Recently, when talking about unified combat platforms, they primarily mean new armored vehicles of the Kurganets-25 or Boomerang type, as well as the Armata heavy tracked platform. At the same time, military equipment of light classes is being created in Russia. The family of all-wheel drive armored vehicles "Wolf" VPK-3927 is considered today as one of the most likely representatives of a light combat platform.
The car was first shown to the general public back in 2010 at the MVSV-2010 exhibition. After that, she was shrouded in close attention of the media representatives, news that the armored vehicles of the family are undergoing certain tests appeared every year, but the matter essentially does not move off the ground. Armored vehicles are still experimental; they have not been adopted by the Russian army. At the same time, according to Vestnik Mordovii, in May 2016, Wolf armored vehicles were spotted at festive events in the city of Vyksa in the Nizhny Novgorod region, where a plant is located that produces hulls for various Russian armored vehicles, from armored personnel carriers to air defense missile systems.
Perhaps it is the armored car "Wolf III" that will be chosen as the wheeled chassis for the new 120-mm self-propelled artillery unit 2S36 "Zauralets-D", which, along with the tracked version built on the basis of the BMD-4M, will replace the well-deserved obsolete ACS 2S9 "Nona-S". For the first time, this installation, which may be of interest to the Russian Airborne Forces, appeared in a video dedicated to the results of the activities of the Nizhny Novgorod Central Research Institute "Burevestnik" at the end of 2013. It was in it that the 120-mm self-propelled gun was first shown on the chassis of a wheeled (6x6) armored vehicle VPK-39373 "Wolf III". As one could judge, the 120-mm gun of this artillery system was a modified swinging part of the 120-mm towed gun 2B16 "Nona-B".
According to Russian experts, these vehicles can find extensive use in the army, in addition to the tasks of transporting infantry or using as a chassis for self-propelled guns, one can expect the appearance of armored vehicles with the installation of various remote-controlled rifle-artillery modules, command-staff, ambulances and trucks. … But this is only if the armored vehicle will indeed be adopted by the RF Armed Forces.
VPK-3927 "Wolf" is a family of modern multifunctional four-wheel drive army vehicles with increased security. The armored car is distinguished by the presence of a modular design, which is based on a fairly powerful frame. The implemented concept of modular design implies wide versatility of the armored vehicle and its high degree of unification with neighboring models of the line. The car also features a permanent all-wheel drive with a lowering range. The car's suspension is completely independent and has a variable ground clearance (from 250 to 550 mm). Thanks to the variable stiffness of the suspension, the "Wolf" can move over rough terrain at a fairly high speed - 50-55 km / h. At the same time, the overhang angles - 45-55 degrees (depending on the position of the body) provide good cross-country ability in off-road conditions.
As a power plant on the armored vehicle, a YaMZ-5347-20 diesel engine with a volume of 4.4 liters is used. Depending on the modification, the power of this engine can be from 190 to 312 hp. The installed engine allows a fairly heavy armored vehicle to reach a maximum speed of up to 120 km / h. The car is quite well prepared to overcome obstacles, it can overcome water obstacles up to 1.5 meters deep without the use of additional equipment and improvements, as well as trenches up to half a meter wide and various vertical obstacles with a height of 0.5 meters. The average range of a car on the highway with full tanks is 1000 km.
VPK-39273 "Wolf-III"
Initially, the developers of the VPK-3927 "Wolf" planned 3 branches: armored, unarmored and civilian versions of the car. However, only armored versions are tested. In this case, the chassis of the armored car "Wolf" can be used to install various weapons systems: ATGM, short-range air defense systems, mortar fire systems, fire support weapons.
An innovative feature of all Wolf armored vehicles is BIUS - an onboard information and control system. It controls many units and assemblies of the armored car: monitors the temperature of the oil and coolant, tire pressure, ground clearance, etc. It should be noted that this was the first experience of domestic manufacturers of military equipment in creating the most automated light-class ground combat complex designed for installation on armored personnel carriers and cars.
According to Oleg Biryukov, Sales Director of AMZ (Arzamas Machine-Building Plant), pilot tests of various versions of the car were carried out in 2015. According to him, the armored car was created by the "Military-Industrial Company" by order of the Russian Ministry of Defense. The modular design makes it possible to install almost any target module on the "Wolf", depending on the type of tasks that the machine will solve. And the air suspension and adjustable ground clearance increase the vehicle's cross-country ability. According to Oleg Biryukov, the cross-country ability of the “Wolf” armored vehicle is an order of magnitude higher than that of other vehicles of this class.
Among other things, the "Wolf" is equipped with armor, which, in terms of its protection class, is higher than that of the currently used armored vehicles "Tiger". The protection installed on the armored version of the car implies the presence of anti-ballistic and anti-mine booking, which is carried out using special modular armor plates. The design of the car makes it easy to change damaged armored modules even in the field, and no special tools are required to replace them. Compared to its predecessors, the number of seats for paratroopers was doubled in the new armored vehicle - up to 20 seats. Also an important feature was the ability to install a combat module, depending on the need. Variants with a combat module were intended exclusively for law enforcement agencies and the army.
It is also worth adding that the new Russian armored car, created by domestic engineers, is currently one of the first armored vehicles assembled only from components, parts and parts of Russian production. The main goal of the creators of the "Wolf" family cars was the development of a car intended for law enforcement agencies with the maximum level of unification between the family cars, built on the basis of a modular design principle, with an orientation towards existing and future Russian mass production. According to Aleksey Kolchugin, the leading designer of the Wolf series, depending on the configuration chosen, these vehicles can be both combined-arms and special-purpose: for various needs of special forces or for conducting sabotage operations. At the same time, light artillery or heavy small arms can be installed on the "Wolf" armored vehicle.
Initially, very high hopes are pinned on the armored car.“The level of the Volkov technology has been dramatically increased compared to the Tigers, since a number of technologies that have been implemented in Russia have simply not been used before,” said Sergei Suvorov, spokesman for the Military Industrial Company (MIC). Among the new technologies, he singled out the hydropneumatic suspension of the car, the use of ceramic armor, the possibility of booking a car in the 6th class of protection, the presence of an on-board information and control system. Together, they bring the Wolf armored car to a new level of development.
VPK-39271 "Wolf-I"
The armored car is presented today in four basic versions: VPK-3927 - the base model of the "Wolf" family - a car (4 × 4) with a protected one-volume (7, 2 m³) functional module. The internal volume of the cabin (control module) for all other modifications of the armored vehicle is 2.4 m³.
VPK-39271 "Wolf-I" - a car (4 × 4) with a protected control module and a separate functional rear module (4.7 m³), designed for transporting personnel, installing various equipment, with a given level of protection.
VPK-39272 "Wolf-II" is a transport and cargo vehicle (4 × 4) designed for the transportation of personnel and cargo with the possibility of installing various functional modules in the body.
VPK-39273 "Wolf-III" - a car (6 × 6) with a functional module (10, 3 m³), designed for transportation of personnel, installation of various equipment, with a given level of protection.
VPK-39272 "Wolf-II"
The performance characteristics of the VPK-39273 "Wolf-III":
Wheel formula - 6x6.
The number of seats is 2 + 18.
Overall dimensions: length - 6976 mm, width - 2500 mm, height - 2100 mm, wheelbase - 4550 mm, track - 2140 mm.
The ground clearance is adjustable (250-550 mm).
The turning radius is 7 meters.
Carrying capacity - 2500 kg.
The mass of the towed trailer is 2500 kg.
Gross weight - 9600/10200 kg (unarmored / armored).
The power plant is a diesel 4, 4 liter YaMZ-5347 turbocharged engine with a capacity of 312 liters. with.
The maximum speed is 120 km / h.
The power reserve is 1000 km.
Overcoming obstacles: rise - up to 30 degrees, lateral roll - up to 20 degrees, ford - 1.5 m, ditch - 0.5 m, wall - 0.5 m.
