An article with the loud title "New Ukrainian Weapon" has recently appeared on the Ukrainian website NV.ua. Let's see and evaluate these "Ukrainian novelties" together with you. (As a small explanation. The italicized text belongs to Ukrainian sites, ordinary - to the author and expresses his personal opinion. Above each picture with the image of equipment, its purchased quantity and date are indicated.)
An-70
Military transport aircraft for short take-off and landing, including from unequipped runways, for landing troops, transporting up to 300 soldiers and up to 47 tons of cargo.
The plane is indeed a purely Ukrainian development, but it was created not without the help of Russia and with the expectation of its further production on the territory of Russia and operation in the RF Air Force.
And looking at this, the only one that entered the Ukrainian Air Force An70, I have a question for our Defense Ministry, is it not the plane that was built with OUR money, under an agreement with Antonov? And if so, what actions have been taken in terms of recovering financial losses? Interestingly, someone can now give an answer to these and other questions about the An-70 program?
BTR-3E1
Combat wheeled amphibious vehicle with armored protection. Designed to detect, recognize and defeat ground and low-flying targets. It is equipped with a 30-mm automatic cannon for 350 rounds, a 7.62-mm machine gun for 2,000 rounds, an anti-tank missile system "Barrier" with 4 missiles and a 30-mm grenade launcher.
This vehicle is a deep modernization of the Soviet BTR-80 and, according to the recognition of both warring parties, today it is the most effective and best armored personnel carrier in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. But why is it classified as "new"? If it has been produced since 2001?
And yet, regarding the quantity - on May 22 … 22, 2014 32 BTR-3E, intended for Thailand, were transferred to the National Guard of Ukraine. On September 6, 2014, during the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine, 1 BTR-3K was destroyed near the settlement of Telmanovo. The first BTR-3E were delivered on December 6, 2014. So there are already more of them, much more.
BTR-4E
Modification of the BTR-4 armored personnel carrier Bucephalus with the BM-7 Sail combat module, consisting of a 30-mm automatic cannon (400 rounds), a 30-mm automatic grenade launcher (145 grenades), a 7.62-mm machine gun (2.000 rounds) and an ATGM "Barrier ".
The most controversial of the armored personnel carriers of the Ukrainian army. Possessing decent armor protection, higher than that of the BTR80 and BTR3, having a more progressive design and powerful armament, it is not without a big drawback - increased noise, due to the installation of a two-stroke diesel engine on it, created on the basis of the tank 5TDF, and the impossibility of installing a silencer, so how it drastically reduces engine power. By the way, this modification was designed for the Iraqi Armed Forces and was partially delivered there. And the question arises why the more secure and technologically advanced BTR-4MV did not receive recognition from the Ukrainian military …
KRAZ Cougar
An armored car of Ukrainian production under the license of the Canadian company Streit Group based on the Toyota Land Cruiser chassis with all-round protection against 7, 62 × 51 mm bullets and artillery shell fragments with the ability to install various combat modules.
The car, produced under license, and, by and large, from imported components and assemblies, was shown with great fanfare at the parade in Kiev in honor of the Independence Day. But small localization and significant price (up to $ 215,000) are unlikely to equip units in large numbers.
KRAZ Spartan
Ukrainian armored car, manufactured under license from the Canadian company Streit Group on the basis of a Ford chassis with all-round protection against 7, 62 × 51mm bullets with the ability to install various combat modules.
This car is also assembled from foreign vehicle kits. Here I will simply give data from other Ukrainian sites, since there is nothing to add or subtract.
In 2014, the production of armored vehicles was started in Ukraine, as of the beginning of August 2014 the cost of one armored vehicle was 5, 35 million hryvnia.
In January 2015, according to the results of the operation of the first 15 Spartan armored vehicles in the Ukrainian army, 17 design flaws were identified.
One of the most serious shortcomings was the insufficient strength of the Ford F550 undercarriage, which could not withstand the loads that increased after the installation of a heavy armored hull - the first Spartan, which entered the units of the Ukrainian army at the end of December 2014, went out of order a month after the start of operation [9], and by January 30, 2015, 12 of the 14 armored vehicles of the 95th separate airmobile brigade were out of order.
On January 28, 2015, AvtoKrAZ OJSC announced that the company had received three notifications concerning shock absorbers and gearbox failure in Spartan armored vehicles and that improvements were already being made to the armored car design.
The degree of localization of production remains low:
On December 15, 2014, the general director of AvtoKrAZ, Roman Chernyak, said that the share of the Ukrainian component in the KrAZ Spartan armored car does not exceed 10-15%.
On February 9, 2015, the general director of AvtoKrAZ, Roman Chernyak, said that the share of the Ukrainian component in the KrAZ Spartan armored vehicle reaches 20%.
KRAZ Raptor
An armored truck based on the KrAZ chassis with a 6x6 wheel arrangement with a removable armored compartment for a landing for 24 fighters, with protection against small arms and mines.
KrAZ 6322 RAPTOR is an independent development of Ukrainian automakers and is produced using the chassis of a KrAZ truck. Although it was created in 2007, it entered the troops recently, and the experience of its combat use has not been generalized.
As a positive quality, of course, it is worth noting the front location of the engine, which increases the protection of people in the cab, but the transportation of only 20 people inside for such a large car and the large mass cannot be attributed to its especially positive properties. Well, as they say here, time will tell …
Active module "Sarmat"
A complex of two guided missiles RK-2S or four RK-3 and a tank machine gun of 12.7 mm caliber, with a range of 2-5 km. Designed to equip various combat vehicles, small ships and coast guard boats
A fairly modern development of Ukrainian gunsmiths, which allows to significantly increase the fire capabilities of light equipment. The operational range of the combat module when firing a RK-2S missile is 5 kilometers, a RK-3 - 2.5 kilometers, a machine gun, an analogue of NSVT - 1.8 kilometers. Thanks to the guidance device, which was produced at the "Izyum Instrument-Making Plant", accurate targeting is provided, as well as missile flight control at a distance of up to 5.5 kilometers. The process of targeting and tracking the target is implemented through a geared rotary mechanism.
Assault rifles "Fort-221" and "Fort-224"
Licensed copies of the Israeli Tavor rifle (TAR-21), caliber 5, 56x45mm, arranged according to the bullpup scheme (trigger in front of the magazine) - more compact and with an elongated barrel to improve shooting accuracy. The shortened version "Fort-224" is intended for special forces soldiers.
The Israeli gunsmiths, of course, managed to create good weapons, there are no complaints about them, but why did the Ukrainian gunsmiths fail to establish a full production cycle for their counterparts at home and still use many Israeli components? Apparently, this explains the small number of them, which came mainly to equip the Nat. Guard of Ukraine and special forces units.
Light machine gun "Fort-401"
Licensed copy of the Israeli light machine gun "Negev" caliber 5, 56 × 45 and 7, 62 × 51 mm, with interchangeable barrels, with the ability to regulate the rate of fire in various conditions of battle.
Everything that was said earlier about the "Fort" assault rifles fully corresponds to this machine gun.
Pistol "Fort-14TP"
A tactical pistol of 9 mm caliber with a barrel extended to 123 mm and four magazines of increased capacity, with the possibility of installing a silencer, a flashlight and a laser designator.
"Fort-14TP" is an enlarged version of the pistol "Fort-12" (which was developed in the early 1990s by NPO "Fort" by order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in connection with the moral and physical obsolescence of the Soviet Makarov pistols in service. experience of the Czech arms company Ceská Zbrojovka. The first pilot batch of pistols "Fort-12" was manufactured in May 1995). "Fort-14" was created chambered for 9 mm Parabellum with automatic, working according to the scheme of using recoil with a short barrel stroke. But later the pistol was redesigned for the 9 × 18 PM cartridge. Automation now works according to the scheme of using recoil with a free shutter. Likewise, the barrel is mounted in the frame, which is carried out by the axis of the slide stop.
The main design changes are: an increase in the magazine capacity and barrel length, which respectively increases firepower and firing accuracy; front notch on the casing for a more comfortable and tighter grip when loading weapons; the ability to mount, using guides in the front of the frame, various additional devices, such as a tactical flashlight or laser designator. "Fort-14TP", equipped with a longer barrel than the standard one, and having a thread on the muzzle protruding from the shutter-casing, can be used in conjunction with a silent-flameless firing device. Unlike models 12 and 17, the 14TP pistol is equipped with an automatic safety for the striker, which is a very significant plus from the point of view of safety in handling the weapon. In 2003, this pistol began to arrive in various departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. According to user reviews, it is very easy to maintain, reliable in operation when firing factory cartridges in various weather conditions, and is quite accurate. Of the minuses, it should be noted that, by modern standards, the resource of the shot is negligible, and even with a large spread from batch to batch, ranging from 5000 to 8000 shots. This pistol is not intended for continuous shooting. Fort-14TP is primarily a service weapon with a rather narrow specialization.
Well, now about the fact that for some reason was not included in the Ukrainian arms "Top 10" …
T-64B1M
A simplified version of the modernization of T-64B1 tanks, created at the Kharkov Armored Plant. The tank has built-in explosive reactive armor, which enhances the protection of the turret, the frontal part of the hull and the side. A niche for ammunition and equipment is installed at the rear of the turret.
The tanks, although they were received for equipment, have not yet been noted in hostilities.
MLRS "Bastion-01, 02 and 03 …" BM-21K"
All these MLRS were created as modifications of the Soviet MLRS.
"Bastion-01" and "Bastion-02"
They are the modernization of the Soviet Grad MLRS (by installing on the new KrAZ chassis an artillery unit (guides) removed from the BM-21, which were in storage or withdrawn from the combat strength of the Ukrainian Armed Forces).
The overhaul of the BM-21 artillery unit is carried out by the Shepetivka Repair Plant. The upgraded version of the BM-21 Bastion-1 (2) has improved the combat characteristics of the complex by using new ammunition that allows firing up to 40 km. a more elongated base wheeled chassis to accommodate an additional stock of missiles.
Bastion-03
The Bastion-3 variant is the installation of the Uragan MLRS artillery unit mounted on the KrAZ chassis. The replacement of the chassis was caused by the presence in Ukraine of its own chassis for this vehicle - KrAZ, the MAZ chassis (on which the Uragan complex was mounted) is not produced in Ukraine, but is only being repaired.
BM-21K
BM-21K is an improved version of previously developed options for modernizing MLRS. The car was developed by the State Enterprise "Kharkov Plant of Special Machines" (formerly the 101st Automobile Repair Plant). The state enterprise "KMDB" took part in the creation of the art part, and the state enterprise "NPO named after Petrovsky" took part in the creation of the new ammunition.
And I have a question, why in each "Minsk agreements" the Russian MLRS "Tornado", of various modifications, are simply prescribed with maniacal persistence, but for some reason they forget to mention these Ukrainian MLRS?
KrAZ Cobra
Ukrainian armored car with a 4x4 wheel arrangement is built on the basis of the Toyota Land Cruiser 200 and is at the Kremenchug Automobile Plant under the license of the Canadian-Emirates company "Streit Group"
Often confused with the Cougar, although it is a completely different vehicle, she managed to check in during police operations in Kharkov, as well as in the Azov battalion.
From all of the above, it is clear that the military-industrial complex of Ukraine massively uses former Soviet and foreign developments for the earliest possible equipping of its armed forces.
Used material:
1. Ukraine at Eurosatory-2014 //
2. Assault rifle "Fort-221" and "Fort-224" (Ukraine) //
3. Pistol "Fort-14TP" (Ukraine) //
3. Pistol "Fort-12" (Ukraine) //
4. KRAZ Cougar //
5. BTR-3E1 //
6. BTR-4E "Bucephalus" //
7. Streit Group Spartan //
8. The National Guard of Ukraine received T-64B1m tanks intended for shipment to Africa.
9. KrAZ "Cobra" //
10. New Ukrainian weapons //
11. Ukrainian modernization of MLRS //
