The Ukrainian production of armored combat vehicles is constantly faced with financial, technological or organizational problems, which leads to very unpleasant consequences. Right now, you can see a couple of regular stories of this kind. At the same time, two scandalous situations develop at once - they are associated with the production of BTR-4 armored personnel carriers and Dozor-B armored vehicles.
BTR-4 and charges
The BTR-4 armored personnel carrier in the past has repeatedly become the protagonist of unpleasant stories, and now it is again at the center of a scandal. In recent days, an exchange of views and accusations took place, in which the Ukroboronprom concern, the Ministry of Defense and a number of other organizations took part. Together they are trying to find the culprits of the current situation. However, this process is more like shifting responsibility to each other.
On August 14, Ukroboronprom State Corporation announced problems with the production of the BTR-4 and their consequences. Kharkov Design Bureau for Mechanical Engineering named after A. A. Morozov was forced to switch to a two-day working week, as the Ministry of Defense made a number of dubious decisions.
The concern points out that the ministry stopped financing the production of the BTR-4 due to the impossibility of producing the required amount of equipment. The pace of production is insufficient due to the inability of the Lozivsky Kovalsko-Mechanical Plant to supply the necessary armored hulls. At the same time, it is noted that after the instructions of the Ministry of Defense, only LKMZ can produce hulls from steel grade "71".
Due to the breakdown of the contract, the Ministry of Defense requires the KMDB to pay a fine of 82, 3 million hryvnias (approx. 220 million rubles). In addition, the military, without explaining the reasons, stopped funding the work on the creation and modernization of armored combat vehicles. Lack of orders and fines can completely block the work of KMDB.
On August 15, the military department published its response to the accusations of Ukroboronprom, in which it called them unfounded. The ministry recalled that since 2014, the state defense order provides for funds for the purchase of vehicles of the BTR-4 family; contracts for this equipment provide for an advance payment of 70-80 percent. At the same time, the fulfillment of the deadlines for most of the contracts was disrupted.
The last such contract was signed in 2017 and had to be terminated. For two years, KMDB received the stipulated funding, but handed over to the customer only 7 armored vehicles. A few more products are in production, but about half were not even laid. With all this, KMDB did not purchase or did not receive a significant part of the required components and assemblies. In particular, the hulls are supplied in insufficient quantities due to the fact that KMDB does not pay LKMZ on time.
In recent months, the Ministry of Defense has held several meetings, during which it tried to find ways out of the current situation. All these measures failed, and on August 15 the ministry sent a corresponding appeal to the top leadership of Ukraine.
On August 15, LKMZ sent its letter to the President of Ukraine. It stated that KMDB owes the plant approx. UAH 75 million in advance payments or payment for finished products. In this case, we are talking only about already manufactured cases.
LKMZ touched upon the topic of armor. At the insistence of Ukroboronprom, Finnish MiiluxProtection 500 steel is now used in the construction of the BTR-4. The plant claims that such raw materials are intended for the production of safes and cash-in-transit vehicles, and were purchased through an intermediary firm in Poland. Armored vehicles made of such material do not meet the requirements, but they allow building corruption schemes. Thus, a housing made of Finnish steel turns out to be about UAH 1 million more expensive than a body made from its own raw materials.
Reciprocal move
On August 16, Ukroboronprom State Corporation responded to the ministry and published interesting information about the production of armored hulls. The concern accused Lozovskoy forging and mechanical plant of deception. LKMZ claims that the use of Finnish-made steel in the construction of armored hulls leads to an increase in the cost of the product by UAH 1 million. However, KMDB for the same building requires 400 thousand less than LKMZ. Mass production will save millions. All this is called a sign of unfair competition.
Also "Ukroboronprom" recalled the impossibility of assembling the hulls. The 85th military representation of the Ministry of Defense temporarily blocked the use of imported armor used on the BTR-4. Moreover, even the presence of such steel does not solve all the problems. In November last year, the 85th representative office informed the KMDB that the Lozovskoy plant is capable of producing only 1, 45 armored hulls per month.
Such things may indicate the presence of a conspiracy between the 85th representative office and the LKMZ, aimed at the development of budgetary funds. In addition, Ukroboronprom indicated that the Finnish MiiluxProtection 500 steel is actively used in the construction of foreign armored vehicles and meets the standards. They also pointed out the ability of LKMZ to produce the required number of high-quality buildings.
The fuss around the BTR-4
Thus, the production of armored personnel carriers BTR-4 - already not the simplest and most successful - faced new organizational and financial problems. The participants in the production and the customer exchange various accusations and try to find the culprit in the disruption of the production program, as well as to identify corruption schemes that lead to unnecessary spending.
Shortly before the current exchange of statements, the construction of the BTR-4 actually stopped. The release of equipment was carried out within the framework of the 2017 contract, which provided for the supply of 45 armored vehicles. Of these, the customer received only seven in two years. A certain amount of equipment remains unfinished, and the assembly of another is impossible due to the lack of units, incl. armored hulls.
What will happen next is unclear. To resume the assembly of armored personnel carriers, it is required to secure funding, solve organizational problems and reconcile contractors. All of this can be extremely challenging, especially in the current environment. Apparently, in the near future the story with the BTR-4 will be continued, and it is unlikely that it will be a happy ending. Regardless of the further development of the situation, the production of the BTR-4 is temporarily stopped.
Replacement for "Dozor"
Almost simultaneously with the events around the BTR-4, an equally interesting situation is developing with the production of Dozor-B armored vehicles. In early August, Radio Liberty reported that there were no plans to purchase such armored cars in the state defense order for 2018 and 2019. At the same time, the army receives Polish-made Oncilla machines.
This situation looks extremely interesting, since the Polish Oncilla armored car is a modified version of Dozora-B, created with the participation of Ukrainian enterprises. The basic armored car was created in the middle of the last decade, and then it took several years to organize mass production. Only in 2016 did the army receive a dozen armored cars, after which their construction stopped.
In 2013, KMDB and the Polish company Mista created a modified version of the Dozor-B machine called Oncilla. Soon Poland launched its serial production on its own. Almost the first customer of the Polish armored cars was the Ukrainian army. It is reported that the first Oncilla machines have already been put into operation, and new ones may follow.
The Polish version of the Dozora-B has some differences from the base vehicle. It uses a more powerful 210-horsepower engine, a redesigned hull and improved ergonomics for internal compartments. Other combat equipment is offered. Also Oncilla has a higher build quality.
Probably, the choice of the army was influenced by the technical features of the armored cars. However, other factors cannot be ruled out, incl. economic and corruption. However, regardless of the real preconditions, the current situation looks strange. The Dozor-B armored car was first shown 15 years ago, and then put into series for a long time and unsuccessfully. In recent years, they constantly talked about the imminent mass production of such equipment, but only a dozen domestic armored cars were assembled, after which they switched to purchasing their imported version.
Who is to blame and what to do
In just a few weeks, new unpleasant details of the construction of Ukrainian armored vehicles became known. The release of one sample turned out to be impossible, and it was decided to replace the other with imported equipment. A similar situation with the BTR-4 and Dozor-B raises legitimate questions, and the answers to them are obvious.
The main reason is the lack of clear and clear plans for the development of armored weapons and equipment, taking into account the financial and organizational capabilities of the Ministry of Defense, as well as the technological potential of the industry. Loud statements about certain intentions for the production of equipment are regularly heard, but the steps necessary for their implementation are not being taken.
Data on purchases of components from third countries, including through various intermediaries, may indicate the presence of collusion of a corrupt nature. The overpricing, combined with the limited financial capabilities of the Ministry of Defense, in a known way affects the production of equipment, the rearmament of the army and the state of defense enterprises.
As a result, Ukraine faces characteristic problems. It temporarily cannot produce the required armored personnel carriers, and in the production of armored cars it has to rely on foreign suppliers. In all likelihood, the current situation will develop, but the optimistic scenario does not look the most likely.
