In modern conditions, taking into account the growth in the cost of military equipment, the fastest repair in the field is becoming one of the highest priority tasks. For the timely repair of damaged military equipment, armored recovery vehicles (ARVs) of various models are used. Currently, the main type of such equipment in the Russian armed forces, intended for the repair of tanks, is the BREM-1, created on the basis of the T-72 tank. These machines have characteristics that are acceptable for the fulfillment of the tasks assigned to them, but at the same time, under certain conditions, they can create some problems in the field of supply.
A few decades ago, a specific situation developed in the army of the Soviet Union, in which three types of tanks and a large number of their modifications were simultaneously in service. The insufficient degree of unification of the existing tanks made it difficult for the supply services and increased the total cost of operating the fleet of armored vehicles. This situation was to some extent complicated by the fact that a large number of repair units equipped with BREM-1 vehicles had to work with tank units armed with T-64 or T-80 tanks. This significantly complicated the logistics of supplying spare parts, since tanks and repair vehicles could not use the same units.
BREM-1 at the international forum "Technologies in mechanical engineering" 2010
In 1997, the Omsk Design Bureau of Transport Engineering and the Omsktransmash plant, engaged in the production of T-80U tanks, on their own initiative began developing a new armored recovery vehicle. It was assumed that the creation and mass production of a new ARV based on the T-80U tank would facilitate the supply of repair units and, as a result, make the operation of T-80 tanks more convenient. Separately, it is worth noting the timing of the development of a new machine. The work began in January 1997 and was given only six months. The prototype of the new ARV was supposed to be shown at the next VTTV-97 exhibition.
Due to such a tight deadline, the preliminary design of the new machine took just a couple of weeks. The task facing the Omsk designers was both simple and complex. The work was facilitated by the requirements for maximum unification with the T-80U tank. At the same time, it was necessary to place a set of special equipment on the base tank chassis, which cannot be called usual for tanks. As a result, it was necessary to solve a lot of issues, primarily of a layout nature. In the design of the new machine, called BREM-80U, computer systems were widely used, which made it possible to speed up some processes.
The basic chassis in the form of an armored hull of the T-80U tank determined the main characteristics of the BREM-80U. Gross vehicle weight with containers for spare parts, etc. equals 45 tons, which is slightly less than the combat weight of the base tank. The power plant with a gas turbine engine GTD-1000F or GTD-1250 with a capacity of 1000 or 1250 hp remained the same. respectively. The mechanical transmission and tracked propulsion unit BREM-80U completely repeat the corresponding units of the original tank. Therefore, the recovery vehicle is able to follow the tanks on the battlefield and work fully in the same conditions as they do.
The upper part of the armored hull has undergone noticeable changes. Instead of frontal armor and a roof on the T-80U chassis, a volumetric armored wheelhouse was provided, inside which the crew and part of the target equipment are located. The wheelhouse is located at the site of the control compartment and the fighting compartment of the tank. Because of it, the height of the armored vehicle increased by about 400 millimeters in comparison with the base tank. The armor plates of the welded hull can withstand the impact of small-caliber artillery shells in the frontal projection and bullets or fragments from other angles. All units of special equipment located outside the hull are also equipped with their own armored housings.
Inside the wheelhouse there are places for the driver, commander, mechanic and welder. It is noteworthy that all the hatches and optical devices are placed on the roof of the armored jacket. The driver's workplace was also redone accordingly. If necessary, one more specialist can be included in the BREM-80U crew, depending on the planned work. A separate seat is provided for it inside the case. Behind the armored cockpit of the crew there is a cargo platform designed for the installation of containers with spare parts, tools, etc. A large air intake unit for a gas turbine engine is located immediately behind the platform.
In the event of a collision with an enemy, the BREM-80U has some weapons designed exclusively for self-defense. This is an open turret with an NSV-12, 7 or Kord heavy machine gun and 1,800 rounds of ammunition, as well as eight 902B Tucha smoke grenade launchers. In addition, there are four AKS74U assault rifles with several magazines, a signal pistol with missiles, and a number of fragmentation grenades in the stowage inside the armored hull. This weapon is intended for the self-defense of the crew that left their armored vehicle.
In the stowed position, the most noticeable element of the special equipment of the BREM-80U machine is the bulldozer-type opener-blade. A blade with a width of 3, 3 meters can be buried into the ground by 400-450 mm, which makes it possible to use it for self-digging or to prepare a position for other equipment. In addition, the blade has one more function: when working with crane equipment or when using the main winch, it plays the role of an outrigger that does not allow the recovery vehicle to roll over or move.
For the evacuation of stuck or overturned armored vehicles BREM-80U is equipped with two winches, the main and the auxiliary. The hydraulically driven main pull winch provides up to 35 ton-force pulling power. When using a pulley block, this parameter increases to 140 tf. The traction winch drum has 160 meters of steel cable. The latter is issued at a speed of 50 meters per minute. The rope is wound, depending on the need, at one of two speeds: 16 or 50 meters per minute. The traction winch is located inside the armored hull, its cable is brought out through a hole in the frontal armor plate. The auxiliary winch is much weaker and only provides one ton-force. Less effort is compensated for by a higher cable winding speed - from 60 to 80 meters per minute. At the same time, up to 330 meters of a relatively thin cable is placed on the drum of the auxiliary winch.
After the damaged armored vehicle is placed on tracks or pulled out on solid ground, the BREM-80U can take it in tow. For this, a semi-rigid towing device with two rods is provided in its stern. The capabilities of this device and the power plant of the repair and recovery vehicle are sufficient for towing all tanks and heavy armored vehicles in service, including those with damage to the chassis.
The equipment of the BREM-80U vehicle allows in the field to carry out some types of small and medium repair of armored vehicles. So, with the help of a cargo crane, an armored recovery vehicle is capable of dismantling a tank turret or replacing an engine. The slewing jib crane is mounted in the front left part of the ARV, its boom in the stowed position is laid along the body. Normal lifting capacity is 18 tons. When using a pulley block, it increases to 25 tons. The crane mechanisms allow the boom to be turned in any direction, however, the maximum load moment is provided only in the position of the boom in which it is directed forward relative to the machine body and is in a sector 60 ° wide. In this case, the load moment reaches 69 tf. In other cases, the crane is only capable of delivering up to 50 ton-forces.
The boom reach is adjustable from 2, 1 to 4, 7 meters. The maximum lifting height of the crane hook directly depends on this parameter. So, with the smallest outreach, the hook rises to a height of six meters from the ground, with the largest - only 3.6 meters. The crane winch with a hydraulic drive ensures the delivery and winding of the cable at a speed of the order of 2, 5-2, 8 meters per minute. It is noteworthy that the new crane of the BREM-80U repair and recovery vehicle has one and a half times higher lifting capacity in comparison with the BREM-1 crane. In addition, the parameters of the boom extension and lifting of the load are noticeably higher. Thus, the new machine developed in Omsk has greater capabilities than the old ARV based on the T-72.
Finally, the BREM-80U target equipment includes an electric welding machine powered by a separate generator. The welding current of the machine can be continuously adjusted up to 300 amperes. The generator of welding equipment is driven by an auxiliary gas turbine power unit GTA-18A.
All winches and mechanisms of the BREM-80U crane have hydraulic drives. The rated pressure in the hydraulic system is 200 kgf / sq. Cm. supported by three axial piston pumps. If necessary, you can raise the pressure to 280 kgf / sq. Cm. An interesting feature of the hydraulics of the recovery vehicle is the distribution of pumps: two are used in conjunction with the drive of the main winch, and the third ensures the operation of all other hydraulic units. The pumps themselves are driven by the main engine through the PTO shaft. The target equipment assemblies are connected to five hydraulic motors (swing drive and crane winch, as well as drives of the main and auxiliary winches) and four hydraulic cylinders (boom lift cylinders and opener-blade drive).
The engineers of the Omsk Design Bureau of Transport Engineering met the deadlines allocated to them for the preparation of the project, thanks to which the first copy of the BREM-80U was assembled by the beginning of the VTTV-97 exhibition. Since then, the new armored recovery vehicle has been regularly shown at various showrooms and has received positive feedback from the public. However, mass production of machines for delivery to customers began only at the end of the 2000s. The first and, as far as is known, the last customer of vehicles based on the T-80U tank was Cyprus. Back in the mid-nineties, this country purchased several dozen T-80 tanks from Russia, and in 2009 signed a new contract, according to which a batch of tanks and repair and recovery vehicles was handed over to the customer last year.
There is no information about the purchase of BREM-80U by the Russian Ministry of Defense. Probably, the purchase of this technique was considered inappropriate. For technical reasons, most of the tanks of the T-80 family are currently in storage and in the coming years, most likely, will be written off and disposed of. Because of this, the purchase and operation of another type of repair and recovery equipment, unified with tanks, the future of which looks ambiguous, is unlikely to produce the expected effect. Therefore, the BREM-80U is likely to remain an exhibition model with some export potential.
Armored recovery vehicle BREM-80U
Photo: A. Khlopotov, R. Sorokin, V. Vovnov (https://otvaga2004.ru/)
