Igor Zarakhovich, chief designer of JSC Remdiesel, told the TASS agency about an almost five-fold increase in the production of the new Z-STS Akhmat armored vehicle.
“I can’t say in quantities, but the vehicles have already been delivered, delivered to the troops ... For us, these are very large numbers: we have increased our production volume by almost five times.
These are significant numbers,” Zarakhovich said.
In July, Akhmat was positively assessed by the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov.
“These armored vehicles were assembled taking into account the wishes and experience of our soldiers who took part in the special operation in Ukraine.
The equipment is solid, powerful and reliable.
Despite their overweight appearance, the Akhmatmobile are maneuverable vehicles that perform an important task on the battlefield - fast movement in urban conditions with maximum safety for personnel, ”Kadyrov wrote on his Telegram channel last month.
On stock chassis
Z-STS "Akhmat" took part in the Victory Parade on May 9 in Grozny, and in the second half of August it was presented to the general public at the Army-2022 International Military-Technical Forum.
The vehicle has a 6 × 6 wheel arrangement and is designed to accommodate ten servicemen in the cabin.
In addition to transporting troops, it can be used for sanitary needs - for example, for transporting the wounded.
The weight and size characteristics of the Akhmat make it possible to transfer it by military transport aircraft Il-76, An-124 and on railway platforms.
The Remdiesel team created Akhmat, taking into account the experience of the special operation.
The machine was developed in just 25 days.
According to Zarakhovich, the distinctive features of the armored car are ease of operation, high protection class and ease of mass production.
“The machine was made on a serial chassis in order to saturate the troops with protected equipment as much as possible now ... It turns out such a machine that can be quickly manufactured and which has a very high protection class,” Zarakhovich told RIA Novosti on the fields of Army-2022.
As noted by the chief designer of "Remdizel", "Akhmat" is produced 7-10 times faster than armored vehicles of the "Typhoon" family.
Such a high release rate was achieved due to the rejection of the supporting (frameless) body.
In particular, such a body has an airborne special-purpose armored car "Typhoon-VDV" with a capacity of seven people.
This machine is mounted on the basis of KamAZ and is also the brainchild of Remdiesel.
It is designed to transport personnel, cargo and medical support.
The advantages of the Typhoon-VDV are high traction and dynamic characteristics, maneuverability, and high cross-country ability.
In addition to the load-bearing hull, the vehicle is equipped with ceramic armor and an armored capsule that accommodates the crew.
Army armored truck on the platform "Typhoon"
RIA News
© Konstantin Mikhalchevsky
Also, the Russian Armed Forces operate vehicles of the Typhoon family on the KamAZ-63969 and KamAZ-53949 platforms with 6 × 6 and 4 × 4 wheel arrangements. As stated on the Rosoboronexport website, the vehicles “have high combat and operational characteristics (mobility, security, combat power, design and ergonomics).
"Typhoons" are able to force fords up to 1.5 m deep without prior preparation, climb slopes with an angle of up to 30 degrees.
Diesel engines with 350 and 450 hp
and automatic transmissions allow cars to reach speeds of at least 100 km/h on the highway and travel up to 1,000 km without refueling,” Rosoboronexport reports.
In a RT commentary, military expert Nikita Buranov noted that Typhoons are really effective products, and suggested that Akhmat is close to this family in terms of characteristics.
However, due to the design features of the Typhoon, it is difficult to produce.
At the same time, under the conditions of a special operation, the need for armored vehicles in the units of the RF Armed Forces has increased significantly.
"Akhmat" reflects the need of the Russian army for a large number of armored vehicles.
They must meet the following criteria: good security, the transportation of a large number of servicemen in equipment and weapons, the speed of mass production using exclusively domestic components, ”Buranov emphasized.
According to the expert, in order to saturate the troops with new armored vehicles as quickly as possible, Remdiesel engineers chose a simple but reliable design, and also integrated only the most necessary electronics into Akhmat.
“I would not give any specific assessments of Akhmat yet.
But from the available information, we can conclude that the car is designed to meet the needs of the military for increased capacity.
In theory, ten fighters in uniforms, with grenade launchers and ammunition should be more comfortable there, ”says Buranov.
To perform combat missions
The frame system, which is integrated into Akhmat, is a structure on which the body, engine, and steering units are mounted.
It is simpler to manufacture, but less load-bearing in comparison with the load-bearing body that Typhoons are equipped with.
According to Buranov, in the case of the Akhmat and a number of other army vehicles, the rejection of the load-bearing body makes it possible to use a single base chassis and quickly install various hulls on it.
Salon of the armored car "Akhmat"
RIA News
© Evgeny Odinokov
“The load-bearing body and frame structure have their advantages and disadvantages.
In the case of the 3-STS, the frame system greatly simplifies the production process.
The most important thing is that Akhmat is not inferior to Typhoon in terms of mine protection and bulletproof anti-fragmentation armor, ”Buranov added.
As Sergei Suvorov, Candidate of Military Sciences, explained in an interview with RT, the load-bearing body gives a "mass gain".
As a result, the car becomes more load-bearing.
“Most often, designers direct the gain in mass to enhance protection.
In my opinion, the Typhoon with a load-bearing hull is a more secure platform than the Akhmat.
However, I am sure that Akhmat meets the criteria for protecting the lives of military personnel, ”says Suvorov.
Recall that, along with the Akhmat, the Tigr family of armored vehicles, developed by the Military Industrial Company LLC, which is widespread in the troops, has a frame structure.
Now Russian troops are receiving modernized vehicles of this type.
They are used for reconnaissance, raid and anti-sabotage activities.
The body of the "Tigr-M" in the version for special forces (ASN 233115) is welded from steel sheets and attached to the frame in ten places through rubber cushions.
The machine can withstand shelling from small arms and remains mobile when 0.6 kg of explosive is detonated under the wheel and bottom.
“The armor of the hull of multi-purpose and special-purpose vehicles provides protection for the crew, main components and assemblies during circular fire from an AKM assault rifle with a PS bullet of 7.62 mm caliber and from an AK-74 assault rifle with a PS bullet of 5.45 mm caliber, which corresponds approximately to the first level of ballistic protection according to STANAG 4569 (armored vehicle protection standard adopted by NATO. -
RT
) ”, - says the materials of Rosoboronexport.
The Tiger family is used in the NWO zone.
In particular, the vehicles are used by the military traffic police to escort columns of the Russian army.
Procurement of these vehicles continues: the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation signed another contract at the recently completed Army-2022 forum.
Taking into account the peculiarities of the special operation and the design features of the Akhmat, Suvorov suggests that the new Remdizel has the 5th protection class according to the domestic classification and the second level of ballistic protection according to STANAG 4569.
“If my assessments are correct, then this is a good result, given the frame structure of Akhmat.
I think that in the future, the level of security of this car can be increased to the 6th class (protection according to the domestic classification. -
RT
).
If we talk about the cross-country ability of the 3-STS, then most likely it is at the level of vehicles manufactured on the basis of KamAZ, ”Suvorov believes.
According to experts, due to the frame structure, Akhmat has a relatively small payload.
However, it completely allows you to install various equipment and weapons on the roof, including the Arbalet-DM remotely controlled module, which is now being mounted on the upgraded Tigers.
This weapon system consists of a 12.7 mm Kord machine gun, a television camera and a thermal imager.
The DUM detection range is 2.5 km, the destruction distance is 2 km, the ammunition load is 450 rounds, the total mass of all Arbalet-DM elements is 250 kg.