General Novikov explained how the Pass-1 mine clearance systems are used in Ukraine
The robotic mine clearance complex "Passage-1" is used by the Russian army during a special military operation in Ukraine. This was reported by Rossiyskaya Gazeta. "Newspaper.Ru" understood the specifics of the complex.
The combat mine clearance Vehicle (BMR) "Pass-1" is a relatively new robotic system as part of the engineering troops of the Russian army.
This complex completed state tests in 2016 and then entered service with the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The Russian military department stated that the complex was used in Syria, where "it confirmed the functions and characteristics stated by the manufacturer, after which it was in demand in the troops."
"One of the basic rules of war is that when a unit is promoted, it is always the sapper who goes first," he told the newspaper.En" combat veteran, reserve Colonel Gennady Shorokhov. - This was the way it was done in Afghanistan, during the two Chechen wars, this order was maintained during the peacekeeping mission of Russian paratroopers in Yugoslavia, so convoys of the military police of the Russian Defense Ministry moved in Syria. Sappers were also the first to enter Nagorno-Karabakh - a huge amount of explosives, including ingenious traps, remained here. In Ukraine, the situation is even more complicated: the APU exposes minefields, mines roads and bridges."
Several variants of the BMR are in service with the Russian army, the most famous of which is the Vepr complex, which was first officially introduced in 2012.
"The history of the BMR itself goes back to the early 1980s, when Soviet troops in Afghanistan began to use the KMT-5M mine roller trawl.
The modern BMR "Boar" paves a safe path with a width of 3.5 meters, and its subsequent modification, known as "Passage-1", provides a safe passage of 4.5 meters. Not only tanks, but also wheeled vehicles can pass through such a corridor, without the risk of being blown up by a land mine," the newspaper reported.En" Reserve Major General Valery Novikov.
At the same time, he stressed that Pass-1 is not just an improved version of the Boar - both complexes were created at Uralvagonzavod - and
"a real robotic mine clearance complex"
"In addition to the more modern TMT-S trawl, which undermines any mines, the Passage is equipped with special equipment that can drown out even radio-controlled land mines. The main feature of this sapper tank is also that it is able to work without a crew on board thanks to the possibility of remote control. This complex can operate in three modes, in the first two cases under the control of the crew, both on board and with the control of the operator located at the command post of the escort vehicle based on the KAMAZ vehicle, from where the mine situation on the way forward is assessed. In the third variant, this is a fully automatic mode, when the BMR moves forward according to predetermined parameters, without endangering people, but clearly fulfilling the task," the general added.
"Passage-1" has a powerful armored reinforced bottom based on the chassis of the T-90 tank, which allows you to maintain the mobility of the machine even when a powerful land mine is detonated. The complex uses a 12.7 mm machine gun as protection.
"The appearance of such powerful mine-clearing complexes as Pass-1 in the zone of a special military operation is a good sign for the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. If we recall the recent orders of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on the need to intensify offensive actions during the SVO, then they are actively preparing for them. And here the appearance of mine-clearing combat vehicles indicates the preparation of tank breakthroughs, which will have to overcome numerous minefields, which are stuffed with roads and fields in this territory," General Novikov believes.
Victor Sokirko
