefulness. Currently, a heavy mechanized bridge is being developed with a fundamentally new opening scheme, modern hydraulic equipment and a high level of assembly automation. A universal armored engineering vehicle is undergoing the test program, which ensures the rapid advance of troops in conditions of fire from the enemy.
Ubim - synergy of advanced technologies and combat experience
At the AIDEX 2021 international defense exhibition held at the end of February last year, for the first time, a modern "engineering tank" was demonstrated to a foreign audience – a universal armored vehicle combining the functions of three types of engineering equipment: an engineering barrier vehicle, an armored repair and evacuation vehicle and an armored mine clearance vehicle.
The presentation of this unique sample (though only in mock-up) in Russia took place at the international military-technical forum "ARMY-2017". Presented under the working code "Object 153", UBIM was positioned as a technique whose functional potential was limited to the preparation of ways of movement and maneuvering of military groups, including areas subjected to nuclear strikes. Additional working equipment included a telescopic boom with a manipulator and an excavator bucket, a universal bulldozer blade, a traction winch, a hydraulic hammer and trawling equipment. UBIM was supposed to be used in the structure of the divisional (army) link.
A year later, at the same site of the MVTF "ARMY", the public was able to get acquainted with a prototype of an "engineering tank". In the process of designing this machine, the practical experience of combat use obtained by the engineering troops of the Russian Federation when using special equipment in local conflicts in general and during the implementation of the counter-terrorism operation in Syria in particular is taken into account. The functionality included the laying of communication routes over rough terrain, the dismantling of stone and forest debris, as well as the evacuation of damaged equipment that interferes with the movement and maneuvering of military groups.
The task of UBIM includes not only the laying, maintenance in constant readiness for use and clearing of snow and ice of roads for various purposes, but also the creation of passages in stone and forest debris, filling ditches, ravines and craters, felling trees and uprooting stumps, as well as paving.
The use of the tracked platform of the T-90M tank in the design of the universal armored engineering vehicle in combination with the nodes and aggregates of the upgraded T-72B3 tank transforms it into a means of effective mechanization of excavation, elimination of destruction and overcoming obstacles, including in conditions of dense fire resistance from the enemy.
And in conclusion, a little more about modern robots. Engineering brigades and engineer-sapper regiments are looking forward to receiving the supply of MRTK-P "Uran-14" – unmanned "fire robots". These multifunctional complexes successfully operate inside the fire centers. That is, exactly where a person's life is most in danger.
Vitaly Orlov
The newspaper "Military-Industrial Courier", published in issue No. 9 (922) for March 15, 2022
