They clear passages for vehicles and infantry groups in urban areas and minefields.
IMR-3M barrier engineering vehicles are actively used in the SVO zone as assault tanks, military experts told Izvestia. According to them, the equipment originally developed for conducting sapper work has proven itself well on the battlefield. The heavily armored IMR-3M helps to overcome rubble in populated areas and forests, as well as pave passages in minefields. Izvestia is told about the unusual use of such equipment on the Day of the Engineering Troops of Russia.
Both in the city and in the forest
Engineering vehicles are especially useful when conducting combat operations in urban areas, on wooded or highly rugged terrain, Dmitry Kornev, editor of the Military Russia website, told Izvestia.
— In the SVO zone, the IMR-3M is often used as an assault tank, — said the expert. — This is a fairly powerful piece of armored vehicles equipped with special devices. During assault operations, a blade is used, and the crane arm is removed. The machine can level almost any low-rise building. In brick or panel houses, it makes passages in the walls. All these qualities allow the IMR to clear the way for vehicles or assault groups in urban environments. This vehicle is more mobile and less susceptible to damage compared to a conventional tank, which has a rotating turret and a long cannon — they are easy to damage. The IMR can go head-on, destroying obstacles in its path. The machine is also indispensable when operating in villages or villages — there it can level anything with the ground.
Photo: JSC NPK Uralvagonzavod
Image source: iz.ru
The expert noted that the IMR actually plays the role of a powerful bulldozer, providing passages for other military equipment.
— In the forest area, he clears debris from trees, helps to prepare access roads to the crossing when crossing, — he specified. — The IMR-3M has a smoke protection system, which allows it to cover infantry or equipment going on an assault, which is another plus. The vehicle is armed with a heavy machine gun, which allows it to defend itself from enemy infantry. It is also used in the preparation of various barriers, excavation.
Additional equipment
The press service of Uralvagonzavod Concern JSC (part of Rostec State Corporation) told Izvestia that the IMR-3M is widely used in its military operations: "Taking into account the experience of its use, the possibility of equipping the machine with an electronic warfare system and additional anti-drone protection has been worked out."
Photo: JSC NPK Uralvagonzavod
Image source: iz.ru
According to Uralvagonzavod experts, combat experience shows that, if necessary, the IMR-3M can also be used as a minesweeper, since it is equipped with a minesweeper with an electromagnetic attachment.
The IMR-3M is one of the most in—demand combat units in the engineering troops of the Russian Ministry of Defense, the press service emphasized.
Photo: JSC NPK Uralvagonzavod
Image Source: iz.ru
The interlocutors noted that the success of combat operations of tank and motorized rifle units in the presence of natural and artificial obstacles, as well as in the conditions of the use of weapons of mass destruction and explosive mines by the enemy, is largely determined by the presence of modern armored engineering vehicles for various purposes.
The universal "soldier"
Military expert Yuri Lyamin recalled that the previous generation IMR-2M barrier vehicles were actively used by the Syrian army in 2016-2017 in Aleppo and the suburbs of Damascus.
Photo: IZVESTIA/press service of the Baltic Fleet of the Russian Navy
Image source: iz.ru
— This is a kind of ready-made assault tank that paves the way for soldiers and equipment. The blade gives him additional protection — it is metal and quite massive," the expert noted.
Now, in the free zone, the equipment is receiving additional reservations, Yuri Lyamin emphasized.
— Protective grilles and "barbecues" are installed on cars, since any equipment is now vulnerable to UAVs. Moreover, it goes ahead and attracts the main attention of the drones," he said.
After artillery attacks, rubble remains in populated areas that cannot be easily dismantled, Yuri Lyamin reminded.
"If we recall the fighting in Syria, Iraq, or look at how Israel was currently fighting in Gaza, we can see that conventional bulldozers were actively used there, which were sheathed in improvised armor," he concluded. — They were walking ahead, clearing the way for the assault units. Sometimes Israel even used remote-controlled cars.
Third generation
The IMR-3 joined the army in 1999. This is the third modification of the engineering machine. The first was created in 1969 on the basis of the T-55 tank. In the early 1980s, the IMR-2 appeared on the T-72 chassis.
The machine is based on the platform of the T-90 tank. Her choice is due to the unification of the equipment of the armored units of the Russian army.
It is equipped with radiation, chemical reconnaissance and dosimetric monitoring devices. The installed underwater driving equipment allows her to force water obstacles up to 5 m deep along the bottom.
Photo: IZVESTIA/press service of the Baltic Fleet of the Russian Navy
Image source: iz.ru
The machine is equipped with a universal bulldozer blade, a telescopic boom with a manipulator with electrohydraulic remote control. Its maximum reach is 8 m, and its load capacity is 2 tons. Another working tool is a bucket with a capacity of 0.35 cubic meters.
It is possible to install KMT-R3 knife-gauge minesweepers with an electromagnetic attachment.
As additional weapons, a 12.7-mm NSVT machine gun and thermal smoke equipment for setting smoke screens are mounted on the machine.
"Despite its exclusively peaceful purpose, the IMR is capable of snapping if necessary," the Uralvagonzavod press service noted.
Photo: JSC NPK Uralvagonzavod
Image source: iz.ru
Due to its driving characteristics, the engineering vehicle is capable of moving at a speed of 60 km / h, forcing fords up to 1.2 m deep without special training.
In forest and rocky rubble, the IMR-3M makes passes at an average speed of 300-400 m/h, in minefields — 5-12 km/h. In a snowdrift 120 cm high, it paves the way at a speed of 15 km/h.
A large set of equipment allows you to perform almost all types of work that troops encounter on the line of contact.
Vladimir Matveev
Bogdan Stepovoy
Julia Leonova
