The line of high-precision products of the Kovrov Electromechanical Plant includes remote-controlled modules, robots of various specialties and much more.
“The most difficult part of developing a robot is not a single part or mechanism. The most difficult thing is to integrate the robot, to make everything work as a single organism. But we are used to being familiar with complex high-precision systems,”General Director Vladimir Lebedev tells the“Military-Industrial Courier”.
Kovrovsky Electromechanical, which is part of the High-Precision Complexes holding, is perhaps somewhat lost in the information environment against the background of such enterprises widely known for their unique products as the Tula Instrument-Making Design Bureau, the Scheglovsky Val plant, and the Kolomenskoye KBM.
However, KEMZ is a manufacturer of unique high-precision products, without which modern weapons systems are unthinkable, in particular stabilizers, on-board information and control systems, etc.
Currently, the products of the Kovrov plant are part of the fire control systems (FCS) of T-72, T-90 tanks, BMP-2, BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles, BMD-4M airborne combat vehicles, and BTR-82 armored personnel carriers. But the special pride of the plant is the equipment for the newest multifunctional platform "Armata", as well as BMP and armored personnel carriers of the "Kurganets" family.
“In addition to stabilizers, we make all hydraulics for“Armata”. One of our know-how is hydrostatic mechanical transmission. To create it and bring it to mass production is an extremely difficult task. After all, the power flows that pass there reach 500-600 kilowatts, and the weight of the entire transmission is no more than 100 kilograms. Can you imagine what kind of energy there is, what efficiency? - Nikolay Kokoshkin, director of innovation policy and marketing, invites you to ponder.
For the latest Russian armored vehicles, a new generation of stabilizers has been developed here, which are distinguished not only by rather small weight and size characteristics, but also by increased accuracy, and most importantly, by the reaction time. “They are already digital with software control, capable of solving problems that have not been set before us before. In these products, we switched to a new element base, as well as gyroscopy,”explains Nikolai Kokoshkin.
The latest stabilizers will also be installed on the upgraded T-72 and T-90. They will also be included in the so-called modernization options, which Uralvagonzavod is ready to offer to foreign buyers who have ordered an upgrade of their tank fleet.
“And yet our main specialization is hydraulic equipment. Hydraulic pumps, hydraulic motors, hydraulic boosters, hydraulic drives, etc. But now we are producing a wide range of civilian products. These are front-end loaders, hydraulic platforms, and much more,”Kokoshkin clarifies.
For several years, the production of high-precision machine tools was mastered at the Kovrov plant. And if earlier this production, according to the head of the machine-tool production - chief mechanic Alexander Grishin, was used only for the needs of the native enterprise, now the milling processing centers produced by KEMZ are actively purchased by various Russian enterprises.
At the same time, the Kovrov Electromechanical Plant is a developer and manufacturer of a unique line of robots that are currently supplied to various law enforcement agencies. And recently, the range of the enterprise was supplemented with remote-controlled combat modules installed on armored vehicles, light armored vehicles, etc.
“Our product line is updated by 30 percent every year. If we do not do this, we will surrender our positions to competitors, admits to the Military-Industrial Courier Sergei Tsybulnik, Director for International Cooperation at KEMZ.
Ultra-precise fire in any weather
At the RAE 2015 exhibition held in Nizhny Tagil this year, visitors to this site, significant for the world arms market, could see not only the static exposition, but also at demonstration performances armored vehicles "Tiger" and "Typhoon" with remote-controlled modules "Crossbow", developed by and produced jointly by the Kovrov Electromechanical Plant and the Armory Workshops company.
For the newest "Crossbow", capable of hitting the enemy day and night and currently undergoing state tests, there are already orders from law enforcement agencies, in particular the Ministry of Defense and the internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.
At first glance, a remote-controlled unit is a fairly simple product. A machine gun or an automatic grenade launcher with a control system, as well as optical-electronic devices, is installed on the roof of the armored object. The gunner-operator himself, located in the body of the vehicle and protected from enemy fire by armor, not only remotely monitors the battlefield, but also strikes targets without a threat to his life.
The first remote modules were developed in the late 1980s in Israel, but mass production for the needs, units and subdivisions of the US armed forces, involved after the occupation of Iraq in 2003 in battles in highly urbanized areas, was established only in 2006-2008. It is noteworthy that not only American industrial associations, but also military-industrial companies from Europe and Israel supplied their products for the Pentagon.
Currently, on the international market for weapons and military equipment, there is a fairly large number of remote-controlled modules manufactured by dozens of companies from different countries. But until recently, Russian gunsmiths designers could not present to customers ready-to-mass-produce DUM.
"Crossbow" is our joint initiative with the "Armory Workshops", which we began in 2013. We carefully studied the world experience, got acquainted with Italian and Israeli products and only then started to work,”Nikolai Kokoshkin recalls.
If you look at modern foreign products, it is striking that their effective firing range rarely exceeds 600-700 meters. And the machine guns and automatic grenade launchers installed on the DUM are capable of hitting targets at a much greater range, often over one and a half kilometers, but the fire control systems on these modules do not ensure firing accuracy at such distances.
“It is believed that the main thing for a remote-controlled module is optoelectronic systems. This is not true. The main thing for the module is to stabilize its armament,”Kokoshkin continues.
Soviet, and now Russian, stabilizers were developed in compliance with strict conditions: to have minimum weight and dimensions, to be well protected and at the same time to provide high guidance accuracy.
Domestic tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers have always been distinguished by their small size and weight, and where foreign developers could afford large-sized components and assemblies, our engineers and designers minimized products without losing their characteristics. The stabilization system installed on the Kovrov module is not only very accurate, but also, which is especially important, takes up significantly less space compared to foreign counterparts.
In addition to the unique weapon stabilization system, the newest "Crossbow" has a meteorological sensor, as well as a ballistic computer and a laser rangefinder, integrated into the fire control system. The optical-electronic channel of the module includes not only a video camera, but also a night vision device, as well as a thermal imager, which allows hitting targets day and night in any weather at a distance of up to two kilometers.
Due to the presence of an automatic tracking machine, after detecting a target, it is enough for the operator to take it for tracking, and then the Arbaleta OMS will calculate all the corrections and will accompany the object until it is completely destroyed or the command to drop it.
According to the requirements of the Russian Ministry of Defense, the newest module is equipped with Pecheneg and Kord machine guns and AGS-30 automatic grenade launchers. Moreover, it is quite easy to replace them even in the field. The crew removes, for example, a machine gun, and in its place, after installing special adapters, an automatic grenade launcher is attached.
“We can supply any machine guns, automatic grenade launchers at the request of customers, including foreign products. It is only necessary to prepare adapters and conduct firing in order to enter the necessary data into the fire control system,”explains Nikolai Kokoshkin.
It should be noted that all the elements of the "Crossbow" carried out of the hull are covered with armor that can withstand not only small arms fire, but also fragments of artillery shells, mortar mines, and improvised explosive devices.
Currently, on the international arms market, a fairly large percentage of the proposed remote-controlled modules are simple products without ballistic computers and weather sensors, and sometimes even without stabilization of weapons - machine guns with remote control and a video camera. More complex products are produced only by such serious players as the French Thales, the Italian Otto Mellar, and the Israeli Elbit. By the way, the M151 Protector module, which is considered one of the most modern in the world, is massively purchased by the Pentagon for armored vehicles and armored personnel carriers, including the Strikers, although it is produced in the USA, developed jointly by the Norwegian company Kensberg Defense and Aerospace and the French Thales.
So the "Crossbow" of the Kovrov Electromechanical Plant is a player in the major league, capable not only of competing, but also of conquering its niche in the international arms market.
Minesweeper, lifeguard and even a loader
This year, the Russian Ministry of Defense and the Nicaraguan military department opened a joint center for the training of specialists designed to neutralize various mines, unexploded ordnance, as well as IEDs in countries where hostilities previously took place. In addition to modern mine detectors and other means of detection and neutralization, the center also has a unique KEMZ product - the remote-controlled robot ANT-1000, capable of coping with an entire minefield without any problems.
“We started work on the creation of light robotic systems back in the late 1990s - early 2000s. Then the "Varan" appeared, developed by order of the Federal Security Service for the disposal of explosive devices. Later, the light and ultralight complexes "Vezdekhod TM-3", "Vezdekhod TM-5", "Metallist", as well as other products actively purchased by various departments, were designed and manufactured. In total, we have made more than 200 lightweight robots,”states Sergei Tsybulnik.
And now heavier robots have appeared in the product line of the Kovrov Electromechanical Plant - created on the basis of the ANT-750 and ANT-1000 frontal loaders produced here at the enterprise.
“After the battles on the territory of Yugoslavia, a robot capable of solving such tasks was created by the Czech company Lakusta on the basis of a mini-loader to clear minefields in hard-to-reach areas, in particular in narrow passages and in the mountains. We looked at these works and thought: why not? This is how our robots ANT-750 and ANT-1000 appeared,”says Nikolai Kokoshkin.
The manufacturing technology of ANT robots is quite simple. The cab is removed from the loader, and a control system connected to the transmission is installed in its place. For demining, a special block is used, which rotates the metal chains attached to it at high speed.
But the development engineers of the Kovrov Electromechanical Plant are guided by the principle: robots are not highly specialized machines, but multifunctional platforms, where, at the request of the customer, any equipment he needs can be installed. Therefore, now ANT-750 and ANT-1000 are not only sappers, they are used as the basis for rescue robots, firefighters and even loaders.
“Together with the Ivanovo Firefighting Institute of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, we have developed a robot based on ANT-1000, on which our know-how is installed: a device that extinguishes a fire not with a directed jet, but creating a water mist,” explains Kokoshkin.
The Kovrov ANT has great prospects in the civil sphere. In particular, a relatively recently well-known company - a manufacturer of auxiliary equipment "Bobcat" demonstrated at the exhibition robotic rollers-asphalt pavers. Three robots are controlled by one operator, which not only reduces the number of jobs, but also increases labor productivity many times over. Kovrov craftsmen took note of this promising idea.
Now, in the interests of the Russian Ministry of Defense, KEMZ is actively working on the creation of combat robots. One of the options offered to the military department, in addition to the sapper robots for the engineering troops, is the ANT-1000 with the Crossbow combat module installed on it.
Kovrov's developers can boast of much more serious products. In particular, a robotic complex has already been presented to the military, which includes several transportable robots weighing about a ton each, armed, depending on the task, with large-caliber machine guns or automatic grenade launchers, as well as a control point. As explained in KEM, it is possible that in the near future combat robots will be equipped with anti-tank guided complexes "Kornet".
The newest combat robots are equipped not only with the most modern opto-electronics, which includes a night vision device and a thermal imager, but also with a communication and information exchange system with an encrypted anti-jamming channel. This allows the operator not only to control the actions of "subordinates" at a distance of up to two kilometers, but also to receive a stable picture from their surveillance equipment, even if tasks are performed at complex technical objects such as factories or power plants.
It should be noted that if earlier bulky and low-mobile consoles were required to control the robotic complex, now an ordinary tablet or laptop with special software is used.
“The operator has to control five, six, seven robots. And they solve complex problems”
“We believe that such an option as a robot followed by an operator with a remote control is not a robotic complex. The operator must control five, six, seven robots. And they solve complex problems. For example, several robots are launched for reconnaissance at a time in a shopping center, and they carry out a full check of the premises, Nikolai Kokoshkin reflects.
At first glance, creating and starting mass production of robots is a fairly simple task that even small industries can handle. Far from it. Indeed, in addition to a high-quality mechanical platform, a control system is also needed, not just transmitting commands, but capable of independently making decisions, performing certain tasks, depending on the conditions.
“Creating a robotic complex, it is necessary to solve many theoretical and even ideological problems, in particular on optimization, on artificial intelligence, on mechanical vision, etc. There are also purely technical aspects - the platform should be stable, be able to overcome various obstacles. The next task is to build up intellectual capabilities. Now we already have quite a lot of experience in the manufacture of robotic systems. On average, from the start of development to the manufacture of the first samples, it takes from one to one and a half years,”Nikolai Kokoshkin continues.
There are difficulties in the manufacture of units and mechanisms of the robot that require high-precision machining.
“The mechanism of a robot is, first of all, drives, and our plant specializes in them. But we also make such complex products as high-precision gears and they are found in almost all robot mechanisms,”explains the director of KEMZ for innovation policy and marketing.
The Kovrov Electromechanical Plant is a unique enterprise that produces a wide range of competitive high-tech products not only for military, but also for civil purposes. And the main thing is that the developments of this enterprise, which is part of the High-Precision Complexes holding, do not stand still - they are constantly updated.
