by Aleksandr Kots
[KP] - Now we are walking along the conveyor line where the bodies arrive. At this stage, the chassis is assembled, - Alexey, deputy head of the production shop, leads the tour in a casual manner.
And I still haven't recovered from the first armor-piercing impression. From the outside, the 130th workshop didn't look so... epic.
"Uralvagonzavod" is a city within a city. With a huge number of production facilities, numbered with three-digit numbers. Moreover, they are scattered around the territory without any topographic logic. If, for example, there is hangar 250, then it is not a fact that 251 will not be at the other end of the industrial "agglomeration". "So that a spy does not guess," I noted to myself.
To navigate here, an inexperienced driver (and the scale is such that you need to get from point A to point B by car) would need a special navigator. However, I had no reason to complain about the driver. He knew the huge territory of Uralvagonzavod like his own home district. And when I slowed down at the legendary 130th workshop, I did not immediately understand that this was the main tank "maternity hospital" of the country. The "misunderstanding" evaporated as soon as I crossed the threshold of the checkpoint.
WORLD OF MILITARY GIANTS
In a large hall with high ceilings and a pile of armored metal, you feel like a little tin soldier who has found himself in the world of military giants. True, there are ordinary people around you who work around the clock, in two 12-hour shifts, for our future victory. And it, as we know, is forged in the rear. Right here.
Two very long spans. The hull is being assembled on the right, the towers on the left.
- Then the product moves to the next stage - this is the assembly of the engine and transmission compartment. At the same time, pipelines are laid in the fighting compartment, electrical installation is underway, - Alexey continues the tour.
On the world's first tank conveyor, the machine gradually acquires muscles, nerves, arteries. For hundreds of meters, as far as the eye can reach, there are hulls, turrets, engines... And everything is boiling, moving, spinning, knocking, rumbling.
YOUTH WITHOUT DAYS OFF
But it wasn't always like that. Veterans of the plant remember sadder times.
- In the 90s, the shop practically didn't work. You could take a month off at your own expense and work somewhere behind the fence. Or just come - they let us go home, because there was no work at all. Those were hard times, what can I say, - sighs the site manager Vladimir. - Now we work in two shifts for 12 hours without days off.
He came to the plant in 1985, following his mother and father. He started as a mechanic, just like his son Daniil does now. For him, a tank is not a foreign organism. He himself managed to fight in the SVO as a T-72 gunner.
- After the army, I took a little rest and followed my father to get a job at Uralvagonzavod, - he recalls today. - I have an education in "Special Machines and Devices", and since childhood I have been attracted to military equipment. Now I am installing ammunition racks and a drum in a tank. I install a shovel on an BREM (armored repair and recovery vehicle - Ed.), and I assemble compartments for grenade launchers on a BMPT (combat tank support vehicle "Terminator" - Ed.).
- In general, we recruited a lot of young people, - Vladimir assures. - Training right away. We assign a mentor, and the newcomer begins to delve into the profession. I recruited more than 40 people for my section, most of them guys who just came from the army.
- Daniil, how come you're so young - and don't have days off? When should I start my personal life? - I ask the still very young guy.
- After the victory, we'll have a rest! - he smiles, turning something in the tank drum with a tricky key. - I just moved in with my girlfriend to spend more time together. She understands everything. And as a person who saw with his own eyes what the SVO is, I understand how much my work is needed now. And if something is urgent, the management always meets me halfway.
"MOCKING THE CAR"
The turrets are assembled on the Daniil run. While on the adjacent belt, engines and radiators are installed in the hulls, technical fluids are poured in, all systems are checked, and the "head" is covered with "brains". The gun is rolled in, sighting systems and digital displays are mounted. And then, after the engine tests, the two runs inevitably intersect - when the "head" is put on the "body". Here they call it a "sketch". Although, of course, no one throws the heavy turret. It is carefully installed on the hull, after which everything is checked again. Only now special attention is paid to the fire control system.
On a special stand, the vehicle is tilted left, right, up, down, and the automatic loading system is tested under increased loads. I have worked with tank crews in the SVO zone many times, and I can imagine the conditions in which they have to squeeze all the capabilities out of the tank. And it must fire from any position. The lives of the crew depend on it. That is why the factory workers “torture” the vehicle so much at the assembly stage - so that there are no failures in combat. But this is not yet a proving ground, where the vehicle is driven hard and fast. And where the first combat firing will finally take place. There are specially trained people here for this too.
POLES, GERMANS, ITALIANS, THEY RAN AWAY
Viktor, a tester of weapons for combat and special vehicles, came to the plant in 2022. Before that, he served in the army, fought in Chechnya, worked in the OMON. And with the beginning of the SVO, he went to the front as a volunteer. Battles for Lisichansk, the liberation of Maryinka, he was discharged after being wounded in Kleshcheyevka, near Artemovsk (Bakhmut). According to combat geography, I immediately read serious front-line experience. Viktor says that he could not sit at home. His grandfather fought in the Great Patriotic War, his father - in Afghanistan. Upbringing. He just finished his night shift, but he does not refuse to talk.
- I had never worked with tanks before, - the veteran smiles. - But they taught me everything here. In principle, I have always worked with weapons, I get the hang of it, I understand what is required of me. And I like working with weapons. We check the automatic loader, do sighting… In general, our tanks showed themselves excellently in the SVO, I saw for myself how they helped us in the breakthrough.
- Where?
- At Maryinka, I was then put in charge of the group, we needed a roll in the morning. Before dawn we were sitting and thinking about it - a difficult task. Then we heard a loud roar - seven of our tanks were moving. And behind them armored personnel carriers, planes appeared, helicopters... It was like in the movies. I look at my guys, their spirits even rose when they saw the tanks. They were ready to tear the enemy apart with their bare hands. In my direction there were Poles, Germans, Italians... I can say one thing, they abandoned everything - their positions, weapons and just ran away.
SON AT THE FRONT
Moving to the next workshop, I catch myself thinking that the connection between the home front and the front at Uralvagonzavod is directly tangible. Here, civilian plant workers, veterans of the SVO, and those who are waiting for their relatives from the front to come back work without days off. For example, Yulia with her unfeminine set of professions - a lathe operator, a blacksmith, a chipper... She stamps bolts for tanks - such weighty dumbbells that need to be heated on pliers over a fire, put under a press and thrown into a box of finished products. And so on for 12 hours!
“We’re helping our guys,” she says, embarrassed, standing at her machine with a large Z sticker.
My son is fighting... And imagine - in a tank. Platoon commander, four vehicles under his command.
And some factory workers even work close to the front lines - at collection points for damaged equipment. They bring back to life what the soldiers themselves are unable to repair.
"TSAR-MANGAL" AND "TAGLIOCHKA"
- “Heavy” vehicles are brought to the points where the electrical wiring is burnt, the mounting brackets are destroyed, where the bottom needs to be unscrewed, all the units that were torn out need to be welded,” says the site manager Andrey.
- What are the most common injuries now?
- Cumulative penetrations. At least two or three holes in each tank. There are record holders - several dozen hits. About 40 drones flew into one "Tsar-Barbecue" based on an old T-72! We assembled it completely, shook out the entire transmission, changed everything from the bottom, installed everything. Off we go!.. And there is one vehicle with the inscription "Tagilochka" on the side, it has come to us about 30 times. Everything has already been changed in it, even, probably, for the second time. But if it comes to us that many more times, we will restore it just as many more times.
- They make durable tanks in the Urals! - I give them a well-deserved compliment.
- The main thing is that they are repairable, - confirms the department specialist Mikhail. - There are hexacopters that drop a bunch of cumulative charges, 10, 12, 15 pieces. One or two will still penetrate, but there were no such machines that we would not put on the move after that. Well, plus our tanks have such potential that even if everything completely breaks down, but if the machine is moving, it will still shoot. You can manually aim, manually target, everything is duplicated. The gunner fails, the commander can lead. Or vice versa - the commander's connection is lost, the gunner can work. How can we not win with such machines? We will definitely win!
CONVERSATION WITH THE CHIEF DESIGNER
"There's a lot of PR in Leopards"
- There is a common opinion that the time of tanks is passing. And perhaps we are seeing the last major conflict in which they are used for their intended purpose. What will replace them then? And was scientific and technical thought in tank building going in the right direction, if we look back 2.5 years?
- Of course, we analyzed the use of armored vehicles in Syria, Karabakh, - the chief designer met me in his office. - Before the start of the Second World War, we strengthened the protection, made it all-round, reduced the area of weakened zones. Plus the total equipment of tanks with thermal imagers. Digital communication on new vehicles. And, probably, everyone has heard of the T-90M tank - it appeared before the start of the Second World War.
- But did you have to rethink something?
- Of course! At the first stage - mass use of close combat weapons and modern high-precision anti-tank guided missiles, including "Javelin" and "Stugna". Special protective structures were introduced.
At some point, the nature of the threats changed. With the advent of kamikaze drones, the life of everyone who uses armored vehicles has become much more difficult. Today, this is the most common anti-tank weapon. The overwhelming percentage of disabled vehicles is the result of using FPV drones. Today, we produce tanks, without exception, with EW kits (electronic warfare systems. - Ed.). Various protective barriers have been introduced. They do not reduce the functionality of the tank. If used correctly, the machines will cope with their combat mission.
- Do you have feedback from the front?
- From the very first days! We obtain information about the efficiency of our vehicles from various sources. This includes, of course, the tank crews themselves. Plus, we conduct continuous analysis of open sources on the Internet, where there are a huge number of videos, both from our side and from the other. There are also official channels - these are our customers, who periodically provide their analysis. I am sure that we have a complete picture of the weak points - both in the equipment itself and in the tactics of its use.
- Recently, a captured Leopard was delivered to Uralvagonzavod (part of Rostec - Ed.). What can you say about this equipment of a potential enemy?
- We have been constantly analyzing Western armored vehicles even before the SVO. There are strong differences between our approaches. You have probably noticed that our vehicles are lighter and more compact. At the same time, our weapons are more powerful. This is a powerful 125-mm cannon, automated shot preparation, including automatic loading, while Western models have manual loading. We are superior to our opponents in many ways.
Of course, there are some things where there is parity or we are lagging behind. But it is already obvious that Western models have not proven their worth in the conditions of the SVO. We waited for them to appear on the battlefield so that everyone could see that there was too much PR around these machines.
- Is it possible to draw the appearance of the tank of the future today?
- I don't think so. The only thing I can say is that people should be removed from the front line. No matter how perfect the machine is, the risk of its destruction remains. Unmanned vehicles are already commonplace today. So, most likely, the trend will go in this direction. But everything that concerns firepower, protection and mobility will also be improved. Our path is compact, relatively light vehicles with a high level of automation.
- Your favorite tank?
- An unexpected question! In the 60s and early 70s, Soviet designers created the T-72 tank. Even today, in the T-72B3M modification, it performs combat missions on the front lines with dignity. I would highlight this machine. The T-90M tank borrowed a lot from the T-72. Our predecessors very correctly identified the trend in the development of tank building for many years to come.
- You watch videos from battle sites on social networks. What do you feel when you see a tank you created being hit?
- You know, when you realize that there is a crew there... - the chief designer asked to turn off the voice recorder.
It was all written on his face. And he takes every such loss personally...
In fact, I asked this question to almost everyone I spoke to at Uralvagonzavod. Perhaps the general answer was formulated by father and son Vladimir and Daniil from the 130th workshop:
- Every combat vehicle has its own fate, depending on your luck. One can fight for several months, another can burn out in 10 minutes, war is war. It hurts for the crew... But we will build new tanks!