Armored car Z-STS "Akhmat": quick and easy
Recently, the Russian defense industry has developed and brought to production a new armored car called the Z-STS. The first batches of such equipment have already been manufactured, handed over to customers and put into operation. At the same time, work on a new project took a minimum of time. Only a few months passed from receiving an order for development to shipping the first production machines.
Accelerated Project
The development of the new armored car Z-STS ("Protected Special Vehicle") was carried out by the Remdizel plant from the city of Naberezhnye Chelny. He has extensive experience in the creation and production of modern armored vehicles, which was used in the new project. The armored car was created by order of one of the power structures from Chechnya. In this regard, the finished sample received the unofficial name "Akhmat".
Reportedly, the order for the development of the future Z-STS was received this spring, shortly after the start of the Special Operations in Ukraine. The Chechen security forces wanted to get an armored car that was easy to manufacture and operate, with the ability to transport personnel and various cargoes, as well as with weapons for self-defense and fire support.
The project development activities took only 25 days. Already in early May, Remdiesel manufactured and handed over to the customer the first armored vehicles of a new type. On May 9 they were shown at the parade in Grozny. Then the equipment went to the zone of the Special Operation, where it was placed at the disposal of the special forces. In fact, the armored cars had to be tested immediately in real combat conditions.
On July 22, the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, announced that a new batch of armored cars had been purchased for the needs of the army. Two dozen Z-STS vehicles were shipped by the manufacturer and were already in Grozny. In the near future, they were planned to be sent to the operation zone.
A new type of armored car was shown at the recent Army-2022 forum. Together with other samples from Remdiesel, he was present at the open exhibition area. Visitors to the exhibition could inspect the car both outside and inside. In addition, during the forum, the developer disclosed interesting information about the new project, incl. his brief history and basic technical data.
So, it is reported that Remdizel has already manufactured and transferred a significant number of armored cars to the troops. In addition, production figures are growing. Its volumes have recently increased five times. This allows you to quickly fulfill orders and transfer the required equipment to the army and law enforcement agencies.
Simplification course
Over the past few years, the Remdiesel plant has been producing armored vehicles of the Typhoon family. This technique has high tactical and technical characteristics and is actively used by the army and law enforcement agencies. However, the price of high performance and potential is a certain complexity of design and the corresponding complexity of production. All this affects the cost of finished samples.
The goal of the XNUMX-STS project was to achieve all the required characteristics using simple solutions. Due to this, it was planned to speed up the development and preparation of production, as well as simplify the production of serial equipment and reduce its final cost. As reported, all these tasks were successfully solved.
The new armored car was made on a serial truck chassis with suitable mobility and payload characteristics. No significant changes were made to its design. The armored body was made in the form of a module mounted directly on the chassis frame. The carrier circuit of the hull was abandoned due to excessive labor intensity. At the same time, it was possible to provide the necessary composition of devices.
The resulting armored car meets the requirements of the customer. In terms of tactical, technical and operational parameters, it may be inferior to the Tafuns or other developments of this kind. However, due to reasonable compromises, it was possible to reduce the cost of the machine, as well as speed up its production by 7-10 times.
Technical features
Z-STS "Akhmat" is made on a three-axle all-wheel drive chassis "KamAZ-5350". It has high mobility and cross-country characteristics, and besides, it does not differ in the complexity of operation. It is curious that the armored car, unlike the base truck, is built according to the bonnet scheme. This made it possible to move the crew seats back and increase their safety. This idea was previously used to create the Patrol armored car.
The body of the vehicle is made of rolled armor and has bulletproof glass. Probably, some design elements were borrowed from serial armored cars. The level of protection of the case is declared as "very high", without disclosing specific indicators. The type of design suggests protection against rifle bullets, possibly armor-piercing, and fragments with equivalent energy. The presence of specialized mine protection is not reported.
The crew and troops are accommodated in the total habitable volume of the hull. Four places, incl. driver's seat, installed in two rows "in a car." Another six seats are placed in the aft compartment, along the sides. Access to the inside of the armored car is provided by two pairs of side doors and a stern hinged door. Due to the high height of the chassis, steps have been used.
Z-STS can carry weapons. For its installation in the roof there is a hatch with a turret for a machine gun or other weapons. Part of the serial armored cars received turret armor shields. Probably, there is a fundamental possibility of installing other devices, up to full-fledged combat modules.
Quickly and efficiently
The Z-STS armored car can already be recognized as one of the most interesting modern domestic developments in this area. First of all, the timing of the creation of the project and ways to speed up the design are of interest. Only a few months passed from the order and technical specifications to the delivery of dozens of cars.
Development was accelerated by maximizing the use of off-the-shelf components and accumulated experience. So, instead of individual units, a ready-made chassis was used, and the hull was built using previously mastered solutions. The resulting machine shows the required characteristics, but is quite simple to manufacture.
It is curious that the project is based on several compromises, but the designers managed to get rid of their negative impact. Thus, the rejection of the supporting body and the use of a frame chassis worsens the weight qualities of the structure and reduces the load capacity. However, the correct choice of the base car ensured that the performance remained at an acceptable level.
The frame chassis increases the overall height of the machine, and also makes it difficult to access the body. These problems were solved due to the correct design of the body and the developed steps under all doors. From the point of view of ergonomics, the new Akhmat practically does not differ from other armored vehicles of this kind.
It should be noted that the Z-STS project has shown the most important ability of our industry. It is capable of not only carrying out a full cycle of development of armored vehicles with all the necessary measures. If necessary, enterprises can use the accumulated experience and available units to quickly create a new "mobilization" sample.
An armored car of this kind can be a good addition to other equipment that has gone through all the necessary stages. At the same time, Z-STS will not be able to fully replace Typhoons or other vehicles. This is hindered by differences in design and characteristics, incl. associated with the compromise nature of the project, as well as a number of other factors.
However, superiority over other vehicles is not required from such an armored car. The main requirement for it is the possibility of rapid and mass production, so that combat units can get the desired armored vehicles in the shortest possible time, and with it the corresponding combat and operational capabilities.
Fast novelty
Thus, the creators of the Z-STS project from the Remdiesel plant set a real record. Just six months ago, they received a technical assignment, and since then they have developed an armored car, brought it to production, and then delivered dozens of units of such equipment to the customer. Showing the unique for today's pace of work.
Thanks to the efforts of Remdiesel, several units of the army and law enforcement agencies have already received new armored vehicles with a high level of protection and the possibility of fire support. Production will continue, and with the help of such technology, the industry will close part of the army's needs for protected vehicles. And this process will obviously affect the capabilities of the units, as well as help achieve the goals of the current Special Operation.
- Ryabov Kirill
- Vitalykuzmin.net, Telegram / Kadyrov_95
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