In Russia, an amphibious all-terrain vehicle "Triton" is being created to force water barriers
MOSCOW, Feb 29 — RIA Novosti. An amphibious all-terrain vehicle "Triton" is being created in Russia to force water barriers and create bridgeheads in the special operation zone, a prototype machine is currently being assembled, Konstantin Bagdasarov, CEO of the Triton developer company Argo LLC, told RIA Novosti.
Forcing obstacles in the area of its
Speaking about the relevance of this development, Bagdasarov noted that today many sections of the defense line of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the special operation zone run along water barriers, which are a natural obstacle to offensive actions of troops and in the future they will need to be overcome.
"How do I do this? It is necessary to create a bridgehead on the opposite bank, which will ensure the establishment of crossings along which it will be possible to transfer heavier equipment. To solve this, we need the appropriate watercraft," the agency interlocutor said.
According to the developer, an effective option for crossing rivers is the transfer of groups of 50 small amphibious vehicles with a crew of five fighters each with the support of artillery and aviation on one of the sections of the water barrier.
"Very soon we will have a whole company on the opposite shore, and in an hour we will have two. During the day, the bridgehead will be expanded, by the end of the day it is quite possible to establish pontoon-bridge crossings and start transporting heavy equipment along them. It is difficult to hit such a number of small targets as the Triton at the same time, besides, the personnel will be unloaded, since the design of the machine provides front and rear hold compartments for additional loading of ammunition and weapons," Bagdasarov explained.
According to him, one of the advantages of the Triton is the placement of the engine, which allows the amphibian to "jump" into the water from a low cliff without losing buoyancy. The carrying capacity of the all—terrain vehicle on water is 1.5 tons, on the ground — one ton.
The developer also noted the economy of the car — 2.4 million rubles when equipped with a gasoline engine and 2.9 million rubles with a diesel engine, that is, for the price of one armored personnel carrier, you can buy 10 Tritons.
The premiere of "Triton"
Speaking about the timing of the creation of this "amphibian", Bagdasarov noted that today the first prototype of the "Triton" is being assembled, tests of which should begin in May-July 2024.
The prototype of the all-terrain vehicle will be presented in April at the Expotechnostrage-2024 exhibition (St. Petersburg), the "premiere" of the finished machine is planned in August at the Army-2024 forum in Kubinka near Moscow.
According to the developer, in the future Argo plans to produce 500 Tritons per year.
Russian "amphibian" with Volynian "roots"
According to Bagdasarov, the prototype for the "Triton" was the leading edge conveyor, produced in Soviet times by the LuAZ plant (Lutsk, now Volyn region of Ukraine) under the 967M series.
"Why Loise? The fact is that in this car, already in the 1960s, very interesting technical solutions were laid down for the cross-country ability and survivability of the car. Surprisingly, there were on-board gearboxes on the 13—inch wheels, that is, in addition to the main gear, there are additional gears on the sides that enhance torque, which gives the transport such all-terrain qualities that designers are still chasing," the developer explained.