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Russian army will take delivery of KAMAZ water truck ATsPT-5,6 for operations in Arctic region TASS 11111162

Military Defense Industry Technology - ATsPT-5,6 Arctic Line tank truck

Russian army will take delivery of KAMAZ water truck ATsPT-5,6 for operations in Arctic region.

The Russian Defense Ministry will soon take delivery of a batch of advanced tank trucks designed for operations in the Arctic, according to the Izvestia daily. The sophisticated vehicle is designed for producing potable water and storing it unfrozen at an ambient temperature of -65°C. The Defense Ministry has been testing the unique ATsPT-5,6 Arctic Line tank truck on a KamAZ chassis under the Arctic and subarctic area development program.

KAMAZ ATsPT-5,6 water tank at International Military Technical Forum 2016, near Moscow, Russia.

The vehicle developed and produced by Spetstekhmah prevents potable water from freezing or spoiling at a temperature of -50°C or below in the harsh Arctic environment and can produce water by melting snow and ice.

The military is testing the tank truck in an extremely low temperature environment among other things, a Defense Ministry official close to the matter has told the Izvestia daily. If the vehicle passes the tests, it will enter service and will be fielded with the logistic units of the Arctic brigades and with polar bases and airfields.

According to Alexei Peskov, editor-in-chief of the Turism.ru online project and a polar explorer, it is potable water preservation, rather than delivery or production that poses an urgent problem in the Arctic.

Getting water in the North is not a big deal, because there is much so-called fresh ice (frozen water) and snow there, Peskov said. It only has to be melted and brought to the user. Bringing water to the High North is prohibitively expensive, and on-site water production is the only viable option, therefore. However, once water is produced, the problem is how it can be stored. When water freezes, it expands and breaks any tank. The way out is only through heating reservoirs, but another key polar resource - fuel - is consumed in such a case.

Peskov noted that Russian military bases in the Arctic were most complex installations accommodating both troops and sophisticated radio electronic equipment, air defense weapons, radars, airplanes and helicopters, with all of these needing much potable water that has to be replenished continually.

The ATsPT-5,6 mounted on the KamAZ-43114 three-axle high-mobility vehicle looks just like another tank truck. In addition to the heat-insulated tank, the advanced piece of kit includes a snow melting plant, using which the vehicle’s crew will be able to produce water and fill the tank with it themselves. The 5.6-ton tank takes a mere 20 min. to be filled or drained.

According to Spetstekhmash’s engineering and design department acting chief, Vladimir Chebukin, the ATsPT-5,6 has passed the factory trials, proving its ability to carry and store sweet water or other liquids at an ambient temperature of -65°C. Its high performance is owing to the double thermal insulation, including that of its tubes.

It is impossible to cook, wash uniforms or keep rooms clean without pure potable water. If normal service and everyday life conditions are created for the troops, the latter will display high readiness to pursue Russia’s interests in the strategic region, expert Vitaly Moiseyev explained to the Izvestia. The military needs not only tanks, armored personnel carriers and self-propelled guns effective in the Arctic’s harsh environment, but auxiliary hardware as well, with the latter designed for making the everyday life of the troops easier in time of war and in peacetime, according to the Izvestia daily.