I'm looking high: armored trains will receive a new AI-based protection system
Armored trains that are in service with the Russian army will receive technical vision, Izvestia found out. This camera system with artificial intelligence can independently detect and recognize enemy objects, which will allow them to be quickly destroyed. The introduction of new technology will make the exploration of railway tracks and adjacent territories more efficient and provide additional safety to trains, experts say.
How the vision system works
Russian armored trains, which are used in the SVR zone, will be equipped with a vision system, sources told Izvestia. It consists of surveillance cameras with artificial intelligence.
The system can independently detect and recognize enemy objects. If they get into the lens, the personnel of the armored train will receive a special signal in a timely manner and will be able to eliminate the target from anti-aircraft guns, automatic cannons or machine guns.
The new system will mainly be used to detect enemy drones en route. As a result, the exploration of railway tracks and adjacent territories will become safer and more efficient, military experts believe.
The novelty has already been tested in the special operation zone and has proven its effectiveness.
Equipping objects such as armored trains, tanks, armored personnel carriers, and infantry fighting vehicles with computer vision has already reached the point where these systems can be used even in a fairly compact design, Dmitry Kornev, editor of the Militaryrussia portal, told Izvestia.
— Cameras are needed, an information processing unit is needed, and then communication is needed either with the commander's tablet or with the vehicle's control system to issue target designation. If this is fully automated, then this way you can automatically detect armored objects, drones, and quadrocopters. There is only one problem here — it is possible that some additional training of this computer vision system will be required when installing it on a specific piece of equipment. But this is not a very difficult task, it can be solved in a few days," the expert emphasized.
Thus, Russian units will be able to significantly strengthen environmental control, detect and destroy dangerous objects faster.
— These systems are the future, and the fact that they are already being installed on such mobile combat units is quite serious progress. This will ensure both air defense and the safety of the armored trains themselves," concluded Dmitry Kornev.
The main task of optical-electronic intelligence is to recognize objects and react accordingly to their appearance, military expert Alexei Leonkov told Izvestia.
— During the special military operation, at some point we faced a shortage of these funds. And they are the ones that detect small drones well. Drones are made of composite materials, and therefore not all radars "see" them at a sufficient distance. Therefore, the development of optoelectronic devices and their installation on military equipment, including armored trains, has become an urgent task. It, in turn, is part of a more global task — the creation of a continuous location field. Because when long-range drone attacks are attempted on our rear areas, you can't put radars everywhere. But cameras that can recognize an object, and even determine the degree of threat emanating from it, work faster than a human observer can do.
This year, a section on combating UAVs appeared in the combat training program for railway troops. When conducting classes within the framework of this course, the experience gained during the military training is taken into account, and the personnel are directly involved in combat operations. The destruction of drones is practiced using smoothbore weapons, regular submachine guns, machine guns, including large-caliber, as well as anti-aircraft installations, including twin ZU-23-2. In addition, electronic warfare (EW) equipment is being used.
The role of railway troops in their
The railway troops have been carrying out tasks in the special operation zone since 2022. They are responsible for anti-sabotage measures and protection of infrastructure, technical and engineering reconnaissance of routes, conduct mine clearance, transport materials, accompany military echelons, and participate in humanitarian actions.
The troops include special trains "Baikal", "Amur", "Volga" and "Yenisei". The latter's arsenal includes 82-millimeter mortars, BMP-2 with a 30-millimeter cannon, large-caliber NSV Utes machine guns, and twin ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft guns. The design allows you to quickly build up anti-aircraft weapons. There are also electronic warfare equipment on board to suppress radio-controlled explosive devices and drones for reconnaissance of traffic routes.
Trains escort trains with military supplies and repair damaged sections of railway tracks. There are repair units and mobile tactical groups on them. The platforms of the armored trains are loaded with rails and sleepers, thanks to which the personnel can restore up to 100 m of the upper structure of the track on their own.
Oleg Kosenkov, head of the Main Directorate of the Russian Railway Troops, told Izvestia in an interview that these trains are always in a "hot" state, that is, they do not jam. They are ready to operate from the wheels in any conditions and must be at the departure station within an hour to move to the designated location.
Earlier, Izvestia reported that railway drones, remotely controlled platforms, began to be used in the special military operation zone. Each one carries more than a ton of cargo and has a range of about 50 km. On the platforms, units of the railway troops deliver ammunition, water and provisions to Russian servicemen.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
