The Emirates hosted an exhibition of the latest weapons IDEX-2011. Russia at this exhibition was represented by three pavilions that were popular with visitors to the exhibition. The Rosoboronexport exposition attracted the most people. A large screen in the pavilion showed almost all the weapons offered for export by the Russian defense industry, there was something to see. industrial associations in the center of attention were the Uralvagonzavod corporation, the Almaz-Antey Air Defense Concern and the Tula Instrument Design Bureau.
The fact that our air defense systems are the best in the world became clear 45 years ago, when in Vietnam the American military faced Soviet anti-aircraft missiles. Since that time, in the eyes of the world community, the quality of Russian weapons providing air defense of the country and troops has increased many times over. Worthy analogues of our "beeches", "three hundred", "tori", "tungusks" and many other systems have not been created, even in high-tech America. Therefore, the interest in the Almaz-Antey exposition was expected; states wishing to reliably protect their skies are adopting what the Russian concern produces today. And the exposition itself turned out to be rich in information and well thought out.
The anti-tank guided missile systems produced by the Tula KBP are also considered the best in the world. Neither the Israeli Merkavas nor the American Abrams were able to resist them, as the combat practice in the Middle East showed. The authority of the Tula instrument-makers noticeably grew when they were able to complete all work on the new Pantsir missile-gun complex. "Pantsir" has already begun to enter service with the UAE army. At the IDEX-2011 exhibition, one of the Emirati "Carapaces" in war paint was demonstrated for the first time.
missile-gun complex "Pantsir"
The interest in the Uralvagonzavod exposition can be explained by the fact that our armored vehicles are spread all over the world, and the Middle East is simply flooded with them. It was here, in the Middle East, that tank battles took place, in which Soviet T-55, T-62 and T-72 converged with American, British and French tanks. Also in this hot region our infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers are in excellent service. The UAE army adopted the BMP-3 even earlier than the Russian army and is very pleased with these machines. Therefore, our armored vehicles enjoy a well-deserved genuine interest and, importantly, respect at IDEX salons.
BMP-3
Although this time our cars were not on the demonstration site, only French "Leclercs" performed there. On the other hand, the newest Ukrainian tank "Oplot" stood in the open area, attracting attention. I must say that none of the guests of the salon passed him. The Ukrainian "Oplot" is a Russian T-80, the main difference is that the Kharkov car is powered by a purely Ukrainian 6TD-2E diesel boxer engine. The rest of the differences lie in the details that the specialists of the Kharkiv Morozov Design Bureau worked on and thanks to which the Ukrainian tank turned out to be quite successful.
Ukrainian tank "Oplot"
This tank weighs 50 tons. This increase in mass is caused by a significant increase in body armor using composite materials. The tank is equipped with multi-layer explosive reactive armor, effective even against sub-caliber shells.
The know-how of the Ukrainian tank is a powerful diesel engine - 1200 hp, as well as an automated and computerized traffic control system. The tank does not use a bulky hydrostatic transmission, but the advantages of this transmission are present. The "Oplot" is controlled by the steering wheel very smoothly. If the electronics fail, the machine can be operated manually using conventional mechanical links. A powerful diesel engine and a control system made it possible to introduce a reverse reverse gear, which made it possible to move backward at a speed of 35 km / h.
The fire control system is also very advanced. The tank is equipped with a modern optical-electronic system. The commander and gunner have an individual rangefinder, their own thermal imaging camera and their own visual channel. In fact, the functions of the commander and gunner are duplicated on the tank.
The weapon itself allows you to hit targets at a distance of 5 km. At a distance of 4 km. the probability of hitting the target is 98%.
The creators of the Oplot tank say that their brainchild is in no way inferior to the new German Leopard A7 tank, while it is more dynamic, reliable and has better combined protection than the German.
Our tank designers have objectively and appreciated the vehicle of their Ukrainian colleagues. The head of the St. Petersburg Design Bureau, in which the T-80 was once designed, Valery Kozishkurt, said that he was delighted with the innovations that Kharkiv residents were able to implement at Oplot. He also noted with regret that almost everything that is remarkable today for the new Ukrainian tank, Russia was ready to do back in the early 90s of the last century. In general, according to Russian tank builders, if the native Defense Ministry wanted to, the Russian army would have had really the best tanks in the world for a long time.
In the print media devoted to the IDEX-2011 salon, the tank topic was also discussed very actively. Discussions and publications on Russian tank building were disappointing for us. In particular, some Western military experts expressed the opinion that after the closure of the RF Ministry of Defense of the project of the promising T-95 tank, tank building in Russia will inevitably begin to fade. China, Germany and Ukraine are objectively among the leaders of the world tank building.
The Uralvagonzavod Corporation is doing everything possible to preserve the advanced school of Soviet tank building in the new Russia, and if, nevertheless, mutual understanding is established with our own Ministry of Defense, then our tank builders will succeed.
Uralvagonzavod planned to bring two of its best samples to IDEX-2011 - the latest version of the T-90AM tank and the Terminator tank support combat vehicle. the Ukrainian "Oplot" and even the German "MBT Revolution" would have looked so impressive.
At the upcoming show in Nizhny Tagil, these samples, together with other innovations of the domestic tank building, of course, will be presented. But it is unlikely that all the participants of the IDEX-2011 salon will visit Nizhny Tagil and look at the excellent examples of Russian weapons.
