At the end of the seventies, the UR-77 "Meteorite" mine clearing installation, which used elongated charges, entered service with the Soviet army. Shortly thereafter, development began on the next sample of this kind. The result of the work was the installation "Object 190" or UR-88. However, for a number of reasons, it did not enter service and was forgotten.
R&D and R&D
The decision to start work on a new model of engineering equipment was made by the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Industry at the end of 1977. In the middle of 1978, the Military-Industrial Commission decided to start research work with the code "Lear".
The aim of the research work "Lira" was to search for new ideas in the field of destruction of land mines. Then, based on the found solution, it was required to develop a technical project. The Ural Design Bureau of Transport Engineering was appointed the main contractor. A new type of mine clearance system for installation on a self-propelled vehicle was to be designed by the Chelyabinsk SKB-200 plant named after V. I. Ordzhonikidze and SKB "Rotor".
In the course of research and development, it was determined that systems based on a volumetric explosion show great potential in demining. This principle involved spraying a flammable liquid over a minefield, followed by its ignition. The explosion was supposed to create a powerful shock wave capable of damaging or throwing out mines installed in the ground.
In May 1981, the participants in the Lyra project were instructed to begin the development and construction of a prototype of the new technology. Over the next few weeks, a submission of some of the required items was required. The first factory tests took place soon after. In August 1982, the research work "Lira" was transformed into the development work "Oboe".
Installation of mine clearance
The prototype for "Lear" / "Oboe" was designated as "Object 190". In some sources it is called by the designation of OCD. In addition, it is mentioned that this vehicle received the army index UR-88.
The Object 190 was built on the basis of the T-72 main battle tank. The armored vehicle lost its turret and the standard equipment of the fighting compartment. Instead, a new superstructure was mounted with special equipment to solve mine clearance tasks. The dome with equipment and weapons was mounted directly on the pursuit of the hull, but could not rotate. The original mine clearance system received the 9EC index.
The superstructure for the "Oboe" was made of armor plates that provided protection against bullets and small-caliber shells. She had a straightened frontal part with a niche for access to the driver's hatch. On the sides of the forehead of the superstructure were located spray nozzles and launchers of explosive ammunition. Under the protection of the armor, there was an operator's workplace. The side boxes and the aft part of the superstructure probably contained large tanks for the combustible mixture.
Object 190 transported 2,140 liters of volumetric detonating mixture supplied to two frontal hoses. The latter had a vertical guidance system, which made it possible to change the range of liquid ejection.
To ignite the combustible cloud, special pyrotechnic charges were used. For their use on the superstructure, two paired launchers were provided. Initially, each installation had two blocks with eight barrels - a total of 32 rounds of ammunition. In the future, each block received one additional barrel.
It was also proposed to equip the demining installation "Object 190" with a knife trawl with an electromagnetic attachment. The trawl provided the fight against explosive devices near the armored vehicle, and its own equipment was supposed to act on threats at a slightly greater distance.
For self-defense, it was proposed to use a tower installation with a heavy machine gun NSVT, borrowed from serial tanks. It is not clear whether it was planned to equip the Oboe with additional armor of the type of reactive armor.
The crew of the car consisted of two people: the commander-operator and the driver-mechanic. The driver was located in his place inside the body. The commander's seat was inside the new superstructure. It was equipped with its own hatch with viewing devices and the necessary control panels.
Operating principle
As part of the research work "Lira" and the ROC "Oboe", a very interesting way of dealing with mines installed in the ground or throwing in was formed. The self-propelled demining unit "Object 190" was supposed to enter the minefield using a standard knife trawl, which prevented explosive devices from falling under the tracks and bottom.
To carry out demining, the vehicle stopped and then sprayed a combustible mixture over the minefield. The available nozzles allowed the aerosol to be thrown at a distance of up to 16-18 m. The mixture formed a cloud in the air, and also fell into the upper soil layer. Then the launcher fired a pyrotechnic ammunition, and it provoked a volumetric explosion of the air-fuel mixture.
The explosion of one portion of the volume-detonating mixture reliably cleared an area 12x6 m in size from anti-tank and anti-personnel mines. The shock wave of the volumetric explosion destroyed the mines in the ground or on the surface of the earth, provoked their detonation or threw them out of the passage.
After the explosion, the "Object 190" could continue to move. Having traveled 10-12 m, the car had to again perform mixture throwing and detonation. Subject to the recommended operating modes, the demining installation could process a passage 5-6 m wide and up to 310-320 m long. Such work required a significant amount of time.
Successes and failures
In 1983, the Uralvagonzavod enterprise, according to documentation from UKBTM and other developers of Object 190, built the first and only prototype of a promising demining installation. Soon he was taken out for factory tests.
For a number of reasons, the development of the structure was delayed. All stages of testing continued until 1989, which led to negative consequences. By this time, the army and the defense industry faced serious problems, and the fate of many promising models was in question.
In May 1989, the Object 190 self-propelled demining unit was put into service under the name UR-88. However, this is where the history of the project actually ended. Due to the new political and economic course of the authorities, the army did not have funding to purchase new equipment. As a result, the serial production of the "Oboe" did not begin. The combat units did not receive a single such machine.
The only prototype built remained at the disposal of the Central Research Institute of Engineering Troops of the Ministry of Defense. It was partially dismantled, and then put on one of the storage sites. The removal of the units and storage in the open air did not contribute to the preservation of good technical condition.
The general public "Object 190" or UR-88 became known only a few years ago, when the first photographs of a prototype in storage appeared. At that time, the appearance and condition of the car left much to be desired. According to the latest data, last year a unique sample underwent some repairs, after which it ended up in the museum of the 15th Central Research Institute. Unfortunately, this museum is not available to the general public. Photos of the restored "Oboe" have not yet been published.
Pros and cons
Obviously, the UR-88 demining installation could not get into the troops for the simplest and most commonplace reason - due to the lack of funding and changes in state policy. Nevertheless, the technical aspects of the project should also be considered in order to assess its potential in real-life conditions.
First of all, the "Object 190" was interesting for the original method of demining, which had not previously been used in domestic projects. At the same time, as shown by tests, sufficient work efficiency was ensured. Also, a plus should be considered the lack of direct contact of the mine clearance installation with mines - except for the mounted trawl. This reduced the risk of damage to the working bodies and made it possible to continue working after a series of mine explosions. The advantages could be considered a unified chassis, minimal crew and no need for special ammunition.
However, there were also disadvantages. First of all, these are problems with combat stability associated with the presence of 2 thousand liters of flammable liquid. The shelling from the side of the enemy could have the most dire consequences. From the point of view of the speed of demining, the "Object 190" had no advantages over other equipment with trawls of traditional design. In view of the non-contact work with mines, the UR-88 could be considered a competitor to the UR-77 installation, however, the latter favorably differed both in its speed of operation and in its range.
Thus, the result of the ROC "Oboe" was a rather interesting and promising demining installation, capable of effectively solving its range of tasks and complementing other domestic samples. However, due to financial and political problems, the UR-88 did not reach the army. The troops had to continue to operate only existing models.
