Speech by the Head of the Engineer Troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation within ARMY 2021 International Military and Technical Forum
1. What are engineering troops today? What tasks are assigned to them?
Currently, the engineering troops of the Armed Forces consist of military command and control bodies, formations, military units and subdivisions of engineering troops of the types, branches of the armed forces and troops that are not included in arms and services of troops of the Armed Forces. They are designed to perform the most complex tasks of engineering support, requiring special training of personnel, the use of engineering equipment, engineering ammunition and engineering property.
The engineering troops are entrusted with many tasks, the most extensive of which are fortification equipment, the arrangement and maintenance of engineering barriers, clearance, training and maintenance of troop movement routes, equipment and maintenance of crossings.
Engineer troops are one of the most diverse and technically rich troops. The system of engineering weapons includes over 600 items of various models and sets, while their classification includes 75 types of equipment.
Constant and systematic work is underway to improve the specifications of the weapons and military hardware samples, which have already proved themselves. At the same time, continuous work on the development and creation of new means of engineering weapons that meet modern requirements continues in all areas.
2. What samples of new weapons, military and special equipment, entered the troops in 2020? What are the plans for 2021?
In 2020, over 600 units of engineering equipment, more than 195 thousand sets of engineering equipment and various engineering ammunition were delivered.
So at present, within the framework of the state defence order, modern means of engineering reconnaissance, field water supply, fortifications, hiding and imitation, as well as means of overcoming water barriers, mine-explosive barriers, destruction and obstacles are supplied to the troops.
I would like to note that the purchase of the main samples of engineering equipment is synchronized with the supply of educational and training aids - dynamic simulators and educational multimedia classes for training specialists. These are dynamic simulators for engineering equipment - single-bucket excavators, tug-motor boats, truck cranes, floating conveyors, track paving machines, engineering obstacle course machines, bridge layers, mining systems.
The delivery of robotic demining equipment Uran-6 and fire extinguishing equipment Uran-14 continues. So, in total, 15 units of Uran-6 and 7 units of Uran-14 were delivered to the engineer troops. This year, it is planned to supply 20 Uran-6 units and 17 Uran-14 units to the engineer units.
In 2021, it is planned to purchase and supply to the troops more than five hundred units of engineering equipment, over 178 thousand sets of engineering equipment and engineering ammunition.
3. In 2021, the Russian Ministry of Defenсe will hold the ARMY International Military and Technical Forum 2021. To what extent will military engineers take part in the event?
The Directorate of the Chief of Engineer Troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation will take an active part in the preparation and holding of the International Military-Technical Forum ARMY 2021.
The exhibition exposition of the engineering troops will be made up of promising samples of engineering weapons, which will be presented both at the static exposition of the Office, and during the dynamic display of special equipment at the Alabino test site and at the Arctic exposition of promising samples of weapons and military equipment.
In total, on the scale of the forum's events, it is planned to demonstrate more than 30 samples of military engineering equipment designed for setting up and overcoming obstacles, extracting and purifying water, overcoming and forcing water barriers, repairing and engineering maintenance, as well as ensuring power supply to troops.
Within the framework of the forum, an engineering system for remote mining and a mobile engineering repair complex with a set of software and hardware tools for engineering and technical support of units and formations of engineering troops will be demonstrated for the first time.
As part of the forum's exposition, it is planned to display the upgraded advanced engineering equipment: the BAT-2M tracklayer the PZM-2M regimental earth-moving machine and the PMM-2M ferry-bridge vehicle.
4. What is planned as part of the scientific and business programme of the Forum?
Within the framework of the scientific and business program of the international military-technical forum Army-2021, the military-Scientific Committee of the Engineering troops and the Central Research and Testing Institute of the Engineering troops planned to hold round tables, including in the video conference mode with the Tyumen Higher Military-Engineering Command School, dedicated to improving techniques and methods of protecting troops and objects against technical means of reconnaissance and weapons guidance systems, as well as the development of means of overcoming rubbles and obstacles.
An exposition of the engineering troops on the theme Engineering exploration of water barriers in various climatic conditions is planned in the indoor pavilion of the Patriot park.
The stand will present promising means of exploration of water barriers such as: universal multi-channel mine detector UMM with a set of search elements, a special inspection device on a rod, a remote-controlled underwater vehicle for engineering reconnaissance, an unmanned aerial vehicle with a set of payloads, a complex hydroacoustic antenna on a suspension, a gyro-stabilized optoelectronic system with two cameras (visible and thermal range).
At the stand and platforms of the department of the chief of engineering troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, visitors to the forum will be presented the results of scientific activities of organizations of engineering troops, embodied in the developed, as well as accepted for supply and used in the troops, samples of engineering weapons.
5. Please tell us about the dynamic program planned by your control bodies during the Forum?
During the dynamic demonstration planned at the facilities of the Alabino training ground, guests of the International Military and Technical Forum Army 2020 will be able to see various tactical episodes involving the engineering personnel and equipment. During the dynamic demonstration, a demonstration of the capabilities of engineering weapons was planned, including: the IMR-3M engineering barrage vehicle, the MTU-72 armored bridgelayer, the BMR-3MA armored demining vehicle, the Uran-6 multifunctional robotic demining complex, the PMM ferry bridge vehicle -2M, pontoon fleet PP-2005, engineering and reconnaissance boat IRK.
Engineering and sapper units will show actions for reconnaissance of approaches to the water barrier for the presence of mine-explosive barriers and making a passage in them. The airborne units will demonstrate the equipment and maintenance of the amphibious crossing on PTS-2 floating transporters and the ferry crossing on the PMM-2M ferry bridge machines, and the pontoon ones will demonstrate the equipment and maintenance of the bridge crossing from the set of the modern PP-2005 pontoon fleet. The practical actions of crews of the IMR-ZM engineering clearing machine when making passages in mined rubble and calculating MTU-72 for installing a bridge crossing to an obstacle, as well as calculating BMR-3MA and Uran-6 for demining roads will be shown. Engineering units equipped with OVR-ZSh suits kit will show the order of advancement to the capture object under cover.
