Russian Ground Forces: News #2

But the tactical log.. where's the tactical log?

Tank park: Russia’s first ever ‘tankodrome’ opens to the public

A tank park where civilians can watch and even ride Russian armored vehicles has been opened in the village of Prokhorovka. It’s the site of an iconic tank battle in World War II that took place in 1943.

The park is part of a massive military museum currently undergoing massive expansion in the village, which is in the Belgorod region in southwestern Russia. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who supervises military programs in the cabinet, attended the opening ceremony on Saturday.

“We certainly want to continue with the project, because no other country endured what this land endured during those terrible years,” he said at the event.

The tank park, or tankodrome, is a demonstration range that is open to the general public. It can accommodate up to 1,300 spectators, who can watch tanks, armored personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles and similar hardware roll across difficult terrain.

The 11-hectare range has water, hills, a ruined urban landscape and a big bridge to demonstrate the capabilities of the combat vehicles. The park’s fleet includes 12 vehicles contributed by the Ministry of Defense, although five of them serve as stationary exhibits.

The demonstration pieces include a BTR-80 armored personnel carrier, a BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicle, a BMD-2 airborne infantry fighting vehicle and a BRDM-2 armored patrol car, according to local news website bel.ru.

“We plan to add more modern models of real combat vehicles to the museum’s fleet. Any visitor will be able to ride one, feel the might of the motor roaring and the speed,” Belgorod region’s chief of urban development, Vitaliy Pertsev, said.

The tank park in Prokhorovka is the first public tankodrome in Russia. It is said to be on par with the closed facility in Kubinka, Moscow region, which is operated by a military armor research institute.

The next phase of the museum expansion is an indoor exposition. The decision to invest in the facilities was taken by the Russian government last year, with Rogozin promoting the project.

In July 1943, a massive tank battle between the Red Army and the invading German Nazi troops took place near Prokhorovka as part of the overall Battle for Kursk. Russian forces suffered serious casualties and losses, but managed to deter a planned offensive by the Germans.

The battle is credited as one of the largest clashes of tanks during World War II. Ultimately, it turned the tide for the Soviet Union, which managed to gain strategic advantages over the Nazis.

http://rt.com/news/259261-russia-tank-park-civilians/

Anti-diversant exercise by military police in Far East

Very nice pictures. Once again I'm puzzled by the AK's. 99% of it is 74M, then you look at the gastube locking mechanism...it's from the older type. Just love it.

PAPV, 1PN47 Automated Optical Countermeasure/Suppression System:

Morpheus Eberhardt wrote:PAPV, 1PN47 Automated Optical Countermeasure/Suppression System:

Is it possible that you could shed some more light on this particular system?

- With the shoulder straps, I'm guessing it's man portable?

- Is it designed to blind optical guidance, such as the ones found on ATGM's?

- What are the design parameters?

- Looking at the caption of the bottom of the photo it was advertised and available back in MAKS 2003. MAKS is a aviation show/exhibition, what particularly makes this an aviation related product?

magnumcromagnon wrote:

Morpheus Eberhardt wrote:PAPV, 1PN47 Automated Optical Countermeasure/Suppression System:

Is it possible that you could shed some more light on this particular system?

- With the shoulder straps, I'm guessing it's man portable?

The system weighs 56 kg and is portable.

- Is it designed to blind optical guidance, such as the ones found on ATGM's?

- What are the design parameters?

- Looking at the caption of the bottom of the photo it was advertised and available back in MAKS 2003. MAKS is a aviation show/exhibition, what particularly makes this an aviation related product?

The Portable Laser Countermeasure System known (PAPV, 1PN47) was developed and produced by the Russian Nudelman Precision Engineering design bureau.

The system performs detection and neutralization/suppression/countermeasure against combat systems equipped with electrooptical devices such as tanks, attack helicopters, ATGMs, ATGM systems, and human soldiers.

Maybe its use against aerial targets makes it an aviation related product.

The version of PAPV system displayed uses a 2 W laser to detect EO systems. When located, the system transmits a more powerful laser pulse (1.5 J at the 1.06 µm and 0.2 J at the 0.53 µm wavelengths) to blind and disrupt the optical system.

I remember seeing that system in the mid 1990s when it was first revealed to the western public... the anti optics/anti sniper system used to save Hugo Chavez was based on a set of binoculars AFAIK so the technology has certainly moved on.

Werewolf wrote:Nice stuff thanks.

Where did you find that?

Thanks.

I got it from a few different places. The previous pictures are from Bastion. The info is available on the manufacturers site, Nudelman, at


http://kbtochmash.com/defence-products/products-en/products-en_8.html


Also I have a collection of images on my desktop. The following two images were on my desktop, originally from Vitalij Kuz'min.

Well 56 kg is quite a lot but exactly as Garry said i was thinking about the Binocular version of the system...
But i guess the binocular version would not be able to disable optics of a tank right... it would have to have huge power and for that power one requires a big battery....

Technology has moved on over the past 12 years; hopefully they can use more compact and lighter batteries now, and smaller scopes.

Werewolf wrote:Must be nightmare to carry 56kg backpack when you dismount from a vehicle and still have to walk evena single km.

...Is it ready to use how it is, because looking at the small handles at the bottom right above ground just few cm's looks uncomfortable maybe even hindering or does it needs to be assembled first?

That's for two men.

I think it sits on a tripod or other mount, which is not shown.

Morpheus Eberhardt wrote:

Werewolf wrote:Must be nightmare to carry 56kg backpack when you dismount from a vehicle and still have to walk evena single km.

...Is it ready to use how it is, because looking at the small handles at the bottom right above ground just few cm's looks uncomfortable maybe even hindering or does it needs to be assembled first?

That's for two men.

I think it sits on a tripod or other mount, which is not shown.

You can see the system can be broken down to three parts.

There's a tripod and a plateau to lay the optic vector.

US analysts have put the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation on the second place among the strongest armies in the world

Morpheus Eberhardt wrote:BTS-4AD

What the hell is that?? Looks like a T-55 with a ZU-23 instead of a turret

Cyberspec wrote:

Morpheus Eberhardt wrote:BTS-4AD

What the hell is that?? Looks like a T-55 with a ZU-23 instead of a turret

WIP model, to give you a better idea of what it looks like.

Thanks.

So was this a regular production vehicle or some sort warzone/field modification ?

P.S.

OK...apparently the BTS-4 was an armoured engineering vehicle (several variants)

http://armor.kiev.ua/Tanks/Modern/bts4/

Cyberspec wrote:

Morpheus Eberhardt wrote:BTS-4AD

What the hell is that?? Looks like a T-55 with a ZU-23 instead of a turret

Pretty much.

This version is possibly based on T-54.

Cyberspec wrote:Thanks.

So was this a regular production vehicle or some sort warzone/field modification ?

P.S.

OK...apparently the BTS-4 was an armoured engineering vehicle (several variants)

http://armor.kiev.ua/Tanks/Modern/bts4/

I don't know at what level this modification had taken place, but this picture is from Afghanistan.

Nona-2 (essentially an early Vena)