Armored vehicles "Strela", "VPK-Ural" and "Athlete" of Russian production aroused great interest among foreign customers at the IDEX-2021 exhibition.
This was announced by the General Director of the Military Industrial Company (MIC) Alexander Krasovitsky, adding that contracts for the supply of equipment were signed within the framework of the exhibition.
"Agreements were signed for the supply of batches of armored vehicles, as well as agreements were reached for the supply of armored personnel carriers," - quotes the words of Krasovitskiy Interfax.
IDEX is the largest arms exhibition in the Middle East, held in Abu Dhabi.
In 2021, it was held from 21 to 25 February.
According to the general director of the military-industrial complex, the specialists were most interested in both the updated range of the Tiger armored car family and the company's novelties: Strela, VPK-Ural, Athlet-E and others.
“Potential customers are also interested in the delivery of the chassis of the Tiger armored car,” added Krasovitsky.
According to the head of the company, on the fields of IDEX, representatives of the military-industrial complex held 24 meetings with members of official delegations from different countries interested in the company's products.
Recall that the military-industrial complex is engaged in the development, production and modernization of armored vehicles and vehicles and their components.
In addition to the aforementioned vehicles, the list of its products includes armored personnel carriers of the BTR-80 and BTR-82A families, the K-16 armored personnel carrier, the K-17 wheeled BMP and others.
New opportunities
The "Strela" armored vehicle is a lightweight analogue of the famous Russian armored car "Tiger".
"Strela" has a wheel arrangement of 4 x 4 and is designed to transport people and various goods, providing bullet and mine protection, the manufacturer notes.
“One of the advantages of this vehicle (Strela. -
RT
) is that it is almost two times lighter than the Tiger, while the level of protection of the Strela armored car is exactly the same as on the special armored vehicle Tiger (weight "Strela" - 4.7 tons, weight "Tiger" - 8.2 tons -
RT
), which is protected in the fifth grade, "- said in an interview with" Zvezda "the head of the direction for work with media and advertising of the military-industrial complex Sergei Suvorov.
Low weight allows "Strela", equipped with a 200 hp diesel engine.
sec., accelerate faster than the "Tiger".
On the highway, a light armored car is capable of speeds up to 155 km / h.
In addition, the reduced weight makes it possible to quickly transfer these armored cars as part of the landing forces on the external sling of the Mi-8 or Mi-17 transport and combat helicopters.
Armored car "Athlete"
© Military Industrial Company LLC
The car can accommodate up to eight people, including the driver.
It should be noted that "Strela" has a fairly high level of protection: the car can withstand the explosion of a land mine with a capacity of up to 2 kg in TNT equivalent under the wheel or bottom.
Military expert Alexei Leonkov, in an interview with RT, praised the running characteristics of the Strela.
“This armored car with a weight of almost 5 tons can accelerate to a speed of 155 km / h.
Armored vehicles of this kind are good for rapid reaction forces, ”the expert noted.
At the same time, additional mine protection is provided not only by the armored bottom, but also by its V-shape, Leonkov added.
“If you wish, you can install various equipment and a combat module on the car.
The "Arrow" is cleverly worked out, and if we compare it with the American HMMWV, then the Russian model bypasses the American one in many respects, "the military expert emphasized.
Another "relative" of the "Tiger" is the "Athlete" armored car.
Its creation began in 2017 as part of development work to create a new generation of "Tigers".
During the Army-2017 forum, Alexander Krasovitsky said that the design of the new armored cars has undergone significant changes in comparison with the original.
“It's no secret that Tiger is already ten years old.
During this time, we have made about 700 design changes.
Now we understand that we need to increase mine and ballistic resistance, "- said the head of the military-industrial complex in an interview with TASS.
"Athlete" is a weighted analogue of the armored car "Tiger" - its weight is about 9 tons. The carrying capacity has also been increased to 1.6 tons and mine resistance has been increased, so that it can withstand an explosion under the bottom with a capacity of up to 2 kg in TNT equivalent.
In addition, the "Athlete" is equipped with a Russian-made YMZ-5347-24 engine with a maximum power of 240 hp.
from.
It allows the armored car to reach speeds of up to 120 km / h with a power reserve of 1000 km.
The head of the military-industrial complex, Alexander Krasovitsky, previously stated that mass production of these machines would begin in 2021.
Export prospects
The heaviest of the mentioned armored vehicles in this line is the "VPK-Ural".
It also has a 4x4 wheel arrangement, but at the same time its gross weight is 14.5 tons and it can carry 12 people in full gear.
The armored car body provides the second class of ballistic protection, which can be upgraded to the third and fourth classes by installing hinged screens.
The developer's website notes that mine protection protects the car from explosions with a capacity of up to 6 kg in TNT equivalent.
Participant of the economic forum "Russia - Africa" at the multipurpose armored vehicle "VPK-Ural"
RIA News
© Ilya Pitalev
The driving characteristics of the VPK-Ural vehicle are provided by the YaMZ-536 turbodiesel engine with a capacity of 360 hp.
from.
It allows the car to reach speeds of up to 100 km / h.
According to Alexei Leonkov, the growing popularity of wheeled armored vehicles in the armies of different countries of the world is associated with the spread of the concept of a quick strike in a modern theater of operations, when instead of a single front line there are several hotbeds of hostilities.
“When conducting combat operations in accordance with the doctrines of rapid strike and response, this technique guarantees high movement speed and protection.
Wheeled armored vehicles differ from tracked vehicles in that the speed of movement on the terrain is higher and there is an advantage that, due to the change in the pumping of the wheels, they can travel on any soil, ”the expert explained.
The high interest of foreign customers in Russian armored vehicles is not surprising, Leonkov said.
“This is due to the fact that even during the period of the USSR, Russian equipment proved that it can fight in any weather conditions, while it is distinguished by its easy maintenance and reliable protection.
In addition, in the arms market, the ratio "price-quality" speaks in her favor, - explained the interlocutor of RT.
In turn, military expert Yuri Knutov noted that such armored vehicles are indispensable for delivering servicemen to dangerous areas.
According to him, the designers, developing new armored vehicles, took into account the experience of the Russian military in Syria.
“Terrorists in jeeps, on which machine guns were installed, attacked from different directions, after which they united in one place, creating a powerful fist capable of breaking through a fairly serious defense.
Russia took this concept into account, after which it began to develop equipment for the airborne troops, special operations forces, which can be quickly moved to any point to effectively defeat the enemy, "Knutov emphasized.
These armored vehicles will be a success both with the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and abroad, the military expert believes.
“Russian technology has great prospects - it is constantly being improved and therefore enjoys the attention of foreign military customers,” concluded Yuri Knutov.