On April 27, 2020, the press service of the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that the motorized rifle division of the 58th combined-arms army stationed in Chechnya received new armored medical vehicles "Linza". The new armored vehicles are based on the Typhoon-K armored car. For the first time, a new ambulance, designed to evacuate the wounded from the battlefield, was presented in 2018 as part of the Army-2018 international military-technical forum.
According to the press service of the Southern Military District, this summer, as part of tactical exercises in the field, the personnel of medical units will be able to practice in practice the methods and procedures for evacuating conditionally wounded servicemen from the battlefield using new armored sanitary equipment. According to Igor Zarakhovich, chief designer of the enterprise-developer of the Linza armored ambulance vehicle, the vehicle passed the entire test cycle stipulated by the development contract back in 2019. At the same time, the Remdizel enterprise emphasizes that the new armored car was created according to the tactical and technical assignment of the Russian Ministry of Defense, in which the medical service of the military department also took part.
The appearance of the armored ambulance "Linza"
All the conflicts of recent years only confirm the importance of medical service in the army and its need to reduce losses and quickly provide medical assistance to wounded servicemen. Often the wounded have to be evacuated directly from the battlefield. In these conditions, the speed and quality of first aid are of great importance, as well as the speed of delivery of the wounded, at least to the nearest dressing station or field hospital. The sooner a wounded man falls into the hands of doctors in a hospital, the higher the chances that the soldier will not die and remain disabled. In this sense, all modern armored medical vehicles are designed to fulfill the "golden hour" rule: to provide first aid to the wounded and promptly deliver them to the next stage of medical evacuation.
All this was well understood in the USSR, where a whole family of specialized armored medical vehicles (BMM) was developed, built on the chassis of armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles. The BMM family, made on the chassis of the BMP-1 tracked infantry fighting vehicles (these are BMM-1, BMM-2 and BMM-3 vehicles), has received great development. Also, medical versions of the MT-LB armored personnel carrier have become widespread. A line of armored medical vehicles BMM-D "Traumatism" (BMM-D1, BMM-D2, BMM-D3) was created specifically for the airborne units on the basis of the BTR-MD armored personnel carrier. At the same time, all this equipment was created on the basis of chassis, which are either no longer produced by the Russian industry at all, or have become seriously outdated. An important feature was the fact that all of the listed BMMs are tracked vehicles.
The moral and physical obsolescence of the chassis of this technology raised the question of the development of new armored medical vehicles before the Ministry of Defense. In this case, priority was given to wheeled vehicles. For example, in the mid-2010s, the Ministry of Defense acquired several BMM-80 "Symphony", built on the basis of a wheeled armored personnel carrier BTR-80. But this medical machine, created several decades ago, never became widespread.
The tender for the creation of a modern armored ambulance was announced by the Russian Ministry of Defense in September 2016. The cost of the contract for carrying out R&D on the topic "Development of a protected tactical ambulance vehicle" (code of work "Lens") amounted to 46, 509 million rubles. As a base vehicle, the Russian military wanted to see an armored vehicle with a 4x4 wheel arrangement from the family of armored vehicles "Tiger", "Typhoon" or "Scorpion". Ultimately, the tender was won by the project of a protected sanitary vehicle K-53949 "Typhoon", presented by specialists of the company "Remdizel" from Naberezhnye Chelny.
Prototypes of the first versions of the new ambulance were presented to the military in 2017, and the following year they made their full debut and presentation to the general public. At the same time, in 2018, within the framework of the Army Forum, the Remdizel company signed the first contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense for the supply of 27 armored ambulances with the implementation of the contract until the end of 2020.
Possibilities of the secured ambulance vehicle "Linza"
Within the framework of the implemented tender and the terms of reference issued by the Ministry of Defense, the specialists of the Remdizel company created two versions of the protected ambulance vehicle (ZSA) of the tactical link. The first of them is a classic medical transporter (ZSA-T), designed to search, collect and remove wounded servicemen directly from the battlefield, as well as from the centers of mass sanitary losses. At the same time, doctors can provide assistance to the wounded on the spot or directly on board the Lenza. The second option is a battalion medical station vehicle (ZSA-P), the main purpose of which is to transport various medical equipment and deploy a battalion medical station on its base at any given point.
Unlike the armored one-volume off-road vehicle K-53949 "Typhoon" with a capacity of 10 people, the new protected ambulance based on it received a two-seater cabin and a new special armored medical module. In the version of the ZSA-T medical conveyor, the medical module provides 6 folding seats for the wounded or a place for placing 2-4 stretchers. In this case, a combined transportation of the wounded is possible, when three lightly wounded are placed on folding seats along one side, and two seriously wounded are transported on a stretcher.
In the version of the battalion's medical center (ZSA-P), the vehicle provides 5 places for the crew, as well as two places for attaching a stretcher, and this vehicle is also equipped with a frame tent. As noted in the press service of the Ministry of Defense, protected ambulances "Linza" are equipped with special devices for pulling the wounded out of hatches, dragging the wounded, as well as shields for carrying soldiers with spinal injuries and other specialized medical equipment.
An important feature is that the new medical vehicle retains all the advantages of its combat progenitor. "Lens", built on the basis of a vehicle of the "Typhoon" family, reliably protects the crew and the wounded from small arms fire, and also features enhanced mine protection. The car is favorably distinguished by the increased ground clearance and the V-shaped bottom, which allows you to effectively dissipate the energy of the explosion and divert the debris aside. The body of the new Russian protected ambulance vehicle can withstand an explosion on an explosive device with a capacity of up to 8 kg in TNT equivalent under any of the wheels. At the same time, the wheels of the armored car themselves are also armored. Even with a seriously damaged wheel, the "Linza" will be able to drive at least another 50 kilometers over rough terrain, according to the press service of the Russian Defense Ministry.
Thanks to the powerful diesel engine KamAZ 610.10-350, which develops a maximum power of 350 liters. with., an all-wheel drive car with a gross weight of 16 tons is able to accelerate along the highway to a speed of 105 km / h. Two tanks of diesel fuel with a capacity of 180 liters each are enough to provide the car with a range of at least 1000 km. The ground clearance declared by the manufacturer is 433 mm and is adjustable. Overall dimensions of the car: length - 7130 mm, width - 2550 mm, height - 3100 mm.
The four-wheel drive vehicle with a 4x4 wheel arrangement is characterized by good maneuverability, which is especially important, since the wounded often have to be evacuated from areas with poor transport accessibility. Without any preparation, the armored ambulance "Linza" can overcome a ford up to 1.5 meters deep (with special training - 1.75 m). The height of the vertical wall to be overcome is 0.6 meters, the width of the ditch to be overcome is at least 0.6 meters. The climbing angle is 30 degrees.
