Despite the massive reductions in the army and the full-scale decommissioning programs of equipment that were carried out in the past, significant stocks of materiel remain in storage in the Russian armed forces. Unwanted samples are constantly sent for recycling, freeing up space and reducing the cost of maintaining such stocks. As it became known a few days ago, the Ministry of Defense now intends to reduce the rate of disassembly of equipment, as well as to use outdated vehicles for various purposes.
Currently, the forces of the military department and the defense industry are implementing the federal target program "Industrial utilization of weapons and military equipment for 2011-2015 and for the period until 2020". As the name suggests, the goal of the program is to recycle unwanted material samples throughout the current decade. During the previous years of the program, some of the tasks set have been achieved. The rest of the plans, which will be carried out in the near future, have recently been revised.
Reducing plans
On September 7, the head of the Main Armored Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, Lieutenant General Aleksandr Shevchenko, spoke about new plans for outdated military equipment. He recalled that in accordance with the current federal target program, by the end of the decade it was initially planned to dispose of about 10 thousand units of armored vehicles accumulated at storage bases. These were still Soviet-made vehicles, decommissioned due to the reduction of the armed forces of the last decades.
Decommissioned vehicles at the 2544th Central Tank Reserve Base. Photo Wikimapia.org
Now plans for recycling have been revised towards reducing its volumes. Until 2020, only 4,000 armored combat vehicles will go “under the knife”. General Shevchenko called the reasons for such a change in plans a change in the international situation, an increase in the combat training of the armed forces and an increased degree of patriotism of the country's citizens. In addition, new technical solutions have appeared that allow for a deep modernization of equipment and then return it to service.
It is easy to calculate that in accordance with the updated plans of the Ministry of Defense, about 6 thousand armored vehicles will not be sent to factories for disassembly and will not cease to exist. Now they are being told a different fate. As the head of the GABTU explained, some of the unnecessary armored vehicles will be modernized and delivered to friendly states within the framework of military-technical cooperation. Some of the decommissioned vehicles will go to landfills, while others will become monuments.
It should be noted that the issue of getting rid of no longer needed military equipment is very serious and urgent for the Russian Ministry of Defense. According to various estimates, currently at least 15-17 thousand tanks of several models alone remain in storage bases. Most of this equipment has no chance of returning to units of the Russian ground forces, while its further storage simply does not make sense. It should be disposed of, and - if such opportunities exist - with a certain financial or other benefit.
Rebuild and sell
The traditional and customary way to get rid of unnecessary equipment is simple disposal. A tank or other armored vehicle is sent to the factory, where all the onboard equipment is removed from it, and the empty hull is cut into metal. The sale of the resulting scrap metal allows partially offsetting the cutting costs. Until now, industrial disposal has been the main way to dispose of decommissioned equipment. Nevertheless, now the volume of such work will have to be seriously reduced.
T-62 of the Syrian army. Photo Defense.ru
Due to well-known circumstances, not all tanks or other vehicles that were sent for storage managed to develop their resource during service. This technique can be suitable for further exploitation. It can be removed from storage, repaired and restored. If necessary, the modernization of the combat vehicle is possible. After the completion of the repair and upgrade, the equipment can be transferred to the troops.
It should be recalled that a large number of outdated types of armored vehicles, removed from service, remain in storage. In this case, the upgraded armored vehicles can be sold to third countries. For example, over the past couple of years, Russia has transferred to Syria a number of T-62 tanks that were removed from storage and underwent restoration. This technique is long and hopelessly outdated from the point of view of advanced armies, but it is still of interest in the context of local conflicts.
At Russian storage bases, according to various sources, there are at least 2500-2700 T-54/55 medium tanks and more than 2 thousand T-62 vehicles. Several years ago, the main T-64 tanks were removed from service, and about 2 thousand units of such equipment were sent for storage. Armored vehicles of these types may well be of interest to the Syrian army or the armed forces of other developing countries that need military equipment, but have limited financial capabilities.
T-62s have long been withdrawn from the armament of the Russian army. but are of interest to third countries. Photo Defense.ru
One cannot exclude such a scenario in which a certain number of old tanks will be repaired and modernized for the Russian army. One of the modernization projects using modern components is already being implemented by the industry, and not so long ago, new options for updating tanks were presented. The reduction in the rate of utilization may also be associated with plans to update the fleet of equipment of the armed forces.
For civilian life
Some samples with large resource balances may be of interest in the context of conversion. Light armored vehicles, such as MT-LB tractors or similar vehicles, may be deprived of special military equipment and offered to commercial buyers. Some samples of military equipment in the past became the basis for serial civilian vehicles. Conversion of commercial equipment from military vehicles may be of particular interest to both industry and potential customers.
It should be noted that the sale of decommissioned military equipment, which has undergone certain modifications, to civilian structures and even to private individuals is not a novelty. Nevertheless, for objective reasons, this practice has not yet become widespread. To make it massive, certain efforts are needed on the part of the military department and industry. However, even with the correct organization of the process, commercial deliveries to civilian structures are unlikely to be frequent and large.
Realistic targets
A certain part of the armored vehicles remaining in storage was written off due to the development of a resource or any damage. The restoration of such machines simply does not make sense, however, cutting into metal may not be advisable either. At the same time, tanks and other combat vehicles can be used in the process of training personnel.
The KhTZ-3N tracked transporter is one of the options for converting the MT-LB for civilian operators. Photo Wikimedia Commons
Decommissioned, unusable and dismantled samples have been used as targets at landfills for decades. In this case, the infantry, crews of combat vehicles or pilots can train not on wooden shields of established shapes and sizes, but on real armored objects. Among other things, this allows you to determine the effectiveness of fire in terms of various aspects of hitting the target.
This approach has long been used in the training of personnel, and, apparently, no one is going to abandon it. Moreover, the new GABTU plans to reduce the rate of industrial utilization will have to understandably affect the number of targets that mimic real military equipment as closely as possible.
Patriotic education
According to the head of the Main Armored Directorate, part of the equipment previously intended for cutting will be transferred to the regional authorities for use in the construction of new memorials. A large number of monuments and memorials of glory were erected throughout the country and in the near abroad in the past, which use real samples of weapons and military equipment. The new plans of the GABTU imply the direct participation of the army in the construction of new similar facilities.
Also, armored combat vehicles of different classes and types may be of interest to numerous museums. They can also be used in the construction and formation of thematic objects like the Patriot park near Moscow. In all such cases, it will be possible to use outdated equipment that is unsuitable for use in the army, but corresponding to a particular period. The equipment will have to be removed from storage, partially restored with an emphasis on the integrity of the structure and appearance, and then installed in a new place.
Tank T-55 in the exposition of the Kazan Victory Park. Photo Vitalykuzmin.net
It must be admitted that such use of armored vehicles removed from storage will not become widespread. Even with the active construction of military-patriotic parks, museums or monuments, this entire program in terms of its volume is unlikely to compete with contracts for the supply of equipment to third countries. However, in this context, it is not the volumes of the restoration of technology that are important, but the very fact of creating new objects designed to perpetuate the memory and patriotic education of citizens.
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In accordance with the updated plans of the Main Armored Directorate, by the end of this decade, only 4 thousand armored vehicles will be sent for industrial disposal instead of the originally planned 10 thousand. There is reason to believe that the bulk of the combat vehicles "saved" from cutting will go for repair and modernization, after which they will be handed over to one or another foreign customer. Targets, apparently, will become the second item of such "expenses". A small number of vehicles will be used for the conversion and construction of monuments.
The military department has seriously revised its plans within the framework of the federal target program "Industrial utilization of weapons and military equipment for 2011-2015 and for the period until 2020". The number of equipment sent for cutting has been significantly reduced due to the emergence of new plans. Thus, by the end of this decade, new results will be obtained within the framework of disposing of stored equipment. And this time, new joint work of the army and other structures will have a positive effect not only on the volume of scrap metal.
