Tanks of a reptile
For counter-partisan operations need special armored vehicles
After the end of the Second World War, the most common type of hostilities on the planet became a bit of a riot. This phenomenon was comprehended and described by the outstanding military theorist of the Russian diaspora, Yevgeny Messner, back in the 60s of the last century, but until the beginning of the new, XXI centuries, the armies of the leading states of the world continued to prepare for large-scale battles of the 1941-1945 type. And therefore, they were equipped with military equipment, primarily armored, designed mainly for large combined arms operations. But the troops involved in the counter-partisan and counter-terrorism tasks, on this technique had to participate completely in other battles. Vietnam for the USA and Afghanistan for the USSR, it seems, clearly demonstrated that armies need fundamentally new armored vehicles. However, they began to enter into service, for example, American units and units only during the second campaign in Iraq. Unfortunately, the Russian military personnel has machines with a high level of mine protection, and so far no.
According to statistics, the losses of the US Army, suffered as a result of mine explosions and ambush attacks, did not exceed five percent during the Second World War and the Korean War. In Vietnam, this figure increased by more than six times (to 33%). And in the 2007 year, when the program of mass purchases of vehicles with a high level of mine protection (MRAP) started, 63% of American soldiers and officers killed during the hostilities in Iraq
died as a result of explosions on improvised explosive devices.
DECISION CHECKED BY TIME
Meanwhile, the first attack on the US Army convoy in Iraq took place on the third day of the war, March 23, 2003. Then, on the outskirts of An Nasiriyah, Iraqis attacked a convoy of 18 507 machines of a repair company. These were the M5 923-ton transport trucks and their modifications: the M931 truck tractor, the M936 truck, the fuel truck, the HEMTT tractor, the failed M931, and three HMMWV. None of the cars had armor. In addition, the attacked Americans had only one unit of heavy weapons - the 12,7-mm machine gun, which refused to attempt to open fire from it. That is, repairmen could only fight off from personal weapons - М16 automatic rifles and М249 light machine guns. Such negligence in the organization of the posting of this column was costly: during the battle of 33, the servicemen who were on the convoy, 11 died, 9 were injured, 7 were captured.
A standard retaliatory move followed. In August, six armed Gantrac trucks were built in the 253 transport company. Their design turned out to be traditional, tested in Vietnam: a box of steel sheets about 10 mm thick and sandbags (in a dry climate this is a more or less acceptable solution). Armament - 12,7-mm machine gun in the cockpit hatch, another similar machine gun or 40-mm automatic grenade launcher MK19 - in the body. The crew consisted of five volunteer servicemen of the 253 Company.
During the Vietnam War, faced with the need to defend transport convoys, the Americans began to arm ordinary trucks with machine guns, reinforcing the sides with an improvised defense. At first it was just sandbags, then armored steel sheets, sometimes in the form of spaced armor. And the body of the M113 armored personnel carrier can be considered the most "cool" means of fighting Viet Cong ambushes.
Exactly on the same path, the Americans had to go to the initial period of Operation Freedom to Iraq. Since the construction of gantraks in transport units was carried out from regular vehicles, that is, they, like in Vietnam, have to be torn off from the performance of regular tasks for the supply of troops, less valuable copies were used. In the photos you can see the gantracks, built on the basis of dump trucks and even truck tractors. Quite a few gantracks were created on the chassis of unarmored versions of the HMMWV.
However, if armed trucks were able to more or less successfully counteract the militants who were shooting at a convoy from an ambush, their crews were in no way protected from being detonated on an improvised explosive device. Therefore, already by 2007, a massive program of purchasing high-mine-protected vehicles (MRAP) was launched.
MRAP, designed to patrol, escort transport convoys and transfer personnel in a guerrilla warfare, became one of the most popular models of armored vehicles for the US Armed Forces after 1945. In just three years in the interests of the army, fleet, the Marine Corps and Special Operations Forces purchased about 17,5 thousand such armored combat vehicles worth over $ 26 billion. For comparison: the most massive American main battle tank M60 was produced in the amount of 15 thousand copies (and exported to more than 20 countries). Tanks M1 Abrams released about 9 thousand. Currently, the US Army has 10 thousand armored personnel carriers M113 and M2 Bradley (in fairness it should be noted that since 1960 more than 80 thousand copies of the M113 have been manufactured).
AFRICAN INHERITANCE
However, the true homeland of machines with enhanced mine protection is Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) - already a half-forgotten state in Africa, where power belonged to the descendants of European colonizers. For many years there was a fierce guerrilla war. This small country with limited human resources, willy-nilly, had to save the lives of its own soldiers.
Initially, in Rhodesia, they tried using artisanal methods to increase the resistance of Lend Rover SUVs to explosions, but it quickly turned out that modifying a standard car was a way to a dead end. It is necessary to create a special BBM using serial units and aggregates. Methods to reduce the damaging effect of anti-tank mines and improvised land mines generally were clear. Here are the main features of the device armored personnel carrier with enhanced mine protection:
- V-shaped bottom of the armored hull, the maximum possible lifting of it above the road - these measures allowed to reduce the impact and take the energy of the blast wave from the body;
- the maximum possible distance from the armored hull of massive components of the structure, which, when undermined, themselves become the damaging elements: engine, transmission, suspension;
- full or partial use of the chassis of serial commercial trucks, which reduces the total cost of vehicles and the cost of their operation.
After the victory of the black majority in Rhodesia, the development of vehicles with enhanced mine protection took over South Africa, forced to wage a long border war. A peculiar step in the implementation of the MRAP concept was the appearance of the Buffel machine in 1978, the design of which very organically included the entire Rhodesian and South African experience in creating and using armored vehicles resistant to undermining. The next step is the development of the Mamba machine in 1995. Its more advanced version of the RG-31 Nyala is used in the 8 countries of the world, and the 1385 of the RG-31 machines came into service with the US Marine Corps. Further development of BBM of this series - RG-33 The Pentagon ordered 1735 copies in number.
In the US Armed Forces, currently, depending on weight and size, there are three categories of MRAP-type vehicles. BBM category I - the most compact. They are intended for patrols in the conditions of the city. Category II - heavier vehicles, suitable for escorting convoys, transporting personnel, transporting the wounded, and using them as engineering vehicles. A comparatively small category III is represented by Buffalo armored personnel carriers specifically designed for demining the territory. They are equipped with a 9-meter manipulator for the remote disposal of explosive devices.
In the US Armed Forces, the International MaxxPro and Cougar machines became the most common types of BBM MRAPs. MaxxPro were ordered by the US armed forces in the number of 6444 units, Cougar in various versions - 2510.
Cougar is presented in biaxial and triaxial versions. In addition to the crew of two people, the Cougar 4х4 can carry 6 people, in the version 6х6 - 10. The machine was developed in South Africa, its production in the United States are engaged in the company Force Protection Inc (case) and Spartan Motors (chassis). Cougar has a monocoque body, a Caterpillar engine, Allison ACCP, and Marmon-Herrington solid axles. She is armed with a remote-controlled turret with a 12,7-mm machine gun or 40-mm automatic grenade launcher. A standard reservation provides protection for people inside from being fired by 7.62x51 mm NATO cartridges from a distance of 5-10 meters and when a charge equivalent to 13,5 kg of trotyl under one of the wheels and 6,7 kg is undermined by a body. Additionally, it is possible to mount active armor and lattice screens for protection from anti-tank grenade launchers.
International MaxxPro also comes in two versions, both with capacity for an 6-8 person. The dimensions and number of axles of the machine are exactly the same, the only difference is in the engine. Just MaxxPro has a motor power 330 l. s., and the MaxxPro Plus diesel issues 375 l. with. Accordingly, the basic load carrying capacity is 1,6 tons, and for MaxxPro Plus, 3,8 tons. Given that both armored vehicles can carry the same number of paratroopers (4-6 people), the increase in power of the MaxxPro Plus allows either to achieve greater mobility of the vehicle, or to increase its security by adding additional elements. MaxxPro is built according to the traditional pattern: an armored capsule is mounted on the chassis of a commercial truck with a conventional ladder frame and continuous bridges that have a spring suspension.
The use of machines such as MRAP allowed dramatically, by almost 90, to reduce losses from explosions. According to official data from the US DoD, in Iraq 2008 in May 11 military personnel died as a result of landmine blasts, while in May 2007 in the same conditions 92 American soldiers were killed. However, the headache for Pentagon officials has not diminished. It turned out that the decisions that proved to be fully justified in Iraq work poorly in Afghanistan, where the activity of the American army has recently shifted.
AFGHAN REALS
Unlike Iraq, where the MRAP moved along roads and desert terrain, in Afghanistan they had to operate in the mountains, in narrow gorges and in conditions of almost complete lack of roads. Here, heavy vehicles with a high center of gravity, which means they are prone to tipping, are not able to drive fast. Consequently, the risk of injury increases in case of an ambush. In addition, the Afghan guerrillas have developed their tactics to combat MRAP, which is not slow to affect the statistics of losses.
The first step to overcome the current situation was to create a slightly lighter version of the MRAP. In September 2008, the company Navistar received an order for the development and construction of a more compact, lightweight and mobile version of the MaxxPro, specifically designed for Afghanistan. The new machine is called MaxxPro Dash. It is shorter on the 20 than the base version, and nearly two tons lighter. The crew remained the same: the driver, the commander and the gunner, and the landing was reduced to four people. Good mobility is ensured by the engine power 375 l. with. The contract for the creation and production of 822 BBM MaxxPro Dash cost 752 million dollars and was completed by February 2009.
However, the release of MaxxPro Dash turned out to be no more than a half-measure, designed as soon as possible to construct a sample suitable for operations in Afghan conditions. Not stopping there, the Pentagon announced a competition to develop second-generation MRAP armored vehicles. Its winner in June 2009 was Oshkosh, which introduced the M-ATV.
This BBM, providing the same level of crew and landing protection as the first generation MRAP, is more compact and adapted for traveling over rough terrain. M-ATV has a curb weight of 11,3 tons (MaxxPro Dash weighs almost 15 tons, and MaxxPro Plus - more than 17,6 tons), equipped with a Caterpillar C7 engine with a capacity of 370 l. with. and automatic transmission, independent suspension type TAK-4 (a unique development of the company Oshkosh).
The centralized wheel inflation system allows the machine to maintain mobility when the tires are damaged. According to the developers, M-ATV is able to continue to move for at least a kilometer in the event of combat damage to the engine lubrication and cooling systems. The M-ATV accommodates the 5 man, including the driver and the shooter. It is equipped with a universal turret, on which machine guns of various types can be mounted, an 40-mm automatic grenade launcher or TOW anti-tank systems. Depending on the situation, the fire is conducted either manually or remotely.
To reduce logistics costs, the Pentagon chose M-ATV as the only type of BBM with a high level of second-generation mine protection, since the motley fleet of the first MRAP caused certain difficulties in repair and maintenance. As of February 2010, the total volume of orders for M-ATV exceeded 8 by thousands of units.
After the end of the Second World War, the most common type of hostilities on the planet became a bit of a riot. This phenomenon was comprehended and described by the outstanding military theorist of the Russian diaspora, Yevgeny Messner, back in the 60s of the last century, but until the beginning of the new, XXI centuries, the armies of the leading states of the world continued to prepare for large-scale battles of the 1941-1945 type. And therefore, they were equipped with military equipment, primarily armored, designed mainly for large combined arms operations. But the troops involved in the counter-partisan and counter-terrorism tasks, on this technique had to participate completely in other battles. Vietnam for the USA and Afghanistan for the USSR, it seems, clearly demonstrated that armies need fundamentally new armored vehicles. However, they began to enter into service, for example, American units and units only during the second campaign in Iraq. Unfortunately, the Russian military personnel has machines with a high level of mine protection, and so far no.
According to statistics, the losses of the US Army, suffered as a result of mine explosions and ambush attacks, did not exceed five percent during the Second World War and the Korean War. In Vietnam, this figure increased by more than six times (to 33%). And in the 2007 year, when the program of mass purchases of vehicles with a high level of mine protection (MRAP) started, 63% of American soldiers and officers killed during the hostilities in Iraq
died as a result of explosions on improvised explosive devices.
DECISION CHECKED BY TIME
Meanwhile, the first attack on the US Army convoy in Iraq took place on the third day of the war, March 23, 2003. Then, on the outskirts of An Nasiriyah, Iraqis attacked a convoy of 18 507 machines of a repair company. These were the M5 923-ton transport trucks and their modifications: the M931 truck tractor, the M936 truck, the fuel truck, the HEMTT tractor, the failed M931, and three HMMWV. None of the cars had armor. In addition, the attacked Americans had only one unit of heavy weapons - the 12,7-mm machine gun, which refused to attempt to open fire from it. That is, repairmen could only fight off from personal weapons - М16 automatic rifles and М249 light machine guns. Such negligence in the organization of the posting of this column was costly: during the battle of 33, the servicemen who were on the convoy, 11 died, 9 were injured, 7 were captured.
A standard retaliatory move followed. In August, six armed Gantrac trucks were built in the 253 transport company. Their design turned out to be traditional, tested in Vietnam: a box of steel sheets about 10 mm thick and sandbags (in a dry climate this is a more or less acceptable solution). Armament - 12,7-mm machine gun in the cockpit hatch, another similar machine gun or 40-mm automatic grenade launcher MK19 - in the body. The crew consisted of five volunteer servicemen of the 253 Company.
During the Vietnam War, faced with the need to defend transport convoys, the Americans began to arm ordinary trucks with machine guns, reinforcing the sides with an improvised defense. At first it was just sandbags, then armored steel sheets, sometimes in the form of spaced armor. And the body of the M113 armored personnel carrier can be considered the most "cool" means of fighting Viet Cong ambushes.
Exactly on the same path, the Americans had to go to the initial period of Operation Freedom to Iraq. Since the construction of gantraks in transport units was carried out from regular vehicles, that is, they, like in Vietnam, have to be torn off from the performance of regular tasks for the supply of troops, less valuable copies were used. In the photos you can see the gantracks, built on the basis of dump trucks and even truck tractors. Quite a few gantracks were created on the chassis of unarmored versions of the HMMWV.
However, if armed trucks were able to more or less successfully counteract the militants who were shooting at a convoy from an ambush, their crews were in no way protected from being detonated on an improvised explosive device. Therefore, already by 2007, a massive program of purchasing high-mine-protected vehicles (MRAP) was launched.
MRAP, designed to patrol, escort transport convoys and transfer personnel in a guerrilla warfare, became one of the most popular models of armored vehicles for the US Armed Forces after 1945. In just three years in the interests of the army, fleet, the Marine Corps and Special Operations Forces purchased about 17,5 thousand such armored combat vehicles worth over $ 26 billion. For comparison: the most massive American main battle tank M60 was produced in the amount of 15 thousand copies (and exported to more than 20 countries). Tanks M1 Abrams released about 9 thousand. Currently, the US Army has 10 thousand armored personnel carriers M113 and M2 Bradley (in fairness it should be noted that since 1960 more than 80 thousand copies of the M113 have been manufactured).
AFRICAN INHERITANCE
However, the true homeland of machines with enhanced mine protection is Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) - already a half-forgotten state in Africa, where power belonged to the descendants of European colonizers. For many years there was a fierce guerrilla war. This small country with limited human resources, willy-nilly, had to save the lives of its own soldiers.
Initially, in Rhodesia, they tried using artisanal methods to increase the resistance of Lend Rover SUVs to explosions, but it quickly turned out that modifying a standard car was a way to a dead end. It is necessary to create a special BBM using serial units and aggregates. Methods to reduce the damaging effect of anti-tank mines and improvised land mines generally were clear. Here are the main features of the device armored personnel carrier with enhanced mine protection:
- V-shaped bottom of the armored hull, the maximum possible lifting of it above the road - these measures allowed to reduce the impact and take the energy of the blast wave from the body;
- the maximum possible distance from the armored hull of massive components of the structure, which, when undermined, themselves become the damaging elements: engine, transmission, suspension;
- full or partial use of the chassis of serial commercial trucks, which reduces the total cost of vehicles and the cost of their operation.
After the victory of the black majority in Rhodesia, the development of vehicles with enhanced mine protection took over South Africa, forced to wage a long border war. A peculiar step in the implementation of the MRAP concept was the appearance of the Buffel machine in 1978, the design of which very organically included the entire Rhodesian and South African experience in creating and using armored vehicles resistant to undermining. The next step is the development of the Mamba machine in 1995. Its more advanced version of the RG-31 Nyala is used in the 8 countries of the world, and the 1385 of the RG-31 machines came into service with the US Marine Corps. Further development of BBM of this series - RG-33 The Pentagon ordered 1735 copies in number.
In the US Armed Forces, currently, depending on weight and size, there are three categories of MRAP-type vehicles. BBM category I - the most compact. They are intended for patrols in the conditions of the city. Category II - heavier vehicles, suitable for escorting convoys, transporting personnel, transporting the wounded, and using them as engineering vehicles. A comparatively small category III is represented by Buffalo armored personnel carriers specifically designed for demining the territory. They are equipped with a 9-meter manipulator for the remote disposal of explosive devices.
In the US Armed Forces, the International MaxxPro and Cougar machines became the most common types of BBM MRAPs. MaxxPro were ordered by the US armed forces in the number of 6444 units, Cougar in various versions - 2510.
Cougar is presented in biaxial and triaxial versions. In addition to the crew of two people, the Cougar 4х4 can carry 6 people, in the version 6х6 - 10. The machine was developed in South Africa, its production in the United States are engaged in the company Force Protection Inc (case) and Spartan Motors (chassis). Cougar has a monocoque body, a Caterpillar engine, Allison ACCP, and Marmon-Herrington solid axles. She is armed with a remote-controlled turret with a 12,7-mm machine gun or 40-mm automatic grenade launcher. A standard reservation provides protection for people inside from being fired by 7.62x51 mm NATO cartridges from a distance of 5-10 meters and when a charge equivalent to 13,5 kg of trotyl under one of the wheels and 6,7 kg is undermined by a body. Additionally, it is possible to mount active armor and lattice screens for protection from anti-tank grenade launchers.
International MaxxPro also comes in two versions, both with capacity for an 6-8 person. The dimensions and number of axles of the machine are exactly the same, the only difference is in the engine. Just MaxxPro has a motor power 330 l. s., and the MaxxPro Plus diesel issues 375 l. with. Accordingly, the basic load carrying capacity is 1,6 tons, and for MaxxPro Plus, 3,8 tons. Given that both armored vehicles can carry the same number of paratroopers (4-6 people), the increase in power of the MaxxPro Plus allows either to achieve greater mobility of the vehicle, or to increase its security by adding additional elements. MaxxPro is built according to the traditional pattern: an armored capsule is mounted on the chassis of a commercial truck with a conventional ladder frame and continuous bridges that have a spring suspension.
The use of machines such as MRAP allowed dramatically, by almost 90, to reduce losses from explosions. According to official data from the US DoD, in Iraq 2008 in May 11 military personnel died as a result of landmine blasts, while in May 2007 in the same conditions 92 American soldiers were killed. However, the headache for Pentagon officials has not diminished. It turned out that the decisions that proved to be fully justified in Iraq work poorly in Afghanistan, where the activity of the American army has recently shifted.
AFGHAN REALS
Unlike Iraq, where the MRAP moved along roads and desert terrain, in Afghanistan they had to operate in the mountains, in narrow gorges and in conditions of almost complete lack of roads. Here, heavy vehicles with a high center of gravity, which means they are prone to tipping, are not able to drive fast. Consequently, the risk of injury increases in case of an ambush. In addition, the Afghan guerrillas have developed their tactics to combat MRAP, which is not slow to affect the statistics of losses.
The first step to overcome the current situation was to create a slightly lighter version of the MRAP. In September 2008, the company Navistar received an order for the development and construction of a more compact, lightweight and mobile version of the MaxxPro, specifically designed for Afghanistan. The new machine is called MaxxPro Dash. It is shorter on the 20 than the base version, and nearly two tons lighter. The crew remained the same: the driver, the commander and the gunner, and the landing was reduced to four people. Good mobility is ensured by the engine power 375 l. with. The contract for the creation and production of 822 BBM MaxxPro Dash cost 752 million dollars and was completed by February 2009.
However, the release of MaxxPro Dash turned out to be no more than a half-measure, designed as soon as possible to construct a sample suitable for operations in Afghan conditions. Not stopping there, the Pentagon announced a competition to develop second-generation MRAP armored vehicles. Its winner in June 2009 was Oshkosh, which introduced the M-ATV.
This BBM, providing the same level of crew and landing protection as the first generation MRAP, is more compact and adapted for traveling over rough terrain. M-ATV has a curb weight of 11,3 tons (MaxxPro Dash weighs almost 15 tons, and MaxxPro Plus - more than 17,6 tons), equipped with a Caterpillar C7 engine with a capacity of 370 l. with. and automatic transmission, independent suspension type TAK-4 (a unique development of the company Oshkosh).
The centralized wheel inflation system allows the machine to maintain mobility when the tires are damaged. According to the developers, M-ATV is able to continue to move for at least a kilometer in the event of combat damage to the engine lubrication and cooling systems. The M-ATV accommodates the 5 man, including the driver and the shooter. It is equipped with a universal turret, on which machine guns of various types can be mounted, an 40-mm automatic grenade launcher or TOW anti-tank systems. Depending on the situation, the fire is conducted either manually or remotely.
To reduce logistics costs, the Pentagon chose M-ATV as the only type of BBM with a high level of second-generation mine protection, since the motley fleet of the first MRAP caused certain difficulties in repair and maintenance. As of February 2010, the total volume of orders for M-ATV exceeded 8 by thousands of units.
- Ilya KEDROV
- http://www.vpk-news.ru"rel =" nofollow ">http://www.vpk-news.ru
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