Last Tuesday, August 20, the first event of its kind was held on the squares of the CSKA Moscow football and athletics complex. The military department organized the exhibition “Innovation Day of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation”. The purpose of the exhibition was to showcase the latest developments of the domestic defense industry and promising projects that in the future may find their place in the Russian army. The innovative character of the exhibition was emphasized by the fact that at its opening the ribbon was cut not by the guests of the event, but by a humanoid robot.
During the exhibition, several hundred enterprises and organizations had the opportunity to show their developments to the military. It was in order to get acquainted with the new achievements of the industry that a large number of representatives of the Ministry of Defense, including the head of this department, S. Shoigu, attended the “Day of Innovations”. The military leaders, led by the minister, walked around the expositions of many organizations and got acquainted with their latest developments. It is noteworthy that some of the projects are already familiar to the leadership of the Ministry of Defense, and the issue of purchasing relevant products is currently being resolved.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu examines samples of a new uniform for military personnel at the Innovation Day of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation exhibition. © Ilya Pitalev / RIA Novosti
Thus, the delegation headed by Minister S. Shoigu examined the MAI-223 Kitenok aircraft, developed by the Moscow Aviation Institute. The ultra-light (maximum takeoff weight - 610 kg) single-engine two-seater aircraft made its first flight in 2004 and has been supplied to customers since 2006. According to the Minister of Defense, the issue of the mass purchase of such equipment is currently being considered. For the initial training of pilots, it is planned to purchase 300 MAI-223 aircraft. According to media reports, the air force command will check the aircraft shortly and make its decision.
MAI-223 "Kitenok"
Another development of the MAI, which interested the military, is the unmanned helicopter "Raven-333". It is planned to order several such devices for testing purposes. According to Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov, if the "Voron-333" confirms its characteristics, then the military department will begin purchases. According to the official information of the developer, the Voron-333 UAV, with a maximum take-off weight of 40 kg and a length of about 2 meters, is capable of taking on board a payload weighing up to 12 kg. With such a load, a drone developed at MAI can operate for two hours at a distance of up to 10 kilometers from the operator. The equipment of an unmanned helicopter allows you to mount a thermal imager, a compact radar, a Kalashnikov assault rifle or a grenade launcher.
"Raven-333"
Also last Tuesday it became known about another contract for the supply of equipment. In the near future, the Ministry of Defense will receive a number of inflatable dummies imitating the S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems. The troops already have several types of such imitators and their nomenclature will soon expand. According to the assurances of the developers, inflatable models and related equipment can mislead any equipment used to detect ground objects and equipment.
The news about the planned purchases was overshadowed by messages about the cancellation or change of plans for other contracts, implying the supply of one or another equipment. So, the Russian military department is no longer going to buy Italian-designed AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters. During 2013, it was planned to purchase seven helicopters with a total cost of about 630 million rubles. However, now, due to the too high price of such equipment, the Ministry of Defense is forced to abandon its further purchases. At the same time, Yuri Borisov hinted that the continuation of the production and purchase of AW139 helicopters is still possible. A necessary condition for this is a reduction in the cost of finished equipment.
Another negative news related to the procurement of aviation equipment concerns the MiG-35 fighters. As it turned out, the industry is not yet ready to fulfill the terms of the contract for the supply of 37 such machines. Therefore, the purchase was postponed to 2016, and until then it is planned to build and send MiG-29SMT aircraft to the unit. Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov stressed that the reason for this transfer is production issues, but not any financial problems.
While some contracts for the supply of technology, weapons and equipment are only planned or canceled, others are being implemented. At the Ministry of Defense Innovation Day, it was announced that the Navy had received the first batch of Gavia research vehicles. Autonomous unmanned underwater vehicles "Gavia" are designed to explore the seabed at a depth of up to two kilometers. According to A. Kaifajyan, General Director of the Tethys Pro company, which produces these vehicles, his company is already preparing the second batch of ordered underwater vehicles for handover. The Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Admiral V. Chirkov, in turn, expressed new wishes for the fleet. Now it is necessary to manufacture and supply simulators for the operators of the Gavia complexes.
In addition to devices and equipment already ready for delivery, a large number of promising projects were demonstrated at the Ministry of Defense Innovation Day exhibition. MSTU them. Bauman presented his new developments in the field of protection technologies at the exhibition. So, the body armor shown at the exhibition with its own weight of about 6 kg is able to withstand the hit of a rifle bullet. However, the main feature of this protective equipment is a significant reduction in injuries to the protected person. In body armor of other designs, when hit by a bullet, a serious dent is often formed, which leads to injuries, up to bone fractures. The new body armor, developed at MSTU, is said to bend only a few millimeters when hit by a bullet.
Another interesting development of MSTU is new light protective structures. The externally presented sample is a tent. However, the fabric used, according to the assurances of the developers, allows you to protect the people inside from the explosion of a 250-kilogram bomb. At the same time, such protective fabrics can be used not only for the construction of light shelters, but also for the protection of unarmored equipment - cars, etc. A special bag has been developed for explosives engineers at MSTU, in which it is proposed to carry explosive devices with a capacity of up to one kilogram of TNT. If an explosion occurs, then the material of the bag will withstand and will not burst, although it itself will take the form of a ball with a diameter of about a meter. Baumanka plans to improve the characteristics of protective fabric and create new materials of this class with a higher level of protection.
The topic of promising protective systems is not only addressed by MSTU employees. Thus, the company "Integrated Security Technologies" presented at the exhibition a cape "Mantos", designed for quick fire extinguishing. The gel cape pounces on a burning object, including a person, blocks the access of oxygen and stops burning. Defense Minister S. Shoigu became interested in this development and ordered to consider the issue of adopting the "Mantos" cape for service with tank units.
Exoskeleton. © Anton Tushin / Ridus.ru
The Research Institute of Mechanics of Moscow State University showed its version of an exoskeleton for soldiers at the Ministry of Defense Innovation Day exhibition. The demonstrated sample allows a person to easily carry loads weighing up to 100 kilograms. For example, during the exhibition, the "operator" of the exoskeleton calmly wore a heavy bulletproof shield. As the developers of the promising system said, the new exoskeleton does not need any electric drives. The principle of operation of the mechanisms of this system is to lock the mechanical "joints" at the right moments. Thanks to this, all the load from a person is transferred to the metal structure.
The BTK-group company presented a set of field uniforms for soldiers, made according to a multilayer system. The kit includes 23 (according to other sources, 28) items, which in various combinations provide a comfortable service regardless of the weather and climatic conditions. When developing a new field uniform, the requirements for maintaining thermal balance, convenience, low weight and durability were taken into account. All items of the new uniform are made from modern materials. The development of "BTK-group" has already passed all the necessary tests, after which in early July the Minister of Defense signed an order according to which the military department will purchase new kits.
The recently created concern "Kalashnikov" brought to the exhibition at once a dozen different samples of new and modernized small arms of different models. As part of the work on the advanced combat gear "Ratnik", the concern presented four options for modernizing the AK-74 and AK-12 assault rifles, the updated AK-103-3 assault rifle, and the SVDM sniper rifle. Also at the stands of "Kalashnikov" were demonstrated special assault rifles AS-1 and AS-2 of caliber 5, 45 and 7, 62 mm, respectively, sniper rifles of the VS-121, SV-98 and SV-338M1 models, smoothbore carbine 18, 5KS-K, submachine gun PP-19 "Vityaz" and adjustable artillery shell "Kitolov-2".
After the end of the exhibition, a lot of public attention was attracted by the stand of Uralvagonzavod, or rather, photographs of several exhibits presented there. One of the users of the "Global Adventure" forum has published photographs of several models depicting various combat vehicles based on the promising armored platform "Armata". They depict a tank bridgelayer, a heavy flamethrower system and a minelayer, made on a single chassis. Although the realism of such combat vehicles based on the "Armata" immediately became an object of doubt, the photos that have appeared are worth careful consideration and a separate conversation.
In fact, two events took place within the framework of the Defense Ministry Innovation Day exhibition. On some sites, the expositions of the open part of the exhibition were located, but some of the developments were shown behind closed doors. Probably the most interesting was presented there, because, according to the press, Defense Minister S. Shoigu spent most of his time in the pavilions closed to the general public and the press.
Despite the fact that the exhibition on Tuesday was only the first test in this direction, the leadership of the Ministry of Defense already considers such events to be a necessary and important undertaking. According to S. Shoigu, such exhibitions will henceforth be held annually. Moreover, it is possible that the Ministry of Defense will conduct them twice a year. Not all domestic manufacturers of weapons, military equipment and various auxiliary equipment can make their way to the showrooms of the international level. Therefore, they need their own event where they can show their achievements. Even some indicators of the past “Day of Innovations” indicate the existence of such a problem. According to available data, out of more than a thousand organizations that submitted their applications, only 260 took part in the exhibition. Moreover, the enterprises that did not get to the exhibition also have their own promising developments, which may be of interest to the customer in the person of the military department.
Apart from the direct search for suitable solutions, technologies and projects, the Ministry of Defense Innovation Day has another purpose. As the Minister of Defense noted, it is desirable that young people who have visited the exhibition go to work in factories and design bureaus in the future. Thus, the Ministry of Defense is concerned not only with the procurement of the necessary machinery and equipment now, but also with the creation of similar products in the future. However, judging by the possible holding of "Days of Innovation" twice a year, the number of developers or manufacturers of various equipment and equipment is still sufficient for the military department to choose the most suitable options. Let's hope that the hopes placed on the new exhibition will be fully justified, thanks to which the military will receive new necessary equipment, weapons and equipment.
PF "Logos" simulator for training ground forces. Kirill Lebedev / Gazeta. Ru
Personal automatic complex "Sentry". © Anton Tushin / Ridus.ru
Reconnaissance and strike robotic system. © Anton Tushin / Ridus.ru
