In the interests of the engineering troops of the Russian army, a promising remote mining engineering system (ISDM) "Agriculture" has been developed. This complex has already been demonstrated at parades and exhibitions, and the main characteristics and capabilities are also revealed. Now "Agriculture" is undergoing the necessary tests, and in the near future the issue of adopting it will be decided.
Advanced development
According to known data, the development of a new ISDM has been carried out since 2013 as part of the development work with the code "Agriculture-I". The main contractor of the work was NPO Splav them. A. N. Ganicheva (Tula) from the Tekhmash concern. Development took several years and ran into some difficulties.
The first materials on the ROC "Agriculture-I" were presented at the forum "Army-2016". Then the goals and objectives of the new project were revealed. In addition, the printed materials showed the appearance of a self-propelled launcher and a missile in flight. It follows from this that at that time tests were already carried out.
The first public display of the Agriculture product took place last year. Cars of this type took part in the Victory Parade, scheduled for May 9 and held on June 24. By this time, new technical details and characteristics were revealed.
At the last MAKS-2021 air show, the development organization showed a model of a launcher and split layouts of mining ammunition. In addition, some of the technical information was re-disclosed. In particular, it turned out that some of the previously known data were erroneous.
"Agriculture" in the troops
Apparently, factory tests of ISDM "Agriculture" began several years ago and were successfully completed. Last year, the equipment was handed over to the army for conducting military tests in conditions as close as possible to real operation.
In August 2020, the Ministry of Defense announced that "Agriculture" and other remote mining systems will be used in the next exercises of the engineering troops in the Southern Military District. In September, experienced ISDM were involved in the Kavkaz-2020 strategic command-and-staff exercises.
A few days ago, on July 30, as part of the exercises of the Western Military District at the Mulino training ground in the Nizhny Novgorod region. new events with the use of "Agriculture" took place. In the conditions of maneuvers, these systems first worked out the so-called. blocking mining. According to the scenario of the exercise, the simulated enemy made passes through the mine-explosive obstacles and prepared to move forward. The ISDM platoon in the shortest possible time restored the minefields and blocked the enemy, forcing him to surrender.
Back in December, it became known about the start of deliveries of ISDM "Agriculture" to the troops. In March of this year, they announced the start of state tests, which are planned to be completed by the end of this year. After that, the issues of adopting and launching production will be resolved. At the same time NPO Splav is already ready to fulfill orders. Last year, it was announced that a new workshop was built at the enterprise, specifically for the production of engineering ammunition.
Technical look
The "Agriculture" remote mining engineering system includes several main components. These are a combat vehicle with a launcher, a transport-loading vehicle, a universal transport-launch container and unified rockets with different combat loads.
The launcher and TZM are built on a four-axle all-wheel drive chassis KAMAZ-6560. In both cases, the cargo area is given for the installation of target equipment. The combat vehicle gets a rocking launcher base, fire controls, etc. The TPM is equipped with fastenings for transporting two TPM with missiles and its own crane for reloading them onto a combat vehicle.
The onboard equipment of the combat vehicle provides the determination of coordinates and the generation of data for firing using different rockets. Mining can be carried out in different modes, incl. automatically. The system operator determines the main parameters of the future barrier, incl. the number of shells and mines in a salvo.
The control system also programs the missiles, setting the distance of the load release, and introduces the parameters of the self-destruction of mines. Based on all available data, the area of the fall of ammunition is determined and a mining map is drawn up. This information is transmitted by radio to the higher headquarters.
Transport and launch container for "Agriculture" is a rectangular assembly of 25 (5x5) guide tubes with rockets. The launcher has mounts for two TPKs. Recharging is done by removing the empty TPK and installing a new one. This allows you to speed up the preparation for the next salvo.
The setting of mines is carried out using standardized rockets. This product is a solid-propellant rocket with a cassette warhead with a caliber of 140 mm (previously, a caliber of 122 mm appeared in various publications). The tail section with the engine and fold-out stabilizers has a smaller diameter, probably 122 mm. At the moment, two versions of the missile have been developed, carrying anti-personnel and anti-tank mines. The types of ammunition have not yet been reported.
Earlier it was reported that "Agriculture" can send mines at a distance of 5 to 15 km. The exact characteristics of the engineered missile are not disclosed. It is only indicated that with one salvo a combat vehicle can cover a large area, the area of which is compared to several football fields. At the same time, mining is also possible in areas of a limited area.
Against the background of predecessors
It should be recalled that our army has a number of remote mining systems in different designs. So, the universal minelayer UMP has become widespread. This machine is made on the ZIL-131 chassis and carries six launchers for universal cassettes with mines of different types.
Recently, a whole family of minelayers "Kleshch-G" of a similar appearance has been developed. They were built on three modern chassis with different characteristics and equipped with modern means of communication and control. Knockout cassettes used by this technique send mines tens of meters away from the minelayer.
For setting minefields at long distances, 122-mm rockets 3M16, 9M28K and similar foreign developments are intended. To launch them at a distance of up to 20-22 km, the 9K51 Grad multiple launch rocket system is used.
The ISDM "Agriculture" project develops some of the ideas of previous projects, takes into account their shortcomings and uses modern solutions. So, the principles of work are borrowed from serial MLRS, but specialized ammunition and a special MSA with the necessary capabilities are used. All this provides various advantages over existing remote mining systems.
Important advantages are associated with the novelty of the project and its components. Modern products are characterized by improved performance and new capabilities. In particular, the high accuracy of setting mines, the presence of different operating modes, automatic mapping, etc. connected precisely with a modern digital control system and integrated navigation and communication facilities. The new missile has an increased volume and provides a more complete release of the potential of the electronics.
"Farming" can create minefields at ranges of up to 15 km from its position, without being exposed to great risks. The ammunition load so far includes two shells with mines of different types, which is enough to solve most typical tasks. In the future, we should expect the emergence of new similar ammunition, which will expand the capabilities of the complex.
The ISDM project also resolved organizational issues. The engineering troops are still armed with models with limited characteristics, such as the UMP. MLRS "Grad" with higher parameters are classified as missile forces and artillery, which may complicate their involvement in laying mines. Together with "Agriculture", engineering units will be able to carry out the necessary measures independently and without the participation of another type of troops.
New generation
In recent years, several projects of promising engineering equipment for various purposes have been created in our country. The direction of minelayers and remote mining systems is getting some development. Right now, at least four similar samples with different characteristics and capabilities are in different stages of testing and preparation for operation.
Thus, in the coming years, several new means of laying minefields with different features and differing potential will appear in service with the engineering units of the Russian army. With their help, the troops can create a flexible and effective minefield installation system. Thanks to this, mines of different classes and types will remain an effective and useful means of influencing the enemy and will retain their place in the system of weapons of the ground forces.
