South African military equipment based on Russian technology
South African troops received at their disposal a new mine action complex Casspir, which differs from previous versions in that it uses elements of the Russian "Ural".
The Casspir model itself for 30 years has been successfully used by South Africans in numerous military conflicts. So in the period of confrontation between Angola and Namibia, military vehicles were used by the 101 battalion of the Ministry of Defense of the country. It was these armored vehicles that served as a great way to move the battalion soldiers through the numerous minefields in southwest Africa.
Casspir was successfully applied in the territory of the Republic of South Africa at a time when the intervention of paramilitary police forces was required to a greater extent.
The prototype of the current Casspir military vehicle is the Casspir Mk-II APC 4x4 patrol armored personnel carrier. This complex was launched at the TFM plant in South Africa at the beginning of the 80s. The machine was developed by the company "Sandok Ostrel" and was intended for use in local conflicts that continually flared up in the country. The 2 man could be in the cockpit of the car, but in a protected body there were 12 soldiers ready to engage in battle with the rebels.
Over the 30 years, Casspir has been upgraded repeatedly. But it came to the fact that the purchasers of this military equipment understood the economic inexpediency of further developing the machine on the same principles as before. So in 2006, 167 machines Casspirs were upgraded by the project Gijima.
But recently, using the experience of the Indian firm Mahindra & Mahindra, the South Africans decided to transfer their Casspir to the Ural platform. According to one of the representatives of the company of the manufacturer of military vehicles Johan Stein, the new Casspir Mk 6 cost almost 30% cheaper than all previous analogues. And this despite the fact that the technical characteristics and the functional base of the machine only improved and supplemented. The Casspir Mk 6 has a 6x6 wheeled version, which makes it even more maneuverable on the roads of South Africa. The weight of the car increased to 14320 18 kg, but this did not affect the increased cross-country ability of the car and the protection of personnel. The new Casspir now accommodates XNUMX people with new, comfortable shockproof seats. If in previous versions of the vehicle the fighters were forced to experience all the difficulties of the terrain and other negative factors, then the new individual suspension places allow to neutralize any dynamic blows.
Even undermining a car on an 21-kilogram charge under the wheel and an 14-kilogram - under the body, as the designers say, is not able to harm either the car or the platoon of fighters inside it. If this is true, then the car can be called unique and worthy of attention from expert buyers.
By the way, applications for the purchase of military equipment of this kind are already coming to South Africa from a number of countries. Among them: Nepal, Djibouti, Indonesia, Mozambique. In India, the car appeared almost simultaneously with its appearance in South Africa.
Information