The Czech company Tatra is widely known for its trucks. At the recent international exhibition of arms and military equipment Eurosatory-2014, the Czech company for the first time presented two new vehicles designed to perform auxiliary functions in the armed forces of the customer country. One of them is a container ship for transporting various goods in standard containers, the other is an armored truck for working in difficult conditions.
The first of the presented vehicles is the T815-7 container ship. A car with a medical module from Karbox s.r.o. was presented at the exhibition. in a standard ISO container form factor. This vehicle is a further development of the ideas behind the T815 family of trucks. Like many other Tatra vehicles, the T815-7 container ship has a so-called. a backbone frame based on a tubular structure. All the necessary transmission units are located inside the central tube, and the axle shafts of the wheels are attached to it on the sides. This design of the frame and chassis was developed to increase the cross-country ability of machines. To demonstrate such capabilities at the Eurosatory-2014 exhibition, a container ship with an 8x8 wheel arrangement stood on a specially prepared site. Heights of different heights were made under several of its wheels. The landing gear stood confidently on such a difficult surface.
The second "premiere" of Tatra is of much greater interest. In cooperation with specialists from the Israeli company Plasan Sasa, Czech car builders have developed an armored 4x4 High Mobility Heavy Duty (HMHD) truck designed to transport various goods in a combat zone. The presented car has a two-axle all-wheel drive chassis of the T815 family. At the same time, it is noted that in the future new versions of a military armored truck with other chassis of the family will be created. Thus, at the next exhibitions, cars with a wheel arrangement of 6x6, 8x8, 10x10 and even 12x12 may appear. All this technique may be of interest to potential customers.
Building on the ideas of the T815 family, the new HMHD project has a number of features specific to these trucks. All machine units are mounted on a backbone frame with a central beam, to which the wheel axle shafts are attached. It is argued that this design of the machine allows you to achieve an optimal balance of speed, lifting capacity and cross-country ability. In addition, vehicles of the T815 family have become quite widespread, which should simplify the operation of the latest armored truck.
According to the manufacturer, the maximum weight of the HMHD armored truck (with payload) can reach 19 tons. The machine is equipped with a 270 kW Tatra T3C-928-81 eight-cylinder engine and a Tatra 14 TS 210L transmission with 16 gears (14 + 2). The maximum speed on the highway reaches 115 km / h, and the 420-liter fuel tank allows you to cover 1200 km without refueling. The model of the car shown at the exhibition was equipped with an onboard body. The carrying capacity of the machine in this version is 6, 3 tons. Apparently, depending on the wishes of the customer, the truck can be equipped with other types of bodies.
The most interesting part of the new Tatra project is the cockpit and the complex of means of protection against small arms and mines. The HMHD truck reservation was created in collaboration with Israeli specialists from Plasan Sasa. The existing photos show that the cockpit is completely covered with armor and protects the crew from shelling from any direction. The cockpit has three seats for the driver and two passengers. An interesting feature of this cab is the seats that absorb the energy of the explosion under the car.
The basic version of armoring the cab of the 4x4 High Mobility Heavy Duty truck meets the requirements of level 2 of the NATO STANAG 4569 standard. The crew of the vehicle and the internal units of the cabin are protected from armor-piercing incendiary bullets of cartridge 7, 62x39 mm, as well as from fragments of a 155-mm artillery shell at a distance of 80 m According to the standard, the machine must withstand the detonation of 6 kg of explosive under the wheel. The design of the armored cab enhances its protection. At the request of the customer, the cabin can be equipped with more powerful armor. In this case, NATO standard level 3 protection is ensured. This means that the hull is capable of withstanding an armor-piercing bullet of a cartridge 7, 62x51 mm or fragments of a 155-mm projectile at a distance of 60 m. In addition, the crew must be protected from the detonation of an 8-kg explosive device under the wheel or under the bottom.
To ensure such a high level of protection, the designers of Tatra and Plasan Sasa used a multi-layer armor structure and an explosion energy absorption system. The main component of the latter is dedicated crew seats. The comfort and safety of the crew is additionally provided by various parts and systems. For example, to avoid injury to passengers, the dashboard in front of their seats is equipped with a long handrail. Heavy-duty cockpit doors, carrying multi-layer armor, are equipped with amplifiers.
Tatra's armored HMHD truck was first shown at Eurosatory-2014. For this reason, there is no information on orders for this machine yet. Potential customers found out about this truck only a few days ago and have not even managed to initiate a negotiation process, as a result of which a contract for the supply of equipment may be signed. Prospects for the project will be announced later.
