Autonomous field camps appeared in the Russian army relatively recently. Since March 2011, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation has been purchasing mobile field camps for 500 people from the German company Karcher Futuretech GmbH; in total, 8 sets worth $ 14 million each were purchased. However, in 2013, the Ministry of Defense decided to no longer purchase foreign equipment and organize work on the production and release of these products in the Russian Federation from domestic materials, seeking maximum localization. According to the Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia Yuri Borisov, at the present time the replacement process is "going well", we are talking about the Russian autonomous field camp APL-500.
According to Borisov, at present, the production of these camps is ensured with a very large share of localization. At present, all the design documentation for these autonomous field camps is Russian. Now the stage of preliminary tests is coming to an end, after which state tests of the APL-500 will begin. After the completion of state tests, these field camps will be transferred to the troops for valid operation. An autonomous field camp is designed to organize field trips and provide combat training in the field. The APL-500 allows up to 500 servicemen to live in autonomous conditions; it is also possible to connect the camp to water supply and general power grids.
The autonomous field camp APL-500 is a closed-loop life support town, it is designed to quickly create the necessary level of infrastructure for the long-term or short-term deployment of military formations for various purposes of up to 500 people in areas of permanent or temporary concentration on undeveloped bases. It allows you to establish the life of servicemen and subdivisions of the operation of the APL-500 in the field. The developer of the Russian autonomous camp is the NPO Center for Professional Equipment (CPC).
In Russia, the data to the camps can be used by the armed forces to solve any tasks that are associated with the presence of troops outside the points of their permanent deployment:
- during the combat training of troops for the organization of field exits, exercises, camp gatherings, long marches with daily rest during the period of combat coordination;
- during the mobilization deployment of the armed forces;
- in the event of the need for rapid training of reserve servicemen in various constituent entities of the Russian Federation;
- during the elimination of the consequences of man-made and natural disasters;
- during peacekeeping operations and participation in local military conflicts outside the zone of direct contact with enemy forces;
- during the construction and protection of nuclear power plants, railways, oil and gas pipelines, airfields and ports, waterworks;
- when solving the assigned tasks in the conditions of a state of emergency or armed conflicts.
This autonomous camp is a unified set of elements (basic modules) that allow it to be successfully used for solving various combat missions. The autonomy of the APL-500 camp is achieved by the inclusion in its composition of all the necessary life support systems for military units associated with the presence of personnel in the field. At the same time, it is easy to transport, all elements of the APL-500 camp during transportation are placed in containers (type 1C). The dimensions and weight of these containers correspond to the requirements of transport dimensions in force in Russia, which makes it possible to deliver such a camp in the shortest possible time to any point in our very large country.
According to information from the developer's official website, the APL-500 camp includes the following zones:
- The living area, which provides conditions for the accommodation and residence of soldiers and officers.
- A special zone, which is designed to ensure the conditions for the service activities of the duty forces and the command of the military formation for organizing the service of the troops.
- Food zone, which is intended for cooking and eating.
- The zone of medical support, which is designed to provide first medical and first-aid medical care in full, as well as provide emergency medical care, organize and conduct outpatient appointments for military personnel, and evacuate patients if necessary.
- The zone of sanitary and hygienic provision, which is intended for the organization of sanitary provision and the fulfillment of the goals of personal hygiene by military personnel.
- The area of consumer services, which is designed to organize the storage and washing of linen, uniforms, as well as personal belongings and the provision of hairdressing services to servicemen.
- The zone of shipping packaging, which is intended for storing transport containers of the 1C type, in which the APL-500 camp is transported.
- Various objects of engineering and technical support, which include a water treatment system, an autonomous power supply system, a system for removing liquid waste and wastewater, a system for utilizing solid household waste.
In addition, the structure of the APL-500 camp provides a site for constructions. Also, the autonomous camp is equipped with video surveillance and security and fire alarm systems with the output of signals to the chief of the guard and the camp duty officer. It also provides for the enclosure of the camp around the perimeter and around the most important elements of its infrastructure. Improvement of the camp territory is carried out at the expense of special rubber tracks, under which electric cables are removed, lighting of the camp territory is carried out by lighting masts.
It should be noted that the Russian APL-500 camp is designed for operation in macroclimatic regions with a temperate and cold climate at any time of the day. The manufacturer guarantees the following operating conditions for the camp: operating air temperatures from -50 ° С to + 50 ° С, during transportation of the camp in non-working condition from -60 ° С to + 50 ° С; wind speed up to 20 m / s; atmospheric precipitation in the form of rain with a maximum fallout of up to 5 mm / min, as well as snow load (snow cover density) - up to 120 kgf / m2; relative air humidity not more than 98% at a temperature of + 25 ° С; the highest working altitude of the camp deployment above sea level - 3000 m.
At the same time, the design of the modular blocks and technical means of life support of the camp provides servicemen with an air temperature in living quarters not lower than +18 ° С, and in the medical premises of the camp - not lower than +20 ° С. The internal noise level in habitable container modules should not exceed 65 dB. In addition, the manufacturer guarantees the provision of the minimum permissible levels of illumination at workplaces in accordance with the GOST in force in our country.
Sergei Kuzemchenko, who holds the post of monitoring director of the research and production association "Center for Professional Equipment", told the popular blogger Denis Mokrushkin about some interesting features of the new Russian autonomous field camp. According to him, 5 such camps have already been delivered to the military, and the sixth is on its way. The camp has not yet been accepted for supply by the RF Ministry of Defense, its tests are continuing. But the military department previously noted that in 2016-2017, the armed forces will need about 80 such camps. Now the deadlines have been shifted by a year, there is reason to believe that the same number of APL-500 camps will need to be delivered in 2015-2016.
Today, NPO "Center for Professional Equipment" and 7 main contractors are involved in the production of the APL-500 camp. According to Sergei Kuzemchenko, the percentage of imported components in the camp does not exceed 30%, respectively, domestic accounts for 70%. At the same time, the camp is completely produced in Russia, but some of the components are purchased abroad. The problem is that not all manufacturers in our country are able to produce the components necessary for the camp with the required quality. Nevertheless, the NGO "Center for Professional Equipment" continues to work on a further level of building up the localization of the camp; at present, the Russian military are sympathetic to this problem.
To assemble the APL-500 camp, at least 20 people are required. They are able to assemble this camp on their own in 10 days. Plus, they will need another 20 days to equip the camp with all the necessary equipment and complete all the commissioning work. In total, almost a month until the camp is completely ready. At least 4 more specialists (or better 6) will be needed to maintain the camp. Every day they have some kind of work: fix a leak in the plumbing, check the performance of existing systems, etc.
While the experimental operation of the camp by the troops is being carried out, there is a collection of feedback and suggestions aimed at improving the camp. Today, one of the most popular requests from soldiers is to increase the number of power outlets in order to conveniently charge mobile phones. They were not provided for in the terms of reference, since due to safety measures inside the residential modules, only a 24V network could be used. However, the developers are currently working on this problem. In addition, the number of modules for storing weapons will be increased, since the number that was spelled out in the terms of reference was not enough. At the same time, many things were taken into account by the developers in advance. For example, previously, storage of personal belongings was a big problem, since there were simply no personal places to store them in the tent camps. At the same time, in the APL-500 camp, each soldier has a personal closet in the same module in which he lives. The cabinet is securely locked, and each soldier can safely store his personal belongings in it.
Commenting on the results of the pilot operation of the APL-500 camps, Sergei Kuzemchenko noted that in some way they were initially hindered by the soldiers' amateur performance, which sometimes even carried a manifestation of vandalism. The soldiers tried to alter something with their own hands, unscrew, sometimes just break, but after living for several months they had a feeling of "their own", "native", after which they began to take care of the property. You can even say that, getting into the APL-500, the fighters, willingly or unwillingly, improved their culture of life. That is, living in comfortable conditions, seeing that they really care about you, involuntarily and you yourself begin to be more attentive to your life and culture. This is an example of effective motivation.
In the future, a representative of the developer company answered a number of technical questions. In particular, he told how much water one APL-500 camp consumes per day. According to him, the daily rate for one serviceman is 80 liters of water per day. This means that for all 500 people living in the camp, a minimum of 40 cubic meters is required. Better to serve at least 50 cubic meters of water. For example, the kitchen alone consumes 8 cubic meters of water per day for its own needs. Therefore, the approach to water is initially careful. So, in order to save it, water is supplied in the washbasin modules only after pressing the tap in portions of 15 seconds.
At the same time, everything is not so simple with water. The Russian military is still undecided on how often the personnel should wash and at what time to do it: once a week, daily, and possibly in the morning, at lunchtime and in the evening. At the same time, the soldiers themselves want to take a shower all the time, which leads to a very high consumption of water. Water purification systems can supply water to the camp in an uninterrupted mode, but it cannot be immediately supplied to the water supply system. A sump is needed, which was simply not there in the original terms of reference for the camp. Currently, NPO Center for Professional Equipment is working on creating a container group for 200 cubic meters of water, with the possibility of heating it in winter conditions. Water will enter containers from a reservoir or wells, settle there, and then be supplied to the camp's water supply system. It is planned that 200 cubic meters of water will be enough to meet the needs of three APL-500 camps.
The solution to the problem with sewerage is also interesting. Initially, a closed cycle was envisaged for the camp: sewage wastes are fed to a special receiving module, where they are averaged cleaning and further preparation for biological processing, after which the waste is pumped into the final biological treatment module. In this module, solid waste is processed for their subsequent incineration, and the liquid is fed to the next purification systems in order to return to the camp's water supply system. The developers of the sewer modules used declare that after the purification procedure, this water can be drunk without any harm to health. However, the closed cycle has not yet been used at the request of the military themselves. At present, the sewage after treatment facilities is fed into the so-called dispersion pit with dimensions of 5x5x4 meters. Inside this pit there is a layer of rubble, drainage pipes, a special fabric that does not allow the earthen walls to collapse. This hole is also covered from above, so there is no smell. Such a pit should be enough for the years of operation of the APL-500 camp. But if the camp is located on rocky ground, then there will already have to use a closed-loop system.
If we talk about fuel consumption by the camp, about 900-1000 liters of diesel fuel are consumed per day in the warm season. In winter, most likely, diesel fuel consumption will rise to 1000-1200 liters per day. This figure is given taking into account the refueling of thermal diesel heaters, of which there are 45 units in the camp.
From the point of view of ensuring the living conditions of servicemen, the new camp of the nuclear submarine-500 is an order of magnitude superior to everything that existed in our army earlier. It is no coincidence that the servicemen, who have already experienced all the delights of the tent camps, perceive the APL-500 as heaven on earth. And this is really so, tarpaulin and rubberized tents flowing along the seams, in which it is unbearably stuffy in summer and cold in winter, are gone, since their heating was organized by ordinary stoves. In the new autonomous camping camp, air conditioning and heating systems are responsible for maintaining the indoor temperature. At the same time, each module has temperature sensors, so the air conditioning or heating system turns on automatically. You only need to configure this system once. In addition, the camp has showers, toilet modules, modular laundry units with washing and drying machines, which should provide servicemen with a comfortable stay in the field.
