"Fuel delivery by drones is the reality of today"
Drones have begun delivering fuel for military equipment operating on the front line in the SVO zone, the Russian military is laying pipelines along the bottom of rivers, and Navy ships will soon be able to refuel on the unequipped coast. In an interview with Izvestia, Colonel Vladimir Demirov, Head of the Rocket Fuel and Fuel Department of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, spoke about how the fuel supply system for combat vehicles, aircraft and ships is changing, as well as innovative models of refueling equipment and technologies. The conversation took place on the eve of the Fuel Service Day of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, which is celebrated on February 17.
"Increased stealth and mobility of fuel delivery"
— During the special military operation, the tactics of the troops have changed significantly, new types of weapons have been developed. How did this affect the work of the fuel and lubricants service?
— The widespread use of aerial and ground attack drones has made significant adjustments to the activities of the fuel service. Due to the extremely high dynamics of the implementation of these systems, it is necessary to change approaches to many postulates almost on the fly.
The so-called "kill zones" have appeared, where the movement of any type of transportation is maximally limited due to the high concentration of FPV drones. Their depth reaches 25-30 km from the line of contact. This gave rise to the development of unmanned fuel delivery vehicles. UAVs of various designs, ground—based robotic systems that can significantly reduce the risk of injury to personnel when delivering fuel to the front line are already today's realities.
Polymer containers have been developed to replace conventional metal barrels and cans. It does not accumulate static electricity, is safer when handling fuel, and allows fuel to be transported directly to battle formations without using traditional tanker trucks and tanker trucks. This significantly increases stealth and mobility.
— How has the refueling system changed in the current conditions?
— The experience of providing fuel during the current conflict has shown that the factors of secrecy, speed of deployment of technical means, protection from drones, mobility of refueling and transportation facilities have become crucial. In addition, high—quality security, protection and camouflage of fuel storage facilities.
"Two pipeline lines have been deployed along the riverbed"
— Last year, two new divisions were formed, whose tasks include the construction of pipelines. How have they proven themselves in the CBO area, in what situations are they used, and what tasks can they solve?
— Pipeline units are special military units that quickly deploy field trunk pipelines and supply fuel or water over long distances to provide troops in any conditions. They gained significant combat experience during their military training. In some areas, the pipeline became the only alternative in conditions where the classical transport arteries were cut or were under constant enemy fire.
Thus, in the interests of a group of troops operating in one of the directions, two lines of a field main pipeline were deployed along the riverbed as soon as possible. This made it possible to provide fuel for the grouping of troops and significantly increase the capacity of the constructed crossing. By the way, at that time all the existing crossings in that area were destroyed, and the temporarily erected ones were under constant enemy fire.
Thanks to this, fuel was supplied promptly and covertly, and most importantly, without losses.
— What new samples of equipment have the fuel and lubricants service received recently?
— A whole range of new automotive fuel refueling, transportation and short-term storage facilities has been adopted for supply. This is, for example, an AC-17-65115 tanker truck with a two-section capacity of 17 cubic meters. m and the ability to transport two products at the same time.
The AC-14-63501 tanker truck, which has proven itself well in the process of military operation, has confirmed its relevance.
These fuel refueling and transportation facilities are intended for fuel delivery units of the operational level. New developments have been widely used in their designs, which make it possible to increase their survivability in conditions of possible enemy use of drones.
The work of the fuel service specialists during the special operation
The architecture of the technological equipment of these fuel tankers provides for the use of devices for electronically recording signals from fuel consumption meters and further transmission of the information received via high-speed data buses.
Tactical tankers ATZ-8-4320 and ATZ-7.5-5557 have also been accepted for supply. They have standard removable reservation elements equipped with electronic warfare equipment, as well as UAV protection kits, which significantly increases their survivability.
New samples of fuels, oils, and lubricants with improved performance characteristics have been developed, tested, and approved for use. They are specially designed to work in highly loaded weapons and military equipment systems in various climatic conditions.
— Fuel is delivered to the special operation zone, including by rail. Is his work somehow optimized?
— In order to shorten the delivery time of fuel to military units, increase secrecy and reduce the load on the railway infrastructure and transportation vehicles, specialists deployed sections of the field main pipeline. Fuel dispensaries from the main oil product pipelines were also equipped. This made it possible to free up a significant part of the railway tankers and seriously unload the delivery vehicles.
In addition, a mobile fuel intake kit from railway tanks was developed and sent for testing to the troops. As a result, the fuel discharge time on unequipped sections of railway tracks decreased threefold.
"One new tanker will replace three outdated Soviet designs"
— What new equipment has appeared for the transportation of aviation fuel?
— Serious work has been done in this area. ATZ-20-6560 airfield fuel tankers based on the KamAZ-6560 off-road vehicle with an 8x8 wheel formula and a 20 cubic meter fuel tank were accepted for supply, and ATZ-20-65201- avia is based on the KamAZ-65201 civilian base chassis with improved performance characteristics.
Their advantage is the presence of a device for metered injection of liquid into the fuel stream, which prevents the formation of ice crystals at low temperatures. This was not the case with any of the analogues previously accepted for supply.
Another urgent task to update the fleet of aviation technical equipment of the fuel service is the creation of a universal tanker with special liquids on the URAL-43206 chassis. Its prototype is built according to the "five in one" scheme — on one base chassis it is possible to refuel equipment with aviation oils and oil mixtures, alcohol and water-alcohol mixtures, as well as hydraulic fluids. This tanker alone will replace three obsolete tankers with special liquids of Soviet design.
Tanker truck based on the URAL car
In recent years, a number of new technical means have been put into operation that make it possible to quickly deploy sump and consumable tank groups of airfield fuel depots and install centralized modular aircraft refueling systems on their basis.
These are the fast-mounted container-type tanks with a volume of 50 cubic meters. m. R-50k, the AFT-120 pumping and filtration module, the AFT-60 pumping unit, the universal fuel laboratory UPL, the mobile fuel laboratory MLG and others.
— Your tasks include providing fuel for Navy ships. What changes have taken place recently in this area?
— In the interests of the Navy, new technical means have been accepted for supply and are also being tested by the troops. This is the ATMZ-7-65224 autofuel tanker, designed for transportation, short-term storage and refueling of small ships with fuel and heated oil. The sample was developed taking into account the requirements for automated systems for monitoring the availability, movement and consumption of fuel and can be easily integrated into such systems.
A set of unrestricted refueling of ships and vessels on the BZKR-100E raid was created for receiving fuel from tankers at points on the equipped and unequipped seashore and its subsequent delivery for refueling ships and vessels.
Elastic flat-turnable sleeves based on polyester yarns are used in their design. This made it possible to significantly increase their strength, reliability and at the same time reduce the coefficient of hydraulic resistance. The sample deployment and folding time was reduced by 30% compared to existing analogues.
The use of the ATMZ-7-65224 autofuel tanker in conjunction with the BZKR-100E kit makes it possible to solve the tasks of organizing refueling of small ships in conditions of an unequipped coast, which significantly increases their autonomy and range of applications.
The fuel Service of the Armed Forces traces its history back to February 17, 1936, when the Red Army Fuel Supply Department was established. Its main task is considered to be the supply of fuel and lubricants (fuels and lubricants) and rocket fuel to the troops, ensuring the functioning of military equipment and weapons both in peacetime and in combat conditions.
Already before the Second World War, this structure provided fuel for the fighting against Japanese troops, the march to the Curzon Line and the Soviet-Finnish campaign.
During the Great Patriotic War, the army used 16.3 million tons of petroleum products, and factories sent more than 20 million tons of fuel to the front.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
