Battlefield delivery: how the supply chain has changed on the front line
The constant improvement of strike and reconnaissance UAVs has made the delivery of cargo to the front line a particularly dangerous endeavor. One of the new solutions to the problem was the organization by our rear services of underground "accumulation points" in the front line. They concealed from the enemy stocks of clothing, food, there are sleeping places for soldiers leaving the front line, workshops. Izvestia learned what an "accumulator" is, how it works and how supplies are delivered to the LBS from the 87th Rifle Regiment of the 51st Donetsk Army.
How supplies are delivered to the front line
We are traveling to one of the recently liberated towns in the DNR under cover of bad weather. Gusty wind and fog are not in themselves an obstacle for UAVs, but there is wet snow, and the weather is considered favorable, and the road is busy even in the daytime. Interspersed in both directions are both new armored trucks and those upgraded with factory and homemade extra protection kits with drone nets. But the main traffic is created by all kinds of off-road vehicles: from Bukhanok vans to buggies of all possible designs and models. The vast majority of those passing by have free surfaces covered with antennas of electronic warfare equipment. And in the bodies or hatches cut in the roofs of almost all of them sit one or two shooters, who are covered with wet snow mixed with mud for the first minutes of the road. We drive through the battle-ravaged city to the 87th Regiment's accumulation point, immediately hide the vehicles and go underground.
- The accumulator is made in order to increase the shoulder of the supply to the fighter in the shortest possible time to deliver the necessary. For this purpose we have everything here, everything is prepared. 10-15 kilometers is a normal distance today to be able to deliver. Before, there were no such points, because the front line was much closer to our points, and we could immediately deliver the necessary supplies from the rear. And now, when we are advancing, we make such accumulators: clothing, food and others," explains the commander of the supply platoon with the call sign Kaban.
He shows his "economy", stocks of VKPO 2.0 uniform sets, shoes, sleeping bags and other things. Kaban himself is from Donetsk and has been in the army since his mobilization in the DNR. He started his combat career as a driver. He is one of those who remembered both the "iron helmets" (Soviet steel helmets) and the "Donetsk pixel" (the uniform of the DNR National Movement before it joined the Russian Armed Forces). Therefore, showing today's provision, he does not even try to compare it with 2022. The comment is short: "two big differences". There is also a small fitting room in the warehouse, where you can change clothes of those who came out of the front line before rotation or new tasks. Sleeping quarters are made in the item to accommodate people during rotations if necessary.
In the food warehouse, what immediately catches the eye is that the nomenclature is much broader than it used to be. All this is collected and packed into transport baulks, which at the right moment can be quickly fed to the street and loaded onto transport - a buggy or ATV. By the way, bulk baulks are also one of the novelties. Previously, they were always in short supply, and instead of them often used the famous plaid bags, which in the 90's were used by traders "shuttles".
- To deliver food to the guys on the front line, there is a tray group, a delivery group, who on motorcycles or on foot deliver it to the fighters on the front line. These are the kind of baulks we collect," Kaban tells and shows. They contain bread, water, various canned goods, condensed milk, several kinds of sweets, cigarettes, breadcrumbs packed in plastic bottles to protect them from water and mice, and much more. And, according to Caban, the menu can be chosen within known limits. He tries to take into account the wishes of specific units, so there is no standard set - everyone gets their own orders.
Robots to help
Where motorcycles or ATVs can not pass, a robotic tracked platform is sent. In the room for small repairs of equipment at the storage point we see a robot "Sturm 1M". Such and deliver cargo and remove the wounded in any conditions.
- This is not our first product. We have already made a second dozen of such platforms in different versions: minesweepers, mine clearance trawls, transportation platforms. This and similar tanks not only overcome heavy black soil, but also can swim. One platform together with a trailer pulls up to 400 kg, and can also float this weight," says Khitry, one of the authors of the product.
Control can be carried out at a distance of up to 10 kilometers - of course, in this case, it is necessary to deploy a repeater. And while the platforms are most often accompanied by UAVs that monitor their work from the air, the robot itself also has a camera and can operate autonomously. Unmanned platforms not only deliver ammunition and provisions, but also evacuate the wounded, saving not only the lives of fighters but also of evacuation teams.
- In October 2023, in the industrial zone of Avdeevka, we were providing the "Veterans" unit with ammunition. The distance was 500 meters, but this space was actively shot from all kinds of weapons, plus birds were working. Two direct hits were in our platforms, but the technique passed and fulfilled its tasks, - tells Khitryy about one of the episodes of fighting. In one operation, the robots transported more than a ton of ammunition, food and other essentials to the forward detachments. According to Khitryy, dozens of soldiers could have been killed while delivering that amount of cargo.
Robotic platforms are constantly improving from experience. One of the hallmarks of this kind of front-end design is the rapid implementation of experience. For example, the Sturm platform has a very soft suspension with high cross-country capability, and during evacuation, the wounded do not suffer additional trauma while moving.
- On the same day there can be both combat tasks and work with a bolgar or welding machine - somewhere to tighten, paint, tweak or fix electrics. When the front moves, we move forward to help our guys, we follow them," says a technician with the call sign Motylek about his work.
Today, everything - from new modes of transportation to the organization of such protected storage sites as we were shown in the 87th Regiment - is subordinate to the goal of increasing protection from the threat from the air.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
