Ural TM Bars is an untimely novelty with great potential
"Ural TM Bars". Source: omnifurgone.it Photo by Konstantin Yakubov
Russian truck - American units
The Moscow region company "B-Arms" has long been engaged in the refinement of domestic military equipment. However, the military profile is far from the only one in the rich portfolio of the company. "B-Arms" is deployed in Istra near Moscow and, in addition to refining armored vehicles, builds fences, sheds, railings and gates for low-rise households. An important place in the production range is occupied by freeze-drying plants for sublimation of food products and gas grills.
However, for the readers of the Military Review, developments for defense purposes are primarily of interest. A few years ago, a deeply modernized BRDM-2 was presented, which received the index "MB" and the name "Snipe". The car turned out to be ambiguous, like any attempt to breathe life into morally and technically obsolete combat vehicles.
But the latest development of Ural TM Bars, although it belongs to dual-use equipment, may well be useful in the Russian army. Of course, not in its current state - the truck has an imported 6-cylinder Caterpillar C15 diesel engine, a 10-speed Eaton Fuller Roadranger and a ZF transfer gearbox (Chinese license). Engine power is unprecedented for the Ural line - at least 600 hp. With.
The machine has been built so far in a single copy and is an example of the possible evolution of bonnet trucks from Miass. Moreover, Russia already has experience in using heavy-duty military equipment. For example, KamAZ-4911 Extreme, assembled in only 15 copies, under the cab of which there is a 730-horsepower YaMZ.
As the developers themselves write, the truck “is designed for emergency delivery of goods to hard-to-reach areas on roads with an axle load of up to 78 kN (8 tf), as well as on dirt roads and rough terrain.” Part of the party went to serve in the FSB, the rest - for private customers. The Kama Automobile Plant needed an extreme two-axle truck for a reason, but for the homologation of “combat” KamAZ trucks for rally raids. The International Automobile Federation FIA demanded in the early 2000s to release analogues of sports cars, at least in a purely symbolic edition.
On the basis of Extreme, another supertruck was later born - the armored Falcatus, which serves in the FSB Special Purpose Center. The armored car FTA-5901 "Viking" was built on the same base, which is a logical continuation of the "Dakar" KamAZ. Only the motor was equipped with a more powerful one - TMZ 7E846.22 with a capacity of 884 liters. With. This piece of equipment is already used by Russian special services in the course of counter-terrorism work in the liberated regions of Ukraine.
Source: omnifurgone.it Photo by Konstantin Yakubov
Of course, the current version of the Ural TM Bars does not claim to be a raid armored vehicle for special services, but the truck is quite capable of occupying its niche in army structures. Of course, after appropriate refinement.
A little about the technique of the prototype from Istra. Problems immediately arose with the construction of such a non-trivial Ural. The high-powered American diesel engine did not initially fit in the engine compartment, so the cabin was raised by 12 cm for greater capacity. This, by the way, can be seen with the naked eye and adds a certain flavor to the Ural. The American diesel is really rather big: the width is about a meter, the length is almost one and a half, and the height is 1,37 meters.
The mass of the engine not filled with oil is more than 1 kg. But even with the cab raised, the rigging of the 300-liter Caterpillar C15 did not fully fit in - the intercooler radiator moved behind the cab. In the same space, an air conditioner radiator and hydraulic drives of the front and rear winches were placed. Winches, by the way, are also imported - 15-ton Runva from China. The serial Ural was taken as the basis for the prototype, most likely under the index 9-4320-1112E61.
This flatbed truck went to B-Arms in a shabby condition and went through two rehabilitation courses at once. The first - in the Chelyabinsk region, where the car was thoroughly sorted out, but the result did not suit the new owners. Probably because the Ural engine jammed after only 40 kilometers. The second stage of rehabilitation, or rather a complete reformatting, was the construction of the Ural TM Bars prototype, which became widely known at the beginning of 2022.
Untimely "Ural"
You can talk a lot about the advantages of the Ural from B-Arms, but one thing can be said for sure - it is impossible to put a machine in this design into mass (even piece) production. Foreign manufacturers of automotive components hastily curtail business, and among them Cummins c ZF. It is not known whether the gearbox manufacturer Eaton Fuller had its own business in Russia - B-Arms engineers removed the automatic gearbox from the Freightliner main tractor. The motor also went second-hand, with burnt wiring and an empty cylinder head.
Interestingly, according to the passport, the engine produced “only” 550 hp. With. and 2 Newton meters of torque. The B-Arms re-flashed the motor control electronics, put in larger turbochargers, a modified camshaft, new nozzles, and the old Caterpillar C509 began to play with new muscles. According to engineers, the power can reach 15 hp. With.
Tired "Ural" with a double cab before and after repair in the Chelyabinsk region. Source: omnifurgone.it
Source: omnifurgone.it Photo by Konstantin Yakubov
The cabin, equipped according to all the canons of the modern level of comfort, deserves special attention. The inhabitants of the Ural were thoroughly isolated from noise, the cabin was lengthened for greater comfort, a multimedia system, all-round cameras and air conditioning were built in. It turned out to be an excellent pleasure car for outdoor activities, hunting and fishing. Manufacturers claim that the super-Ural can also be used for commercial purposes. For example, to carry tourists in the mountains.
It is not known how quickly a five-seater truck worth 20 million rubles on mountain roads will pay off, but you can talk about the prospects for using Bars in the army. It should be noted that in the army "Urals" with twin cabs have long been used, including in armored versions. In particular, the video from Gostomel included several such vehicles. However, the power-to-weight ratio and mobility of this equipment cannot be compared with the potential of Ural TM Bars.
If we assume that the aggregate base can be replaced with domestic or at least Chinese components, then the car will have its own niche in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. For example, as a vehicle for units of the MTR and Airborne Forces, for which the mentioned Viking is too expensive, and the light Tiger is too cramped. In the realities of the special operation in Ukraine, a high-speed Ural with additional armor looks completely useful.
Source: omnifurgone.it Photo by Konstantin Yakubov
Recall once again that mobility is one of the important factors of survival, especially when the enemy is utterly saturated with guided weapons. The power-to-weight ratio of Bars is 2–2,5 times higher than that of the standard army Ural. The bonnet layout of the vehicle is also important, which dramatically increases the survival rate of the crew in the event of a mine explosion. By the way, by raising the cabin by 12 cm, the engineers increased mine resistance. A simple law works here (all other things being equal) - the higher above the ground, the less likely it is to die.
Although, of course, the interior of Bars does not work at all to reduce injuries. Here, at a minimum, chairs with ceiling mounts and solid armor with anti-fragmentation lining are required. The three-axle layout, coupled with all-wheel drive and a 600-650-horsepower engine, provides the machine with high traction on the hook. And this means that Bars is becoming a powerful artillery tractor for systems previously inaccessible to the classic Ural. And the tow truck from the Istra prototype will be excellent.
The point is this stories for small - to find a replacement for foreign units. It remains to be hoped that the revived domestic truck industry will be able to offer something similar in the coming years.
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