Next year, strategic missile forces will begin to receive new equipment. To ensure the safety of mobile ground-based missile systems, a new remote demining machine (MDR) "Foliage" will be used. In early August, the latest development of the domestic defense industry was tested at the test site near Krasnoarmeisk. Currently, the design is being fine-tuned and preparations for the serial construction of machines.
The promising MDR "Foliage" (GRAU index 15M107) is designed to search for and neutralize explosive devices placed on the route of vehicles of the Topol, Topol-M and Yars missile systems. When patrolling, self-propelled launchers, communications and support vehicles risk being attacked by saboteurs, including those with the use of various types of mines. In order to avoid such incidents, it is planned to include a special vehicle in the missile units, which will examine the road and look for planted explosive devices. In addition, she must be able to neutralize or destroy them. To carry out such work related to the safety of vehicles of mobile missile systems, a new project "Foliage" was created.
Most of the information about MDR "Foliage" is still classified, but some fragmentary data have already been made publicly available. As can be seen from the available photo and video materials, the basis for the "Foliage" demining machine was the three-axle armored vehicle "Product 69501" of the KAMAZ plant, which is a development of the "Shot" project. From this fact, it is possible to draw rough conclusions about the running characteristics of the MDR. When converted into the 15M107 "Foliage" car, the armored car receives a set of special radio-electronic equipment. Part of it, including control systems, is installed inside the armored hull. On the roof and in the front part, characteristic units are mounted used to search for and neutralize mines.
Perhaps the most noticeable aspect of the Foliage car is the antenna on its roof. A parabolic antenna, similar to those used with radar stations, is probably used to find mines. The detection system is said to be able to locate mines at a distance of up to 100 meters in a 30 ° wide sector. With such characteristics MDR "Foliage" can quickly survey the necessary sections of the patrol route of missile systems.
In the front of the machine there is a movable frame mounted on telescopic rods and equipped with some devices. In the stowed position, the rods are shortened and the instrument unit is located next to the front of the hood of the armored car. In the combat position, the frame is pushed forward, and its instrumentation is lowered to the ground. Apparently, it is the front frame that bears the emitters designed to neutralize the mines found.
It should be noted that in the absence of official information, it remains only to speculate about the purpose of certain units mounted on an armored car. It may well turn out that units installed on the front frame are used as a mine detector, and the antenna on the roof serves as an electromagnetic "gun". Moreover, one cannot exclude such a variant of the architecture of the radio-electronic systems of the complex, in which both units can be used both for detecting and neutralizing explosive devices.
On the roof and rear of the armored car there are also some units, the purpose of which remains unknown. Probably, boxes for transporting various cargoes, antennas of various systems, etc. are installed on the outer surface of the armored hull. In addition, it is possible to have an additional generator installed on the roof. A similar unit is needed by the machine due to the use of a large number of different electronics and emitters.
As follows from the available data, the combat operation of the 15M107 vehicles will look like this. At a certain distance in front of the vehicles of the missile complex, vehicles with remote mine clearance systems are moving along the route. With the help of the detection system, she examines the road and looks for mines. Having found the ammunition, the MDR stops and the crew of five, using the available information, makes a decision on the method of neutralizing the ammunition. Two sappers, who are part of a crew of five (driver, commander, operator and two sappers), can deal with the elimination of a mine. In addition, existing technical means can be used. In the latter case, the machine approaches the mine at a sufficient distance and turns on the microwave emitter. If the mine is equipped with any electronic elements, then the powerful radiation literally burns them, which renders the ammunition unusable.
Taking into account the peculiarities of sabotage activities in recent years, the authors of the "Foliage" project provided protection against remotely controlled explosive devices. Since such mines are often manufactured using civilian communications (cell phones, pagers, etc.), a remote mine clearance vehicle is capable of sending radio signals that mimic the signals of telephones and other civilian electronics. Due to this, the detonation of the ammunition should occur at the moment when the mine enters the zone of action of the emitters of the demining machine. The missile complex equipment for which the charge was intended is at this time at a great distance from the explosion site and cannot be damaged. The declared radius of action of the radio-electronic systems of the machine is equal to 70 meters. This means that it will be able to find and neutralize explosive devices not only on the road or the side of the road, but also at a fairly large distance from the highway itself.
However, the most interesting in the "Foliage" complex is the system of remote mine clearance using microwave radiation. Previously, such systems were not used in our country, which allows us to consider the new project a real breakthrough in the field of engineering. At the same time, unfortunately, even the available information allows us to say that the "Foliage" project is not a universal means of protecting missile systems from sabotage using explosive devices. It is easy to see that a high-power microwave transmitter can only disable mines that are equipped with remote-controlled fuses or some other electronic systems.
In the case of pressure mines, the applied system may be useless. However, the presence of a mine detector will make it possible to detect an explosive device in time and take appropriate measures. Probably, it is precisely for the disposal of such ammunition that sappers are present in the MDR "Foliage" crew. Thus, the term "remote mine clearance", used in the name of a new class of equipment, turns out to be true only for a certain part of the cases that can occur with the "Foliage" vehicle during combat operations.
It is difficult to say when exactly the 15M107 "Foliage" remote demining machines will be able to use their capabilities in practice. Given their purpose, I would like all cases of mine detection to occur exclusively during exercises. As for the timing of the start of deliveries of new vehicles to the Strategic Missile Forces, they have already been determined. The first serial armored cars with special electronic equipment will enter the troops next year. In the future, deliveries will go at a rate of several cars per year. The exact information on the procurement of MDR “Foliage” will most likely be published later.
