New Ukrainian armored vehicles: "technicals" and medical machine
The fighting near Lugansk and Donetsk increasingly resemble the wars of recent decades in the countries of Asia and Africa. Not having a developed defense industry, both parties to the conflict are forced to get along with existing weapons and equipment. Despite this, they are making various attempts to build armored vehicles based on the available vehicles. Last week, just two enterprises of the city of Nikolaev presented their new armored vehicles designed for the armed forces and law enforcement agencies of Ukraine. It turned out that one of the shown cars immediately became a subject of jokes, and the second one can be considered as a sufficiently good and promising development. However, both of these projects probably will not reach the stage of large-scale serial construction of equipment.
"Technical" based on UAZ-3303
On July 18, the Nikolaev Diesel-Repair Plant handed over two armored vehicles UAZ-3303 to the border troops of Ukraine. It is reported that two new cars will be operated by Lugansk frontier guards. Earlier, the border troops handed over two light trucks to the plant, which were to be equipped with armor protection. Director of the company Vyacheslav Simchenko during the transfer of equipment said that all work on the creation of armored vehicles lasted only a week. In this regard, the plant employees had to work overtime, but they did. All the work to finalize the machines the company carried out at its own expense.
According to the online publication “NikVesti”, in a week the workers of the Nikolaev Diesel Locomotive Repair Plant carried out repairs of the presented machines, replacing non-working units, set up a reservation, and also mounted a secure installation for weapons. It is noteworthy that the project of an improvised armored car based on the UAZ-3303 was created in close cooperation with the border guards. As the deputy chief of the Lugansk frontier detachment, lieutenant colonel Aleksandr Zavoloka, said, he told the engineers what the border guards needed, and they suggested ways to implement ideas.
photo from http://nikvesti.com
The basis for the two new armored cars was the light-duty truck UAZ-3303 — the further development of the UAZ-452D, popularly known as the “Tadpole”. These machines with a wheel formula 4х4 are equipped with HP 98 or 117 engines. (depending on version) and able to carry up to 1225 kg of cargo. UAZ-3303 trucks are positioned by the manufacturer as a relatively light vehicle designed for the carriage of goods in urban and off-road conditions. According to available data, the trucks presented for modernization and refinement until recently performed exactly such functions.
In view of the limited timeframe and modest possibilities, the engineers of the Nicholas Diesel Locomotive Repair Plant took the path of using a small number of new components and installing an additional curtain booking. So, the trucks saved the cab without any major modifications. To ensure the protection of the crew from small arms, the forehead and sides of the cabin were closed with original armor. As a frontal projection protection, an “armor” of an interesting construction is used. It consists of a large number of steel bars welded to each other.
The lower frontal part of the cabin is covered with a large booking “module” based on reinforcement, in which several holes are made. Four holes are made opposite the lights, and in the central part there is a grill for ventilation of the radiator. The lower part of the reservation, installed over the windshield, is fixed. On top of it on loops fasten two “armored seats” with relatively large viewing slits. Outside the battlefield, the crew may omit these booking elements to provide an acceptable overview. As can be seen in the available photos, the frontal booking of cars is installed on a metal structure mounted on the frame of the machine. The lower part of the frontal armor is attached to the frame by the lower edge, the upper one is fixed with the help of L-shaped structures installed behind the cab.
Instead of glazing, the cabin doors received "reinforcement booking modules". Metal frames are installed on the outer side of the doors, on which reinforcement bars are welded. For observation in the middle part of this armor there is a rectangular hole covered with a grid. However, much more interesting is booking the bottom of the door. Probably due to the lack of other materials, as well as due to weight restrictions, blocks of a complex profile are installed on the lower part of the doors, in which a metal coating for airfields can be easily guessed. The front wheels are similarly protected: under the doorways two more pieces of the airfield cover are fixed.
On the published photos from production it is clear that the armored trucks received new bodies. Instead of wooden side bodies with supports for an awning, the converted UAZ-3303 received a metal structure, which is a frame with sheet skin. On the sides of the body on hinges are fixed long sections of the airfield pavement, designed to protect the rear wheels, gas tank and running gear elements. The third element, made of metal coating, is fixed on the front wall of the metal body and, apparently, should protect the cabin from being fired from behind.
Armored UAZ-3303 will be able to carry small arms, perhaps even large-caliber. To install it in the back of a modified truck, a quadrilateral armored shield with a gunner’s workplace is placed. The shield is assembled from three relatively thick metal sheets and mounted on a rotating base. In the front sheet of the shield there is an embrasure and a system for installing weapons. In the side sheets made inspection slits. For convenience, the arrow at the shield has a seat mounted on a metal sheet. Perhaps the latter performs the functions of armorpinks. Using the seat suggests that the shield is equipped with any drives for turning.
The armored cars made on the basis of the UAZ-3303, made by the Nikolaev Diesel-Repair Plant, are of particular interest. However, this interest is not related to their fighting qualities, but to the applied technical solutions, which appeared in the conditions of lack of time, materials and experience in the development of armored vehicles. As a result, the first result of the publication of information about these armored cars became numerous monotonous offensive jokes about the machines and the authors of the project. Fans of military equipment did not fail to “walk” on the design of equipment, its protection and armament.
Indeed, the Nikolaev armored cars look, at least, strange and can hardly be considered an effective means of warfare. The load capacity of the base truck UAZ-3303 slightly exceeds 1,2 tons, and the established reservation seems to have hardly fit into this limit, which can affect the driving performance of the car. At the same time, the used reservation raises serious doubts. Admittedly, relatively thick sheets of shield (probably around 10-12 mm) can really protect the machine gunner from the enemy’s small arms. However, such armor is unlikely to be able to protect the shooter from armor-piercing bullets or large-caliber systems. The specific design of the tower, which does not protect the shooter from the sides, only increases the risks.
Separately, you should stay on booking the driver's cabin. “Armature” armor looks interesting and can really protect the car and crew from small arms. However, its real characteristics could only show shelling with the use of various weapons and ammunition. Even if such protection is capable of withstanding automatic bullets, shelling with the use of armor-piercing ammunition or large-caliber systems will not leave her any chance. Nevertheless, there is no real information about the capabilities of welded bars of reinforcement bars, since no such improvised protection has been tested by anyone before.
As for the pieces of the airfield cover, which are widely used in the design of new armored cars, the expediency of their use raises serious doubts. Such products were not originally designed to protect against bullets of small arms, and their rigidity, necessary for the application for its intended purpose, due to the complex profile. Therefore, the lower half of the cabin doors and the undercarriage of the cars are the most susceptible to damage.
Two UAZ-3303 trucks with reservation on them were transferred to the Lugansk detachment of the border troops of Ukraine. It was alleged that as early as July 19 this vehicle went to the base of the border guards and soon should take part in the so-called. anti-terrorist operation. Messages about the combat use of these machines have not yet been received. Probably the first battle with their participation will show how effective the original booking methods used were. In this case, it can be assumed that the combat effectiveness of Nikolaev armored cars is unlikely to be high. Despite the large number of improvised armor, they remain civilian vehicles with weapons installed on them, which should accordingly affect their capabilities.
In addition, the new armored cars of the Ukrainian border guards can be classified as so-called. technicals, widely spread during the local wars of the last decades. Such combat vehicles are relatively easy to manufacture and operate, but their effectiveness on the battlefield, for obvious reasons, leaves much to be desired. UAZ-3303 modified in Nikolaev are typical technicals, and therefore one should not expect outstanding results from them. In addition, it cannot be excluded that the production of such armored vehicles will be limited to two machines.
Medical vehicle based on the BTR-70
About a month ago, the Nikolaev Armored Plant presented a so-called. Mikolaєvets mobile checkpoint - a BRDM-2 machine that lost a large number of components and assemblies. This development has caused a specific public reaction and has become the object of many offensive jokes. Now the company is ready to transfer to the armed forces a more serious and necessary equipment: the Svyatiy Mikolai (Saint Nikolay) armored medical vehicle. So far there is only one sample of this machine, built by the Nikolaev Armored Plant on its own initiative and at its own expense.
The basis for the "St. Nicholas" became the armored personnel carrier BTR-70 of Soviet production. In this regard, the authors of the blog BMPD suggested the "origin" of the new machine. They remind that earlier the Nikolaev enterprise proposed the design of the medical armored vehicle BMM “Kovcheg”, made on the basis of the BTR-70. It is possible that the prototype of the Ark, built several years ago, received a new name and was again presented to the military and the public. Indeed, the Saint Nicholas car is very similar to the previously demonstrated prototype of the Ark BMM.
The machine “Svyatov Mikolai” is an armored personnel carrier BTR-70 with serious body modifications. To accommodate the wounded instead of the base roof of the troop compartment, a relatively high structure, welded from armor plates, was installed. There are four hatches on the front sheet of this superstructure, two more are provided on the roof. When reworking, the armored personnel carrier received a new double-winged side door, similar to that used on the newer BTR-80, located on the right side of the hull. On the left side there was a standard for the BTR-70 hatch in the bottom sheet.
Photos from the site http://www.niknews.mk.ua
Inside the armored hull there are several seats and attachments for installing a stretcher. According to the online edition "Nikolaev news", The armored medical vehicle of the Relief Mikolaj can carry up to 11 lightly wounded (sitting) or six seriously wounded (lying) and three able to sit. In the third configuration, the transportation of four wounded on a stretcher, three sitting and several people of staff is provided. In addition to places to accommodate the wounded, the machine is equipped with a number of special equipment. According to the director of the Nikolaev armored factory, Alexander Shvets, if necessary, you can even carry out operations in a car.
According to published data, the medical armored vehicle "Saint Nicholas" can be produced in two basic versions, differing from each other in the type of engine used and the cost. A car with a gasoline engine will cost the customer about one million hryvnia, with a diesel engine - almost 2 million. Completion of both options is similar, and the difference in price is due only to the power plant used. The “origin” of the project of a new medical machine (using the BTR-70 armored personnel carrier as the basis) suggests that a medical machine worth 1 million hryvnia retains the basic power unit based on two ZMZ-4905 gasoline engines of 120 hp.
The specialists of the manufacturer claim that the armored medical machine “Svyatiy Mikolai” surpasses all the best world analogues in its characteristics and capabilities, and is also relatively inexpensive. The advantage of the car is called the preservation of characteristics at the level of the base armored personnel carrier when traveling by land and by water.
According to "Nikolaev news", the plant is able to build up to ten new-type machines per month. Currently, there is a discussion of possible purchases of such equipment for the needs of the armed forces. As for the first prototype, it may soon be sent to the zone of the “anti-terrorist operation”. Sending a car to the troops will contribute to the authorities of the Nikolaev region, as described by Governor Nikolai Romanchuk.
Unlike the previous development of the Nikolaev Armored Plant, the recently introduced Svetiy Mikolai armored medical vehicle is a really important and necessary equipment for the troops. In the course of the "anti-terrorist operation," the armed forces and the National Guard constantly suffer losses. Every day a large number of soldiers are injured and should receive assistance. For the evacuation of the wounded from the battlefield at the present time, various equipment available to the Ukrainian military and security forces is used, but it is not adapted to perform such tasks. The machine "Saint Nicholas", in turn, was originally created as an armored means of evacuation and assistance to the wounded. The appearance of such machines could have a noticeable effect on the loss of troops and the National Guard.
The first "Svjate Mikolaj" should go to the troops as soon as possible. However, there is reason to believe that this machine will not be able to seriously affect the medical aspects of the so-called. anti-terrorist operation. Battles take place in several districts of the two unrecognized republics, which is why a large amount of equipment is required to evacuate the wounded. One car just can not cope with this task, and therefore will only help existing vehicles and armored personnel carriers. It should be noted, the plant promises to produce up to 10 medical machines per month, but such a pace of construction can hardly be considered real. To start the mass production of technology requires an order of the Ministry of Defense or the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as well as payment for work. Due to the difficult economic situation, the military or security forces are not likely to be able to find money for new medical equipment. In addition, production takes time to deploy, and the situation in war zones is constantly changing.
Thus, the project is really important and necessary equipment for the troops in the near future will face problems of an economic nature and will not lead to any noticeable result. As a result, the units involved in the “anti-terrorist operation” will have to continue to use equipment not adapted for this purpose to evacuate the wounded.
On the materials of the sites:
http://nikvesti.com/
http://niknews.mk.ua/
http://bmpd.livejournal.com/
http://uaz.ru/
"Technical" based on UAZ-3303
On July 18, the Nikolaev Diesel-Repair Plant handed over two armored vehicles UAZ-3303 to the border troops of Ukraine. It is reported that two new cars will be operated by Lugansk frontier guards. Earlier, the border troops handed over two light trucks to the plant, which were to be equipped with armor protection. Director of the company Vyacheslav Simchenko during the transfer of equipment said that all work on the creation of armored vehicles lasted only a week. In this regard, the plant employees had to work overtime, but they did. All the work to finalize the machines the company carried out at its own expense.
According to the online publication “NikVesti”, in a week the workers of the Nikolaev Diesel Locomotive Repair Plant carried out repairs of the presented machines, replacing non-working units, set up a reservation, and also mounted a secure installation for weapons. It is noteworthy that the project of an improvised armored car based on the UAZ-3303 was created in close cooperation with the border guards. As the deputy chief of the Lugansk frontier detachment, lieutenant colonel Aleksandr Zavoloka, said, he told the engineers what the border guards needed, and they suggested ways to implement ideas.
photo from http://nikvesti.com
The basis for the two new armored cars was the light-duty truck UAZ-3303 — the further development of the UAZ-452D, popularly known as the “Tadpole”. These machines with a wheel formula 4х4 are equipped with HP 98 or 117 engines. (depending on version) and able to carry up to 1225 kg of cargo. UAZ-3303 trucks are positioned by the manufacturer as a relatively light vehicle designed for the carriage of goods in urban and off-road conditions. According to available data, the trucks presented for modernization and refinement until recently performed exactly such functions.
In view of the limited timeframe and modest possibilities, the engineers of the Nicholas Diesel Locomotive Repair Plant took the path of using a small number of new components and installing an additional curtain booking. So, the trucks saved the cab without any major modifications. To ensure the protection of the crew from small arms, the forehead and sides of the cabin were closed with original armor. As a frontal projection protection, an “armor” of an interesting construction is used. It consists of a large number of steel bars welded to each other.
The lower frontal part of the cabin is covered with a large booking “module” based on reinforcement, in which several holes are made. Four holes are made opposite the lights, and in the central part there is a grill for ventilation of the radiator. The lower part of the reservation, installed over the windshield, is fixed. On top of it on loops fasten two “armored seats” with relatively large viewing slits. Outside the battlefield, the crew may omit these booking elements to provide an acceptable overview. As can be seen in the available photos, the frontal booking of cars is installed on a metal structure mounted on the frame of the machine. The lower part of the frontal armor is attached to the frame by the lower edge, the upper one is fixed with the help of L-shaped structures installed behind the cab.
Instead of glazing, the cabin doors received "reinforcement booking modules". Metal frames are installed on the outer side of the doors, on which reinforcement bars are welded. For observation in the middle part of this armor there is a rectangular hole covered with a grid. However, much more interesting is booking the bottom of the door. Probably due to the lack of other materials, as well as due to weight restrictions, blocks of a complex profile are installed on the lower part of the doors, in which a metal coating for airfields can be easily guessed. The front wheels are similarly protected: under the doorways two more pieces of the airfield cover are fixed.
On the published photos from production it is clear that the armored trucks received new bodies. Instead of wooden side bodies with supports for an awning, the converted UAZ-3303 received a metal structure, which is a frame with sheet skin. On the sides of the body on hinges are fixed long sections of the airfield pavement, designed to protect the rear wheels, gas tank and running gear elements. The third element, made of metal coating, is fixed on the front wall of the metal body and, apparently, should protect the cabin from being fired from behind.
Armored UAZ-3303 will be able to carry small arms, perhaps even large-caliber. To install it in the back of a modified truck, a quadrilateral armored shield with a gunner’s workplace is placed. The shield is assembled from three relatively thick metal sheets and mounted on a rotating base. In the front sheet of the shield there is an embrasure and a system for installing weapons. In the side sheets made inspection slits. For convenience, the arrow at the shield has a seat mounted on a metal sheet. Perhaps the latter performs the functions of armorpinks. Using the seat suggests that the shield is equipped with any drives for turning.
The armored cars made on the basis of the UAZ-3303, made by the Nikolaev Diesel-Repair Plant, are of particular interest. However, this interest is not related to their fighting qualities, but to the applied technical solutions, which appeared in the conditions of lack of time, materials and experience in the development of armored vehicles. As a result, the first result of the publication of information about these armored cars became numerous monotonous offensive jokes about the machines and the authors of the project. Fans of military equipment did not fail to “walk” on the design of equipment, its protection and armament.
Indeed, the Nikolaev armored cars look, at least, strange and can hardly be considered an effective means of warfare. The load capacity of the base truck UAZ-3303 slightly exceeds 1,2 tons, and the established reservation seems to have hardly fit into this limit, which can affect the driving performance of the car. At the same time, the used reservation raises serious doubts. Admittedly, relatively thick sheets of shield (probably around 10-12 mm) can really protect the machine gunner from the enemy’s small arms. However, such armor is unlikely to be able to protect the shooter from armor-piercing bullets or large-caliber systems. The specific design of the tower, which does not protect the shooter from the sides, only increases the risks.
Separately, you should stay on booking the driver's cabin. “Armature” armor looks interesting and can really protect the car and crew from small arms. However, its real characteristics could only show shelling with the use of various weapons and ammunition. Even if such protection is capable of withstanding automatic bullets, shelling with the use of armor-piercing ammunition or large-caliber systems will not leave her any chance. Nevertheless, there is no real information about the capabilities of welded bars of reinforcement bars, since no such improvised protection has been tested by anyone before.
As for the pieces of the airfield cover, which are widely used in the design of new armored cars, the expediency of their use raises serious doubts. Such products were not originally designed to protect against bullets of small arms, and their rigidity, necessary for the application for its intended purpose, due to the complex profile. Therefore, the lower half of the cabin doors and the undercarriage of the cars are the most susceptible to damage.
Two UAZ-3303 trucks with reservation on them were transferred to the Lugansk detachment of the border troops of Ukraine. It was alleged that as early as July 19 this vehicle went to the base of the border guards and soon should take part in the so-called. anti-terrorist operation. Messages about the combat use of these machines have not yet been received. Probably the first battle with their participation will show how effective the original booking methods used were. In this case, it can be assumed that the combat effectiveness of Nikolaev armored cars is unlikely to be high. Despite the large number of improvised armor, they remain civilian vehicles with weapons installed on them, which should accordingly affect their capabilities.
In addition, the new armored cars of the Ukrainian border guards can be classified as so-called. technicals, widely spread during the local wars of the last decades. Such combat vehicles are relatively easy to manufacture and operate, but their effectiveness on the battlefield, for obvious reasons, leaves much to be desired. UAZ-3303 modified in Nikolaev are typical technicals, and therefore one should not expect outstanding results from them. In addition, it cannot be excluded that the production of such armored vehicles will be limited to two machines.
Medical vehicle based on the BTR-70
About a month ago, the Nikolaev Armored Plant presented a so-called. Mikolaєvets mobile checkpoint - a BRDM-2 machine that lost a large number of components and assemblies. This development has caused a specific public reaction and has become the object of many offensive jokes. Now the company is ready to transfer to the armed forces a more serious and necessary equipment: the Svyatiy Mikolai (Saint Nikolay) armored medical vehicle. So far there is only one sample of this machine, built by the Nikolaev Armored Plant on its own initiative and at its own expense.
The basis for the "St. Nicholas" became the armored personnel carrier BTR-70 of Soviet production. In this regard, the authors of the blog BMPD suggested the "origin" of the new machine. They remind that earlier the Nikolaev enterprise proposed the design of the medical armored vehicle BMM “Kovcheg”, made on the basis of the BTR-70. It is possible that the prototype of the Ark, built several years ago, received a new name and was again presented to the military and the public. Indeed, the Saint Nicholas car is very similar to the previously demonstrated prototype of the Ark BMM.
The machine “Svyatov Mikolai” is an armored personnel carrier BTR-70 with serious body modifications. To accommodate the wounded instead of the base roof of the troop compartment, a relatively high structure, welded from armor plates, was installed. There are four hatches on the front sheet of this superstructure, two more are provided on the roof. When reworking, the armored personnel carrier received a new double-winged side door, similar to that used on the newer BTR-80, located on the right side of the hull. On the left side there was a standard for the BTR-70 hatch in the bottom sheet.
Photos from the site http://www.niknews.mk.ua
Inside the armored hull there are several seats and attachments for installing a stretcher. According to the online edition "Nikolaev news", The armored medical vehicle of the Relief Mikolaj can carry up to 11 lightly wounded (sitting) or six seriously wounded (lying) and three able to sit. In the third configuration, the transportation of four wounded on a stretcher, three sitting and several people of staff is provided. In addition to places to accommodate the wounded, the machine is equipped with a number of special equipment. According to the director of the Nikolaev armored factory, Alexander Shvets, if necessary, you can even carry out operations in a car.
According to published data, the medical armored vehicle "Saint Nicholas" can be produced in two basic versions, differing from each other in the type of engine used and the cost. A car with a gasoline engine will cost the customer about one million hryvnia, with a diesel engine - almost 2 million. Completion of both options is similar, and the difference in price is due only to the power plant used. The “origin” of the project of a new medical machine (using the BTR-70 armored personnel carrier as the basis) suggests that a medical machine worth 1 million hryvnia retains the basic power unit based on two ZMZ-4905 gasoline engines of 120 hp.
The specialists of the manufacturer claim that the armored medical machine “Svyatiy Mikolai” surpasses all the best world analogues in its characteristics and capabilities, and is also relatively inexpensive. The advantage of the car is called the preservation of characteristics at the level of the base armored personnel carrier when traveling by land and by water.
According to "Nikolaev news", the plant is able to build up to ten new-type machines per month. Currently, there is a discussion of possible purchases of such equipment for the needs of the armed forces. As for the first prototype, it may soon be sent to the zone of the “anti-terrorist operation”. Sending a car to the troops will contribute to the authorities of the Nikolaev region, as described by Governor Nikolai Romanchuk.
Unlike the previous development of the Nikolaev Armored Plant, the recently introduced Svetiy Mikolai armored medical vehicle is a really important and necessary equipment for the troops. In the course of the "anti-terrorist operation," the armed forces and the National Guard constantly suffer losses. Every day a large number of soldiers are injured and should receive assistance. For the evacuation of the wounded from the battlefield at the present time, various equipment available to the Ukrainian military and security forces is used, but it is not adapted to perform such tasks. The machine "Saint Nicholas", in turn, was originally created as an armored means of evacuation and assistance to the wounded. The appearance of such machines could have a noticeable effect on the loss of troops and the National Guard.
The first "Svjate Mikolaj" should go to the troops as soon as possible. However, there is reason to believe that this machine will not be able to seriously affect the medical aspects of the so-called. anti-terrorist operation. Battles take place in several districts of the two unrecognized republics, which is why a large amount of equipment is required to evacuate the wounded. One car just can not cope with this task, and therefore will only help existing vehicles and armored personnel carriers. It should be noted, the plant promises to produce up to 10 medical machines per month, but such a pace of construction can hardly be considered real. To start the mass production of technology requires an order of the Ministry of Defense or the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as well as payment for work. Due to the difficult economic situation, the military or security forces are not likely to be able to find money for new medical equipment. In addition, production takes time to deploy, and the situation in war zones is constantly changing.
Thus, the project is really important and necessary equipment for the troops in the near future will face problems of an economic nature and will not lead to any noticeable result. As a result, the units involved in the “anti-terrorist operation” will have to continue to use equipment not adapted for this purpose to evacuate the wounded.
On the materials of the sites:
http://nikvesti.com/
http://niknews.mk.ua/
http://bmpd.livejournal.com/
http://uaz.ru/
Information