Duster SUV for the Romanian Army
Some civilian designs eventually fall to the military court. In the automotive industry, this has happened more than once. So the Romanian automaker Dacia, part of the Renault group as a subsidiary, presented the Romanian military with several versions of its bestseller - the Duster crossover, which in Russia is known as Renault Duster (Renault Duster). This parquet SUV was lit up at military parades in 2013 and 2014, and in 2015, a version of this army crossover on a caterpillar was presented to journalists.
Dacia was founded in Romania in 1967 with direct technical assistance and support from the French company Renault. After the collapse of the socialist bloc, the enterprise returned to the fold of the company, thanks to which it was founded. In 1998, Dacia became a subsidiary of the Renault concern. Thanks to the transition to the release of modern and rapidly becoming popular models of budget cars (Logan, Sandero, Duster), the production of cars of the Romanian automaker has increased significantly.
The compact Renault Duster crossover (or, simply, the SUV) was presented to the public on December 8 2009. The car, which was created at the Renault Technocenter in Guiancourt, was introduced under the brand Dacia for the European market. From English Duster translates as "boot", that is, an SUV, or a car designed for dusty roads. Later, the market was presented version of the brand Renault, which were produced in Russia, Brazil, India and Colombia. The car was quite popular. Already in 2014, the millionth Duster was produced. Such an indicator was achieved in 4 of the year since the model was launched into mass production. Anniversary copy of SUV off the assembly line in Brazil. It is worth noting that the car enjoyed the greatest demand in the Russian market, where by that time more than 150 thousands of Renault Duster cars had been sold. In Russia, sales of this SUV outperformed the markets of France, Brazil, India and Germany, which together made up the top five countries most interested in automobiles.
Renault Duster, which for a long time remained in Russia one of the most accessible crossovers, is well known and enjoyed stable demand. However, in Romania, where Dacia is based, namely, under this brand car is sold in Europe, this SUV is considered almost a national treasure. The original version of this car was built specifically for the Day of National Unity. National Day of Romania is celebrated annually on December 1. In 2013, during the parade in Bucharest, in honor of this holiday, a special version of the popular compact crossover, Dacia Duster Army, was created by RTR engineers - Renault Technologie Roumanie.
The military version of Duster meets all NATO standards and was created for the needs of the Romanian army. This model has received body armor (from a rifle weapons), additional protection of the engine, transmission, fuel tank and rear differential. A removable winch appeared on the car, mounts designed to transport the car through the air, army headlights and two external sockets 12V and 24V. The version that was shown on the parade had a remote-controlled machine gun turret on the roof of the SUV. Also during the parade, the Duster versions for special services were shown: border, police and fire versions of the car.
Exactly one year later, 1 December 2014 in Bucharest showed another version of the car. This time, the public was shown a reconnaissance vehicle based on a pickup truck - the Dacia Duster Pickup. A new pickup truck is a product developed by the independent bodybuilding company Romturingia, which is located in the city of Arges. At the same time, the project, as before, was implemented with the direct support of the RTR engineering center. A special feature of this version was the installation in the back of a special lifting mast, equipped with a complex of reconnaissance equipment, which is able to observe at any time of the day and in any, even in difficult meteorological conditions. The new version of the reconnaissance vehicle based on the Duster is designed for rapid reaction forces, border guards, as well as army artillery units.
In 2015, a new model of an army SUV was introduced. This time Duster “laptezhnik” was presented to the public and journalists, which the Romanian engineers converted into caterpillars. If you advance in advance, such a crossover tractor is able to calmly drive on virtually any terrain. It is worth noting that such developments can be found in different countries. For example, in Russia, there are also variants of UAZ cars on tracked trucks and fully tracked. The new Duster was introduced to journalists precisely on tracked trucks. Its tracked modules are removable and designed to move only in the most difficult off-road conditions. The rest of the time they are replaced by ordinary wheels, on which the crossover moves, including at parades.
As journalists told Auto Mail.Ru, who tested the new version of the army SUV at the site of the Renault concern in Titus, camouflaged Duster with a 110-strong diesel engine under the hood, it seems as if weights were hung on the wheels. Inert tracked modules do not hasten to unwind, even if the driver gives full gas, and their resistance is so great that, hesitating when changing gears, you can instantly lose speed and elastic diesel engine, well known from serial models, will not correct the situation. At the same time, the car resembles a real tractor, by choosing a gear in advance and the speed you can easily overcome almost any track. Tracked Duster loves a preliminary calculation, but is able to take a trained driver almost everywhere.
In Romania today is a contract army, but the army Duster was clearly designed for inexperienced draftees, in which case it would be very easy to train automobile skills and all the off-road driving skills. In the cabin of the army version of this tracked vehicle, almost nothing has changed and everything is familiar: the steering wheel, three pedals, controls - everything is located as well as in the popular civilian crossover, even regular music was left in place. And in technical terms, the car is not much different from the civilian counterpart - the standard 1,5-liter diesel, three-mode four-wheel drive, mechanics. The main difference is the presence of the Blackout blackout control panel.
It is clear that this version of Duster is rather forced and conversion. Currently, there are many examples in the world of installing universal kits for tracked vehicles on vehicles, and this is mainly about utility frame SUVs that have a very good margin of safety. At the same time, in Romania, after the death of the automobile brand ARO, besides Duster, other passenger models of the off-road car did not remain at all. From here, such versions as the Duster snow blower or the Duster rural ambulance, as well as the Dacia Duster Army, which could be useful to the military, were born in this country. At the same time, Romanian engineers managed with purely improvised means.
The army Duster carries a spare tire on the roof, which again emphasizes that ordinary off-road wheels are still the main driver for the car. His tracked modules are just the same as the last argument when you have to operate a machine in difficult conditions - in wetlands or in snowy mountainous areas. When you change the location of the "pereobuvka" of the vehicle from the wheels to the tracks and back takes about 45 minutes. Constantly, the manufacturer does not recommend driving on tracks either.
In this case, the tracks are not the only element that can be removed if necessary. The winch and outer cage are also removable. When traveling on wheels, the outer frame may not be so necessary, but if a car in a tracked variant gets into the wilds, it may be useful. At the same time, the military version of the army under the bottom is constantly wearing - the engine, gearbox, fuel tank and rear gearbox were covered with additional armor.
In addition to the good traction of the tracked version, the relative simplicity and protection of the main components and assemblies from damage, the Duster-covered camouflage coloring also has other military talents. These include rigging attachments that allow you to transport a car, for example, under the belly of a helicopter or parachute with a parachute system. A sufficiently massive "hitch" allows you to take a light gun to the position, and instead of a "spare wheel" on the roof, a remote-controlled machine gun module may appear. If necessary, this crossover can even become a mobile source of energy, there are sealed sockets for 12B, 24B and 220B, which can supply almost any equipment that may be needed in the field.
The main feature of the army Duster, which can be found in an ordinary civilian saloon, is the Blackout system. This remote control with the toggle switches on the front panel is extremely simple in appearance and allows the driver to activate the blackout mode. When activated, this system instantly turns off lights, cabin lights and other bright devices. Only specialized army “spotlights” are burning, which are directed strictly down the road and therefore are not visible from the air. When using them, the driver can provide the vehicle with movement in the column, making life much easier using night vision devices.
In general, it can be noted that the Romanian engineers each year offer the military new versions of the Army Duster, while we are only talking about prototypes. The Romanian army did not accept this car into service, negotiations on the supply are continuing. So this military SUV rides so far only along the landfills and the streets of Bucharest during annual parades, awaiting the decision of its fate.
Information sources:
https://auto.mail.ru/article/56170-laptezhnik_zachem_duster_nadel_gusenicy
http://www.zr.ru/content/news/599017-v-rumynii-pokazali-voennyj-variant-dacia-duster
http://industrial-news.com/?p=867
http://auto.vesti.ru/news/show/news_id/544413
Open source materials
Dacia was founded in Romania in 1967 with direct technical assistance and support from the French company Renault. After the collapse of the socialist bloc, the enterprise returned to the fold of the company, thanks to which it was founded. In 1998, Dacia became a subsidiary of the Renault concern. Thanks to the transition to the release of modern and rapidly becoming popular models of budget cars (Logan, Sandero, Duster), the production of cars of the Romanian automaker has increased significantly.
The compact Renault Duster crossover (or, simply, the SUV) was presented to the public on December 8 2009. The car, which was created at the Renault Technocenter in Guiancourt, was introduced under the brand Dacia for the European market. From English Duster translates as "boot", that is, an SUV, or a car designed for dusty roads. Later, the market was presented version of the brand Renault, which were produced in Russia, Brazil, India and Colombia. The car was quite popular. Already in 2014, the millionth Duster was produced. Such an indicator was achieved in 4 of the year since the model was launched into mass production. Anniversary copy of SUV off the assembly line in Brazil. It is worth noting that the car enjoyed the greatest demand in the Russian market, where by that time more than 150 thousands of Renault Duster cars had been sold. In Russia, sales of this SUV outperformed the markets of France, Brazil, India and Germany, which together made up the top five countries most interested in automobiles.
Renault Duster, which for a long time remained in Russia one of the most accessible crossovers, is well known and enjoyed stable demand. However, in Romania, where Dacia is based, namely, under this brand car is sold in Europe, this SUV is considered almost a national treasure. The original version of this car was built specifically for the Day of National Unity. National Day of Romania is celebrated annually on December 1. In 2013, during the parade in Bucharest, in honor of this holiday, a special version of the popular compact crossover, Dacia Duster Army, was created by RTR engineers - Renault Technologie Roumanie.
The military version of Duster meets all NATO standards and was created for the needs of the Romanian army. This model has received body armor (from a rifle weapons), additional protection of the engine, transmission, fuel tank and rear differential. A removable winch appeared on the car, mounts designed to transport the car through the air, army headlights and two external sockets 12V and 24V. The version that was shown on the parade had a remote-controlled machine gun turret on the roof of the SUV. Also during the parade, the Duster versions for special services were shown: border, police and fire versions of the car.
Exactly one year later, 1 December 2014 in Bucharest showed another version of the car. This time, the public was shown a reconnaissance vehicle based on a pickup truck - the Dacia Duster Pickup. A new pickup truck is a product developed by the independent bodybuilding company Romturingia, which is located in the city of Arges. At the same time, the project, as before, was implemented with the direct support of the RTR engineering center. A special feature of this version was the installation in the back of a special lifting mast, equipped with a complex of reconnaissance equipment, which is able to observe at any time of the day and in any, even in difficult meteorological conditions. The new version of the reconnaissance vehicle based on the Duster is designed for rapid reaction forces, border guards, as well as army artillery units.
In 2015, a new model of an army SUV was introduced. This time Duster “laptezhnik” was presented to the public and journalists, which the Romanian engineers converted into caterpillars. If you advance in advance, such a crossover tractor is able to calmly drive on virtually any terrain. It is worth noting that such developments can be found in different countries. For example, in Russia, there are also variants of UAZ cars on tracked trucks and fully tracked. The new Duster was introduced to journalists precisely on tracked trucks. Its tracked modules are removable and designed to move only in the most difficult off-road conditions. The rest of the time they are replaced by ordinary wheels, on which the crossover moves, including at parades.
As journalists told Auto Mail.Ru, who tested the new version of the army SUV at the site of the Renault concern in Titus, camouflaged Duster with a 110-strong diesel engine under the hood, it seems as if weights were hung on the wheels. Inert tracked modules do not hasten to unwind, even if the driver gives full gas, and their resistance is so great that, hesitating when changing gears, you can instantly lose speed and elastic diesel engine, well known from serial models, will not correct the situation. At the same time, the car resembles a real tractor, by choosing a gear in advance and the speed you can easily overcome almost any track. Tracked Duster loves a preliminary calculation, but is able to take a trained driver almost everywhere.
In Romania today is a contract army, but the army Duster was clearly designed for inexperienced draftees, in which case it would be very easy to train automobile skills and all the off-road driving skills. In the cabin of the army version of this tracked vehicle, almost nothing has changed and everything is familiar: the steering wheel, three pedals, controls - everything is located as well as in the popular civilian crossover, even regular music was left in place. And in technical terms, the car is not much different from the civilian counterpart - the standard 1,5-liter diesel, three-mode four-wheel drive, mechanics. The main difference is the presence of the Blackout blackout control panel.
Photo auto.mail.ru
It is clear that this version of Duster is rather forced and conversion. Currently, there are many examples in the world of installing universal kits for tracked vehicles on vehicles, and this is mainly about utility frame SUVs that have a very good margin of safety. At the same time, in Romania, after the death of the automobile brand ARO, besides Duster, other passenger models of the off-road car did not remain at all. From here, such versions as the Duster snow blower or the Duster rural ambulance, as well as the Dacia Duster Army, which could be useful to the military, were born in this country. At the same time, Romanian engineers managed with purely improvised means.
The army Duster carries a spare tire on the roof, which again emphasizes that ordinary off-road wheels are still the main driver for the car. His tracked modules are just the same as the last argument when you have to operate a machine in difficult conditions - in wetlands or in snowy mountainous areas. When you change the location of the "pereobuvka" of the vehicle from the wheels to the tracks and back takes about 45 minutes. Constantly, the manufacturer does not recommend driving on tracks either.
In this case, the tracks are not the only element that can be removed if necessary. The winch and outer cage are also removable. When traveling on wheels, the outer frame may not be so necessary, but if a car in a tracked variant gets into the wilds, it may be useful. At the same time, the military version of the army under the bottom is constantly wearing - the engine, gearbox, fuel tank and rear gearbox were covered with additional armor.
Photo auto.mail.ru
In addition to the good traction of the tracked version, the relative simplicity and protection of the main components and assemblies from damage, the Duster-covered camouflage coloring also has other military talents. These include rigging attachments that allow you to transport a car, for example, under the belly of a helicopter or parachute with a parachute system. A sufficiently massive "hitch" allows you to take a light gun to the position, and instead of a "spare wheel" on the roof, a remote-controlled machine gun module may appear. If necessary, this crossover can even become a mobile source of energy, there are sealed sockets for 12B, 24B and 220B, which can supply almost any equipment that may be needed in the field.
The main feature of the army Duster, which can be found in an ordinary civilian saloon, is the Blackout system. This remote control with the toggle switches on the front panel is extremely simple in appearance and allows the driver to activate the blackout mode. When activated, this system instantly turns off lights, cabin lights and other bright devices. Only specialized army “spotlights” are burning, which are directed strictly down the road and therefore are not visible from the air. When using them, the driver can provide the vehicle with movement in the column, making life much easier using night vision devices.
Photo auto.mail.ru
In general, it can be noted that the Romanian engineers each year offer the military new versions of the Army Duster, while we are only talking about prototypes. The Romanian army did not accept this car into service, negotiations on the supply are continuing. So this military SUV rides so far only along the landfills and the streets of Bucharest during annual parades, awaiting the decision of its fate.
Information sources:
https://auto.mail.ru/article/56170-laptezhnik_zachem_duster_nadel_gusenicy
http://www.zr.ru/content/news/599017-v-rumynii-pokazali-voennyj-variant-dacia-duster
http://industrial-news.com/?p=867
http://auto.vesti.ru/news/show/news_id/544413
Open source materials
Information