Armored car "Punisher". Four Wheel Puzzle
The last few years have been marked by the fact that in our country new types of armored vehicles are being created for the army and the Ministry of the Interior. There is a constant debate around this positive trend, and each news only adds fuel to their fire. The theme “The Punisher” became a typical representative of armored cars that have become the subject of wide discussion. Recall that the general public became aware of it a few years ago, but then very little information was made publicly available. Became known only the name of the competition and the approximate purpose of the finished machine. Of course, this did not please fans of automotive and military equipment, and at the same time caused a huge amount of speculation. It should be noted claims to the title of the topic. In the simple, though harsh, word “Punisher”, some citizens saw the allusions to the thugs in gray form and with “Schmeissers”, while others began to wonder who this “Punisher” would punish? Are they intelligent and conscientious, but those who disagree with the regime? However, all this can be recognized as a specific course of discussion, caused by a lack of information about the project.
In late March, the discussion of "The Punisher" resumed with a new force. He was spurred on by only one photograph taken at the Dmitrov proving ground. Maybe she would have gone unnoticed, but ... Firstly, no official information was attached to the photo, and secondly, the captured car looked very unusual. As a result, it was not immediately clear who the author of the project was, but by that time, many noted that this technique is more likely a place in science fiction films or computer games. And in truth, the "Punisher" with a photo is similar to a hybrid of the Batmobile (Batman's vehicle) and an armored vehicle from the game Half-Life 2. Naturally, this attracted attention. And immediately, fans of technology, experiencing information hunger, tried to “pull out” as much information from a photo as possible. Let's try to join them and carry out analytical work.
In some sources under the new photo of "Punisher" it was indicated that this is the development of the KAMAZ plant. However, it soon became clear that they were working on a competitive project in Naberezhnye Chelny, but their project had nothing to do with the car under discussion. The fact is that the fantastic armored car in the recently appeared photos was taken at the ZIL plant. Still later, it was reported that the Kamsky Automobile Plant still has something to do with the ZiLovsky Punisher: the demonstrated machine was made on the basis of the KAMAZ 4911 chassis. In addition, according to unverified data, a certain firm "Fort Technology" is in charge of the ZIL plant project, which is responsible for the armored protection of the new vehicle. Finally, in confusing the situation, the inscription on the “kenguryatnik” of the new machine played a role. Instead of quite logical and understandable letters “ZIL”, there are written some “CSTs”, which, as it became clear a little later, is decoded as “Center for Special Purpose”. It remains only to find out to which power agency this center belongs. In general, the situation is complicated and confusing. There is almost no official information, and even that came into circulation through third parties. Even if the origin of the machine is so mysterious, what is to be expected from the design?
If the rumors about the KAMAZ undercarriage prove to be true, then some conclusions can be made about the powerplant and the driving characteristics of the Punisher. 730-strong eight-cylinder diesel engine YMZ-7-846 of a sports truck KAMAZ 4911 allows it to accelerate to two hundred kilometers per hour. Combined with a gross weight of up to 12 tons, this requires huge fuel consumption - on the order of 100 liters per 100 km. Perhaps some reduction in the characteristics of the original sports chassis, for example, turbocharging and simplifying the transmission, will allow the armored car based on 4911 to have tolerable indicators not only in the driving aspect, but also economically. So, most modern armored cars have a maximum speed of about one hundred kilometers per hour, and fuel consumption usually does not exceed 20 liters per "hundred". Anyway, the original chassis from the KAMAZ 4911 is not acceptable for a full-fledged combat vehicle and requires modifications. Whether they were and, if so, which ones, it is still unknown. ZIL in every possible way hides this information. There is also a version about the undercarriage of the Likhachev Plant own design. But in this case, the analysis has nowhere to repel.
Not less mysterious and the body of the new armored car. On the existing photo from the Dmitrovsky test site, as well as on the network that leaked into the network a couple of years ago, both prototypes look rather strange. In particular, the layout of the front part raises questions. If the engine compartment and the hood look pretty normal, then the next glazing raises a lot of questions. These glasses on motor transport are very unusual: large and located at an acute angle to the horizontal. One can only guess what the driver is looking at the road through them and what are the viewing angles. At the same time, the insufficient forward-down review, in which quite a few people have already blamed the Zilovsky "Punisher", does not look so bad against the background of more serious armored vehicles. Unfortunately, both available photos of the car are made so that it is not possible to estimate its dimensions with sufficient accuracy. At the same time, there is reason to "suspect" the body of the machine in some vertical compression. In this case, the driver's head is close enough to the cabin ceiling, which in combination with the design of the glass and the hood can serve as a transparent hint. It seems that the “Punisher” from the ZIL plant is, to a certain extent, reminiscent of truck hoods from the driver’s position.
However, there is no exact data about the location of the driver and the review from his place. On the Internet there are some concept art "Punisher", allegedly having the most direct relation to the project and allegedly leaked from the design office. They show the approximate layout of the cabin and the original design of the doors. So, when opening, their upper part goes up (attached to the roof on the loop), and the lower one supported by cables - down, where it serves as a step. At the same time, the front doors together with the rear ones form fairly wide hatches without central pillars. Probably, this is the way to ensure the normal opening of the doors with specific outlines of the sides of the body, as well as to make embarkation and disembarkation more comfortable. In the same 3D-drawings, you can see that through each rear side door opens access to two seats. Thus, five more soldiers (one in the front seat and four in the rear) can go along with the driver in this configuration at the same time. For the "troop compartment", apparently, is luggage. In the existing photos of the armored car it is almost invisible, but much better it is noticeable in the same concept art. On the back of the car there is a fairly wide cargo hatch with two wings. It is noteworthy that these valves are bucket-shaped and protrude beyond the limits of the car body. It remains only to wonder why an armored car would like such things, but in the existing photos one can notice that such a design of the tailgate has survived to the prototype. The capacity of the trunk, as well as other parameters of the machine, has not yet been announced.
We turn to protection. The word "armored car" implies the presence of some kind of armor. In the most recent photo, it can be seen that the side doors received much smaller glass than before. Probably, here the designers of ZiL went the same way as the authors of many foreign armored cars - instead of the large and fragile glass, they put small ones on the doors, with greater survivability in battle. And the vacant space was closed with armor plates. However, the huge windshield with a large slope has not gone anywhere. At the same time, judging by its shade and characteristic black stripes on the edge, a bulletproof windshield was installed on the photographed sample. The thickness and protection class of glass, unfortunately, are unknown. Similarly, there is no information on the metal elements of the reservation. Apparently, the entire protection of the "Punisher" must withstand at least 7,62-mm bullets of intermediate cartridges. As for the protection from mines, here, too, have to be based on conjectures. For example, the characteristic contours of the lower part of the sides of the body may hint at the overall V-shaped bottom. However, the additional step and angle in the photo do not allow to see it. Although an armored car sealed at the test site may not have a mine bottom. This version is supported by the fact that on the existing photo, despite the snow that went during the shooting, something resembling a differential can be seen behind the front lower flap. It is unlikely that such an important part of an all-wheel drive car would not be “awarded” armor protection.
Summing up, it should be noted once again that there is very little open information on the “Punisher” topic. For some personal reasons, the Ministry of Defense and the ZIL enterprise are in no hurry to share "secret knowledge." Therefore it is necessary to collect the crumbs and carefully analyze the existing one. So one cannot exclude the possibility that this article just a few days / weeks / months will be irrelevant and even incorrect. But for this, the customer and the developer of "The Punisher" must lift the veil of secrecy and publish a sufficient amount of information. Until then, we will have to use only what we have. But the main and, perhaps, the most important thing that can be taken out of the “detective” with the “Punisher” now, is that the Likhachev Plant is still able to create new interesting projects. Against the background of the general state of the domestic auto industry, this gives rise to some optimism.
In late March, the discussion of "The Punisher" resumed with a new force. He was spurred on by only one photograph taken at the Dmitrov proving ground. Maybe she would have gone unnoticed, but ... Firstly, no official information was attached to the photo, and secondly, the captured car looked very unusual. As a result, it was not immediately clear who the author of the project was, but by that time, many noted that this technique is more likely a place in science fiction films or computer games. And in truth, the "Punisher" with a photo is similar to a hybrid of the Batmobile (Batman's vehicle) and an armored vehicle from the game Half-Life 2. Naturally, this attracted attention. And immediately, fans of technology, experiencing information hunger, tried to “pull out” as much information from a photo as possible. Let's try to join them and carry out analytical work.
In some sources under the new photo of "Punisher" it was indicated that this is the development of the KAMAZ plant. However, it soon became clear that they were working on a competitive project in Naberezhnye Chelny, but their project had nothing to do with the car under discussion. The fact is that the fantastic armored car in the recently appeared photos was taken at the ZIL plant. Still later, it was reported that the Kamsky Automobile Plant still has something to do with the ZiLovsky Punisher: the demonstrated machine was made on the basis of the KAMAZ 4911 chassis. In addition, according to unverified data, a certain firm "Fort Technology" is in charge of the ZIL plant project, which is responsible for the armored protection of the new vehicle. Finally, in confusing the situation, the inscription on the “kenguryatnik” of the new machine played a role. Instead of quite logical and understandable letters “ZIL”, there are written some “CSTs”, which, as it became clear a little later, is decoded as “Center for Special Purpose”. It remains only to find out to which power agency this center belongs. In general, the situation is complicated and confusing. There is almost no official information, and even that came into circulation through third parties. Even if the origin of the machine is so mysterious, what is to be expected from the design?
If the rumors about the KAMAZ undercarriage prove to be true, then some conclusions can be made about the powerplant and the driving characteristics of the Punisher. 730-strong eight-cylinder diesel engine YMZ-7-846 of a sports truck KAMAZ 4911 allows it to accelerate to two hundred kilometers per hour. Combined with a gross weight of up to 12 tons, this requires huge fuel consumption - on the order of 100 liters per 100 km. Perhaps some reduction in the characteristics of the original sports chassis, for example, turbocharging and simplifying the transmission, will allow the armored car based on 4911 to have tolerable indicators not only in the driving aspect, but also economically. So, most modern armored cars have a maximum speed of about one hundred kilometers per hour, and fuel consumption usually does not exceed 20 liters per "hundred". Anyway, the original chassis from the KAMAZ 4911 is not acceptable for a full-fledged combat vehicle and requires modifications. Whether they were and, if so, which ones, it is still unknown. ZIL in every possible way hides this information. There is also a version about the undercarriage of the Likhachev Plant own design. But in this case, the analysis has nowhere to repel.
Not less mysterious and the body of the new armored car. On the existing photo from the Dmitrovsky test site, as well as on the network that leaked into the network a couple of years ago, both prototypes look rather strange. In particular, the layout of the front part raises questions. If the engine compartment and the hood look pretty normal, then the next glazing raises a lot of questions. These glasses on motor transport are very unusual: large and located at an acute angle to the horizontal. One can only guess what the driver is looking at the road through them and what are the viewing angles. At the same time, the insufficient forward-down review, in which quite a few people have already blamed the Zilovsky "Punisher", does not look so bad against the background of more serious armored vehicles. Unfortunately, both available photos of the car are made so that it is not possible to estimate its dimensions with sufficient accuracy. At the same time, there is reason to "suspect" the body of the machine in some vertical compression. In this case, the driver's head is close enough to the cabin ceiling, which in combination with the design of the glass and the hood can serve as a transparent hint. It seems that the “Punisher” from the ZIL plant is, to a certain extent, reminiscent of truck hoods from the driver’s position.
However, there is no exact data about the location of the driver and the review from his place. On the Internet there are some concept art "Punisher", allegedly having the most direct relation to the project and allegedly leaked from the design office. They show the approximate layout of the cabin and the original design of the doors. So, when opening, their upper part goes up (attached to the roof on the loop), and the lower one supported by cables - down, where it serves as a step. At the same time, the front doors together with the rear ones form fairly wide hatches without central pillars. Probably, this is the way to ensure the normal opening of the doors with specific outlines of the sides of the body, as well as to make embarkation and disembarkation more comfortable. In the same 3D-drawings, you can see that through each rear side door opens access to two seats. Thus, five more soldiers (one in the front seat and four in the rear) can go along with the driver in this configuration at the same time. For the "troop compartment", apparently, is luggage. In the existing photos of the armored car it is almost invisible, but much better it is noticeable in the same concept art. On the back of the car there is a fairly wide cargo hatch with two wings. It is noteworthy that these valves are bucket-shaped and protrude beyond the limits of the car body. It remains only to wonder why an armored car would like such things, but in the existing photos one can notice that such a design of the tailgate has survived to the prototype. The capacity of the trunk, as well as other parameters of the machine, has not yet been announced.
We turn to protection. The word "armored car" implies the presence of some kind of armor. In the most recent photo, it can be seen that the side doors received much smaller glass than before. Probably, here the designers of ZiL went the same way as the authors of many foreign armored cars - instead of the large and fragile glass, they put small ones on the doors, with greater survivability in battle. And the vacant space was closed with armor plates. However, the huge windshield with a large slope has not gone anywhere. At the same time, judging by its shade and characteristic black stripes on the edge, a bulletproof windshield was installed on the photographed sample. The thickness and protection class of glass, unfortunately, are unknown. Similarly, there is no information on the metal elements of the reservation. Apparently, the entire protection of the "Punisher" must withstand at least 7,62-mm bullets of intermediate cartridges. As for the protection from mines, here, too, have to be based on conjectures. For example, the characteristic contours of the lower part of the sides of the body may hint at the overall V-shaped bottom. However, the additional step and angle in the photo do not allow to see it. Although an armored car sealed at the test site may not have a mine bottom. This version is supported by the fact that on the existing photo, despite the snow that went during the shooting, something resembling a differential can be seen behind the front lower flap. It is unlikely that such an important part of an all-wheel drive car would not be “awarded” armor protection.
Summing up, it should be noted once again that there is very little open information on the “Punisher” topic. For some personal reasons, the Ministry of Defense and the ZIL enterprise are in no hurry to share "secret knowledge." Therefore it is necessary to collect the crumbs and carefully analyze the existing one. So one cannot exclude the possibility that this article just a few days / weeks / months will be irrelevant and even incorrect. But for this, the customer and the developer of "The Punisher" must lift the veil of secrecy and publish a sufficient amount of information. Until then, we will have to use only what we have. But the main and, perhaps, the most important thing that can be taken out of the “detective” with the “Punisher” now, is that the Likhachev Plant is still able to create new interesting projects. Against the background of the general state of the domestic auto industry, this gives rise to some optimism.
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