Breaking news
Heavy tests Russian new-generation Boomerang APC 80507171.
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Defense & Security News - Russia
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| Russian new-generation Boomerang armored personnel carrier undergoes heavy tests | |||
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The Boomerang armored personnel carriers (APC) have concluded the Victory Parade on Red Square since 2015. Together with the newest T-14 MBT and T-15 heavy infantry fighting vehicle based on the Armata heavy unified tracked platform, they have to become the main strike force of Russia’s Land Forces.
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 Boomerang (credit: Vitaly Kuzmin)
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"The Boomerang has incorporated breakthrough feats of engineering. They are comparable to space technology in terms of technical perfection. For example, it has protection of the upper hemisphere. The vehicle can be controlled remotely, that is, it is practically a robot. It is fitted with such effective defense systems against precision-guided weapons that it is just unkillable," said Krasovitsky.
Within the Boomerang project, VPK drags the entire industry forward. A new engine was developed for this vehicle. Its manufacturer, the Yaroslavl Engine Plant, conducted out a real industrial revolution. There have been no such engines in Russia before. A new control system and a transfer case were designed. To this end, engineering competencies were developed, the entire production cycle was modernized, and new test benches appeared. |
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The Boomerang and BTR-82A are the vehicles of different classes. They were devised for different tasks and occupy different niches. The BTR-82A is a reliable vehicle, but it will not be able to carry out a package of missions that will be performed by the Boomerang, because it has different functionality and different performance. The BTR-82A can handle certain local tasks. With the Boomerang, the range of tasks increases and the niche expands.
Unlike the BTR-82A, far more automatic weapon stations can be installed on the Boomerang. And they can be changed. "You want a 30mm cannon - certainly, you want 57mm or 100mm gun, ATGM (Anti-Tank Guided-Missile)- no problem. It's like a constructor's kit. There is a completely new and more protected base model. You can build over what you like. The front engine location and a rear ramp are ergonomic: It's convenient to board and dismount, but everything has pros and cons," Krasovitsky said. |
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Krasovitsky does not fear that interest in the BTR-82A will fall. It is a reliable, cheap and well-known combat vehicle. Today, too, there are many orders for it from the former Soviet republics. Similar foreign products are 60-70% more expensive than the Russian ones. The current BTR-82A both swims and fires. The developers have been modifying it a lot recently. VPK was tasked by the Ministry of Defense to modify the BTR-82A according to a list of 80 improvement points following its operation in various climatic conditions. For example, when the vehicle swims, the visibility is limited at a high wave. Developers are increasing the length of the periscope and making the shield, which protects from the wave, larger. And there are many such directions. But reliability is the most important thing.
Currently, the Boomerang tests are heading into the homestretch. "It's flattering that our vehicle concluded the Victory Parade, but it's a new vehicle, and we continue to work on its armor, weight, ergonomics, and armament. Therefore, we would not like to say what it will be like in the final configuration. Now we are testing 12 cars: we are driving, firing, burning, and freezing them. Work is underway on the use of various types of armor," the CEO of VPK refined. The laboratory tests alone of this vehicle number 250: freezers, explosions, shootings, rollovers. So, once the tests are completed, fielding will start immediately, Krasovitsky told the newspaper Izvestia. |
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