Difficult decade
Trucks of the "Ural" family were originally designed for the needs of the military, which has already been repeatedly mentioned in previous parts, and this greatly complicated the survival of the plant after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The main competitor, KamAZ, could offer customers a wider product line, including, among other things, long-haul tractors, which did not work out in Miass. In addition, the specifics of work almost exclusively for defense needs left a mark on the plant's engineering level - many solutions were not suitable for civilian needs. For example, on the four-axle giants "Ural-5323-20" in the 90s, cabins from Naberezhnye Chelny were used for the Russian army. This cabin was already outdated and, if the model entered the civil sector market, one could not dream of large sales. Therefore, a giant 8x8 "Ural-5323-22" appeared with a cab from the Italian IVECO. However, this did little to help the Miass plant - production volumes fell from 30 thousand Soviet cars a year to 5, 4 thousand. As a result, in 1998, external management was introduced at UralAZ, which, oddly enough, saves the plant: after a couple of the plant workers have been increasing their output for years.
All this time, the Ministry of Defense purchased trucks in relatively small batches and there was no particular incentive to further modernize the military line. Nevertheless, work was going on. The entire Ural-4320 family received its own name, "Motovoz", which actually means a small shunting locomotive. Whether the decision on such a name was motivated by considerations of secrecy is unknown, but it turned out sonorous and original. At KamAZ, simultaneously with the Ural "Motovozami", there was and still exists a similar line of "Mustang". "Ural-Motovoz" were two-, three- and four-axle and were equipped mainly with various diesel engines of the Yaroslavl Motor Plant. The truck line has been actively exported to Africa, Southeast Asia and South America. And at the end of 1994, Ural-5323.4 almost became a mobile base for the world-famous Pantsir-S1 missile and artillery complex. The car was equipped with a diesel engine KamAZ-7406 with a capacity of 260 liters. with. For a long time it was believed that it was the Ural truck that was supposed to carry the air defense system, but in the end the plant in Naberezhnye Chelny won, and now the KAMAZ vehicle has become the first association on Pantsir-C1. But large "Urals" were nevertheless supplied to the troops, in particular, the links of the PMP pontoon fleet were mounted on the model 53236. At present, Ural has been removed from the acquisition of pontoon parks with its own equipment - the niche has been given to KamAZ.
The loss of Ukrainian KrAZ products for the Russian army definitely played into the hands of the producers from Miass and Naberezhnye Chelny. Domestic four-axle models began to occupy the niche of heavy trucks. Why was it not possible to create in the 90s a three-axle all-wheel drive model with a carrying capacity of more than 7 tons? After all, it is clear that 8x8 cars are much more expensive and more complicated, although they win in cross-country ability. It's all about the lack of suitable bridges for such heavy vehicles. No, of course, they were, for example, such units were offered by the Hungarian Raba, but for obvious reasons this did not suit the military. So we had to increase the carrying capacity with additional bridges. It turned out well: Ural-5323 takes up 10 tons at once, and the junior three-axle 4320-31 on hard surface - four tons less. The problem of the absence of "heavy" domestic bridges at UralAZ was partially solved only in recent years.
In order to mislead
The problem of "Ural" and KamAZ in the last five to six years has become possible Western sanctions in connection with the defense products of the factories. And if they are not particularly scary for military equipment, then civilian products will not do without foreign motors, gearboxes and other trifles. By the way, there is nothing wrong with that - there are no major automakers left in the world that fully rely on components of their own production. This problem was gracefully solved in PJSC KamAZ, when the entire military line of equipment was brought under the subsidiary brand of JSC Remdizel, or RD. Now there is no concept of a new army KamAZ "Mustang-M" - only "Remdiesel". The official website also does not mention the army products of the plant in Naberezhnye Chelny. Until recently, UralAZ was part of the GAZ Group, whose boss, Oleg Deripaska, was sanctioned by the American Ministry of Finance in 2018. And he did not need any additional problems with the United States in connection with an asset working for the interests of the Russian Ministry of Defense. Therefore, Deripaska made a deal to sell the Ural Automobile Plant with the United Machine-Building Group (OMG) of Dmitry Strezhnev.
As a result, a company was formed, which, in addition to the plant in Miass, included a part of the Yaroslavl Motor Plant and the joint venture RM-Tereks, which unites the enterprises Tverskoy Excavator, Bryansk Arsenal, Chelyabinsk Road Construction Machines and Zavolzhsky Plant tracked tractors ". So the GAZ Group was protected from foreign sanctions, which could well have stopped the conveyor of the auto giant. And a car factory working for the Russian army has also been shielded from the wrath of the West. Do not think that such somersaults are possible only in Russia - for several years now German MAN has been supplying the Bundeswehr with trucks under the Rheinmetall brand. In fear of the overly liberal world of modern business, the Germans built a joint venture RMMV (Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles), and not even in Germany, but in Austria, to completely cover up the traces of military products. The French renamed their combat Renault Trucks Defense, by analogy with the Germans, as a diversion to Arquus ("Horse").
Some time ago, the impression was created that military products from Miass are gradually being replaced by the cabover equipment of KamAZ. This could put the defense department in an unenviable position when all wheeled vehicles, from tactical to operational level, depend on one plant. And what if the engine shop burns down again, like in the 90s? Moreover, the Urals have a definite advantage over KamAZ at the forefront in the army's tactical echelon. At present, this situation does not change much: the Ministry of Defense purchases "Uralov" even less than in the early 2000s.
The main thing is not to get confused
Now in the production line of "Ural" for military needs there are four families at once: "Motovoz", "Motovoz-M", "Tornado-U" and "Typhoon-U". Separately, it should be noted that the armored Ural-63095 Typhoon-U never got into the Russian army - apparently, the purchases of Remdiesel Typhoons-K63968 were considered sufficient. But the more spacious MRAP "Ural-63099" Typhoon "in good volumes (up to 200 vehicles per year) is supplied to the troops. In many ways, the reason for this was the almost complete localization: only the winch and the starter remained from the foreign one. Even bullet-resistant tires were adapted to be produced at the Chelyabinsk Forge and Press Plant. Among the simpler protected vehicles in Miass, they also buy Ural-VV, although only the Russian Guard is the client. Work is now underway to purchase the Ural-VP version for the Russian military police. In 2018, they tried to raise the gradually fading demand from the military in Miass with the Ural-53099 armored vehicle. This is a lightweight biaxial version of the MRAP "Ural-63099" Typhoon ", but little is known about the fate of the" baby "in the army.
The classic first-generation "Moto-locomotives" will obviously disappear from the scene in the next couple of years - after all, the cabin is already quite outdated and not really prepared for booking. The largest among the three-axle "Motovozov" is the "Ural-4320-0811-31", on the long frame of which they put both a regular side body, an airfield air conditioner AK 1, 0-30-1-1U, and a headquarters KUNG MSh-5350.1 with a headquarters the same PSh4M trailer. KUNG in the modern reading is K5350.1-11, and its passenger bus version is PAF-5350.1-11. In general, as always, in the best traditions of the Russian school of naming military equipment.
The most difficult thing in the history of modern Urals is not to memorize all the abbreviations, but to learn to distinguish between the equipment of the Tornado-U family (not to be confused with the MRAP of the same name from Remdizel) and Motovoz-M. Remember: trucks Ural-63706-0011 "Tornado-U" are the heaviest trucks from Miass, a kind of direct substitutes for Ukrainian KrAZ trucks. The total weight can reach 32 tons with a carrying capacity of 12, 5 tons. The car is assembled around the "peaceful" and cabover "Ural-6370", which means that the bridges of the "Tornado-U" are Hungarian (as an option - Chinese), the engine, although a 440-horsepower YaMZ-652, is produced under a French license and is a Renault dCi 11 diesel with common rail injection. The cabin is frame-panel and is well suited for booking - even cross-type door locks.
Cars "Motovoz-M" are noticeably lighter. In fact, these are elongated classic "Urals" with a cabin maximally unified with the "Tornado-U". The manufacturer, in particular, offers the army to buy "Ural-4320-38011-30" with the "Phlox" gun - the truck at one time made a lot of noise at the "Army-2016" exhibition. This "Motovoz-M" has a two-row armored cab, and its design is also different from the rest of the "Urals". The usual onboard "Ural-4320" Motovoz-M "takes 7 tons of cargo with an equipped weight of 18.4 tons.
But that's not all! There are also Ural-M vehicles in the promising lineup - military modifications of the civilian Ural NEXT. It is these trucks that should replace the first generation of the first generation “Motovoz” trucks. The main thing is not to get confused.
