Ukrainian Defense Review №4 за 2013 год

Ukrainian Digital Beamforming array raDar New possibilities for the air control

SaVing liVeSNew technologies inside Ukrainian bulletproof vest

all-Seeing eyeUkraine is able to create indigenous gyro stabilized guidance platform

inDian VeCtorukrainian defense review

80К6МMOBiLiTY, versaTiLiTY, COMPeTiTiveness

№4 [ oCtoBer – DeCemBer 2013 ]

eXaCtly on targetuaG-40 greNade laUNcher: lighter

weight & high efficieNcy

CurrenT sTaTe and PrOsPeCTs Of The ukrainian-indian defense COOPeraTiOn

Serhiy ZGUreTS – Head & Editor-in-Chief Defense Express Media & Consulting Company, [email protected], Valerii riaByKh – Direc tor of Development Defense Express Media & Consulting Company, [email protected], Volodymyr KoPChaK – Deputy Director – Editor of «Arms export and defense industry of Ukraine» Magazine, [email protected], АnTon miKhnenKo – Deputy Director – Editor of «Ukraini an Defense Review» Magazine, [email protected], myKhailo SamUS – The Head of Defense Express Media & Consulting Company European Bureau (Prague, Czech Republic), dmiTry BoGdanoV, olGa naBoChenKo – expert-observer, marK KanarSKy – Art Director, andriy Kramar – Commercial Director, SerGey PoPSUeViCh – Photographer, Janna dyomina – Translator

oUr addreSS

10 Illinska Str, off.5, Kyiv, Ukraine, 04070

Phone: +38 (044) 425-42-10, +38 (044) 425-16-22

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In cooperation with:

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Founder & Director – Valentyn BadraK

UKRAINIAN defeNse ReVIeW armS exPorT and defenSe indUSTrial ComPlex of UKraine

[ table of contents ]

10 UKRAINIAN-POLIsH defeNse-INdUsTRIAL TANdeM: TOdAY ANd TOMORROW Military-technical cooperation between Ukraine and Poland is showing good momentum this year. Observers point to increased mutual interest from the defense industrial communities of the two countries in pushing ahead with mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields

partnership

capabilities

24 VALeRIY KOVALeNKO, «UKRAINe Is ABLe TO CReATe INdIGeNOUs GYRO sTABILIZed GUIdANCe PLATfORM»

Interview with Chief Development Officer, Chief Designer at Izym Apparatus Factory

trends

30 dIGITAL BeAMfORMING (dBf) ARRAY RAdAR – TeCHNOLOGY Of THe fUTURe

The “R&D and Pro-duction As sociation ‘Arse nal’” Corpo-ration has developed a digital beamfor-ming (DBF) array technology that has no equivalents on the post-Soviet expanse and is designed for use in creating a wide range of cur-rent-generation ra-dar systems.

navigation

34 GLOBAL POsITIONINGGNSS receiver devices developed by Ukrainian State Enterprise Orizon-Navigation are distinguish-able by capability to accept GNSS signals from multiple systems – U.S.’ GPS, Russia’s GLONASS and, eventually, EU’s GALLILEO and PRC’s COMPASS. Today company is developing unique satellite navigation equipment and has a range of technology innovation projects aimed at the future

arsenal

38 WITHOUT A MIss State-owned design Bureau «Luch» of Kiev offers ample opportunities for industrial partnership

devices

42 YURIY sTORONsKY: «OUR PROdUCTs ARe desIGNed TO seCURe CIVILIAN LIVes ANd sOLdIeRs»

Interview with CEO, Chief Designer, NPP «Sparing-Vist Center»

individual protection

46 sAVING LIVes...Ukrainian R&D and Production Enterprise “Temp-3000”, stepping up with the time, is actively introduc-ing into practice the latest approaches and manu-facturing techniques for personal body armor tech-nologies. It has already released a complete range of bullet-resistant vests and ballistic helmets that are conforming to international standards. sea technologies

50 fLOATING COMPOsITe dRYdOCKs fROM UKRAINe: sIMPLe ANsWeR TO dIffICULT QUesTION

About State Plant «Pallada» achievements on international market

cooperation

14 INdIAN VeCTORIt is not a secret that India, as well as China and Thailand, is a one of the main partner for Ukraine in the Asian defense market. Defense Express proposes to consider the main aspects of the current state and prospects of the Ukrainian-Indian military-technical cooperation.

new weapons

18 OLeG sLINKO «THe UAG-40 GReNAde LAUNCHeR Is LIGHTeR WeIGHT WHILsT BeING MORe effeCTIVe THAN fOReIGN COMPeTITORs»

Interview with CEO at “KB Precision Mechanisms” Design Company

reforms and trends

ResTRUCTURING Is UNdeRWAYState Concern (SC) Ukroboronprom is implementing a restructuring plan introducing the divisional structure whereby the Concern’s R&D and production companies will be split into divisions according to products and services, as recommended by McKinsey – a reputable consulting firm, Ukroboronprom said in a pressrelease on 9 October 2013. The divisionalization plan envisag-es that the affiliated companies of the Concern would be grouped into verti-cally integrated R&D and production holding companies (divisions) accord-ing to industry categories as follows: aircraft building and repairs; the manu-facture of armored military equipment, motor vehicles, engineer and special-purpose equipment; shipbuilding and marine equipment; precision-guided weapons and ammunition; radar sys-tems, radio communication systems and air defense systems. Management of the divisions would be carried out giv-ing due consideration to the planned in-troduction of integrated closed-loop production cycles encompassing re-search and development, prototyping and series production, upgrading, main-tenance and repair, warranty and post-warranty servicing. The divisions will be led by expert practitioners with exten-sive experience in the development and setting up production of weapons and military equipment in the aforemen-tioned industry sectors.

President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, by his decree # 479/2013 issued on 2 September 2013, approved and enacted the State Program on the Ukrainian Armed Forces Reform and Development in the period till 2017.The Program sets out specific timeframes, quantitative and qualitative parameters of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and, most impor-tantly, provides for financial resources to sup-port Program implementation, Minister of Defense, Pavlo Lebedev has said.

The total budget of the Program is set at UAH 131.7 billion ($16.4 bn). Of this amount, about UAH 12bn ($2.05bn) would be spent on combat training pro-grams (an increase to 11% from 6% of the previous Program funds), UAH 24.7bn ($3.08bn) on technical modernization programs (an increase from 10 to 21%) and Hr 90bn ($11.2bn) on personnel (a decline from 83 % to 68 %). The Program envisages a total reduction in the strength of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to 122,000, including about 70,000 person-nel of combat formations and units, and 50,000 personnel of logistical and service support units.

news

NeW PROsPeCTs fOR UKRAINIAN ARMed fORCes

2 / Ukrainian DEFEnSE rEViEW / OCTOBEr-DECEMBER 2013

UKRAINe ANd CHINA AGRee ON COOPeRATION fOR THe THIRd COUNTRIesDeputy Director General of SC Ukroborobprom Maksym Hlushchenko met and talk-ed with President of Aviation Industrial Corporation of China (AVIC) Lin Zuo Ming on the sidelines of aircraft ex-hibition and show Aviation Expo/China-2013 in Beijing, Ukroboronprom said in a press statement released on 25 September 2013.During the meeting, the two discussed ways to diversi-fy cooperation between AVIC and affiliated companies of

Ukroboronprom. They further-more identified a number of promising joint projects for the future and agreed to step up joint work under bilateral proj-ects that are already ongoing.The parties identified principles for bilateral engagement re-garding possible collaboration in the production of products for promotion in third-coun-try markets. An understanding was reached to sign a frame-work agreement outlining fu-ture areas of cooperation. A draft of the framework agree-

ment will be submitted in the near future by Ukraine to the Chinese party for consideration and possible approval.Also, during Aviation Expo/China-2013, the united Pavilion of affiliated companies of Ukroboronprom Concern hosted a meeting between of-ficials of the State Concern and a deputy CEO at China Taly Aviation Technologies Corp, who discussed Ukrainian aero-nautical exports to China and subsequent in-service support of the equipment on site.

Potential cooperation areas and ways to improve and intensify industrial and technological cooperation in the defense industry were discussed during second international conference of the UkrainianPolish Forum on Cooperation in the Defense Industry, which took place in Kiev on November 1415, according to a November 19 report by a Defense Express correspondent.The conference was joint-ly organized by the Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski Polish Industrial Lobby, Euro-Atlantic Society, Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Ukraine and Polish Defense Ministry on the Polish side, and the SC Ukroboronprom and Ukrainian Defense Ministry on the Ukrainian side. The first similar forum was held in Warsaw in May 2013.Addressing the status of re-lations between Ukraine and the Republic of Poland, the Polish team leader, Major General Leszek Cwojdzinski,

chief of the Inspectorate for Innovative Defense

Technology Implementation at the Ministry of National Defense, said that “Ukraine is a loyal and worthy partner to Poland”. L. Cwojdzinski said he observed growing cooperation between Ukraine and Poland in the defense and military tech-nology areas during 2013. Ihor Odnoralov, acting chief of the Arms Development and Procurement Department at Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense, echoed, saying that defense ministers of the two countries have held three working meet-ings this year alone. He believes that bilateral defense-industrial cooperation could encompass promising areas such as joint upgrading of weapons and mil-itary equipment used by armed forces of North African/Sahel states and the Middle East. At the same time, Leszek Cwojdzinski said that future co-operative programs could ad-dress modernization of Polish Air Force’s MiG-29 fighter air-craft by Ukrainian factories as well as Ukraine’s engagement in developing new derivative ver-sions of Polish Sokol-series mul-tipurpose helicopters (W-3PL

Gluszec and W-3PL/N-ІF).Vitali Maistrenko, depu-ty Director General of SC Ukroboronprom spoke to ad-dress Ukraine’s defense indus-try capabilities. “Cooperation between Ukraine and Poland is of great value to both coun-tries. The more so as we [in Ukraine] already have success-ful experience working with Polish businesses. Now the key challenge to us is to find out ways to implement our joint projects,” he said. The program of the conference included familiarization visits by Polish business representatives to selected defense-related companies in Ukraine. In partic-ular, the Polish team paid a vis-it to Design and Development Bureau Luch in Kiev to become acquainted with the range of high-tech product types being developed and manufactured by this Ukrainian company. These included anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) systems Skif and Korsar, helicopter-borne ATGM system Baryer-V as well as an-ti-tank and anti-aircraft guid-ed missiles that are in service in Ukraine’s Armed Forces and are

well selling in the internation-al market for weapons and mili-tary equipment.On the sidelines of the Ukrainian-Polish forum, ne-gotiations were held be-tween representatives of the Polish Industrial Lobby and an executive official of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Department on the Disposal of Rocket Fuel Components, Missiles and Munitions. Following the negotiations, it was announced that a sep-arate panel would be set up to deal with weapons dispos-al issues. A representative of the Polish side said that expert team of a Polish firm possess-ing missile and ammunition disposal technology might vis-it Kiev in a two weeks’ time to hold negotiations with repre-sentatives of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry. Marek Lukaniuk, a defense industry expert from the Polish Industrial Lobby said he believes that the ammu-nition disposal project could very soon become a good ex-ample of a joint initiative to be successfully implemented by Ukraine and Poland.

UKRAINe ANd POLANd dIsCUssING defeNse-INdUsTRIAL COOPeRATION

Ukrainian DEFEnSE rEViEW / OCTOBEr-DECEMBER 2013 / 3

air / spacenews AN-178 AIRPLANe TO eNTeR TesTING PHAse NexT YeARUkraine will complete the construction and begin the trials of the new An178 aircraft in 2014, Ukrainian Industrial Policy Minister, Mykhailo Korolenko told KommersantUkraine newspaper. “We are planning to finish the construction and proceed to testing of the new An-178 in 2014,” he said.“Antonov State Enterprise has near-term plans that include completion of work to update the An-124 Ruslan transport air-craft and implement it to the production stage. In 2014, we are planning to com-plete the construction and launch test-ing and evaluation of the new An-178 air-craft. A restructuring of the company will be carried out and the Antonov Holding will be set up to ensure successful com-pletion of these projects,” Korolenko said.

UKRAINe TO PROVIde PROTeCTION sYsTeM fOR POLANd’s PROjeCTed sW-5 HeLICOPTeRThe planned SW-5 attack helicopter being developed by Poland’s PZL Swidnik will be equipped with latest-generation Adros op-tical-electronic jamming system developed by Ukrainian firm Adron, Ukraine Industrial website reported on 17 October 2013. The future helicopter will be able to car-ry 3.2-t payloads and will feature a fuse-lage of composite material, a rear ramp and retractable landing gear, according to PZL Swidnik.

AN-124 RUsLAN TO Be BACK IN PROdUCTIONRussian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev hopes that Russia and Ukraine will resume production of the An124 Ruslan transport aircraft as soon as in the nearest future, RBC-Ukraine report-ed on 15 October 2013, citing Medvedev as saying. “We are almost done creating a joint venture to build An-124 air-craft. I hope we will launch pro-duction in the nearest future,”

Medvedev told a joint press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart Mykola Azarov, summing up the outcome of the

tenth session of the Ukrainian-Russian interstate commission’s sub-commission on economic cooperation affairs.

Prime Ministers Mykola Azarov of Ukraine and Dmitriy Medvedev of the Russian Federation, during the tenth session of the Ukraine-Russia interstate com-mission’s sub-commission on economic cooperation affairs, have reached an understand-ing that joint testing and evalua-tion program on the An-70 mili-tary transport aircraft should be completed by 1 February 2014 and a decision on bringing the aircraft

into production should be made following the test and evaluation outcome, a source in Ukraine’s negotiating team announced to the press. This was reported by RIA-Novosti on 15 October 2013, citing its own sources. “Joint flight tests of the An-70 should be completed by 1 February 2014 and, following the results of these tests, a decision will be made on launching this aircraft in-to production,” the source said. The source in the Ukrainian team

additionally reported that Azarov and Medvedev agreed that com-pletion date of the An-70 joint testing and evaluation program should be documented in the Protocol of the tenth session of the Ukrainian-Russian inter-state commission’s sub-commis-sion on economic cooperation af-fairs. “It is for the first time that a date for making a crucial decision on the future of this Ukrainian-Russian project has been official-ly set,” the source said.


AN-70 AIRCRAfT TesTING WILL fINIsH IN feBRUARY 2014

Ukrainian DEFEnSE rEViEW / OCTOBEr-DECEMBER 2013 / 5

UKRAINe WILL UPGRAde CUBAN AN-2 fLeeT

Executive managers of aircraft building companies affiliated with SC Ukroboronprom met and talked with top officials of Thai Aviation Industries (TAI) on the sidelines of Defense & Security 2013 Expo in Bangkok, Ukroboronprom reported in a press statement issued on 11 November 2013. The meeting addressed bilateral cooperation in maintenance of the L-39 combat capable trainer aircraft that are in service in the Royal Air Force of Thailand. A. Dashyvets, CEO and chief de-signer at an experimental gener-

al-purpose aircraft design com-pany said that a meeting with of-ficial representatives of the Thai Ministry of Defense was held on the sidelines of the exhibition to discuss a potential joint project developing a mini unmanned aer-ial vehicle (M-UAV), with produc-tion to be set up at Ukrainian air-craft factories.The Ukrainian display at Defense & Security 2013 Expo was the venue for a meeting with the commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Air Force, Prajin Jantong, which addressed potential coop-eration in aircraft upgrade and overhaul projects.

Antonov An158 airplane (production number 20103) owned by Cubana de Aviacion airline has gone on a tour of countries in Latin America, SE Antonov reported in a press statement released on 19 November 2013.During this overseas tour, Antonov and its Russian partner, Ilyushin Finance Co. leasing company, are conducting high-altitude airfield deployment capa-bility testing of the airplane, as required by its potential customers in this region of

the world,” Antonov said in the statement.An Antonov’s test pilot crew performed a range of ground tests of the air-plane at Latacunga airport in Ecuador, which is locat-ed at 2,800 meters above sea level. Afterwards, the An-158 flew to Bolivia where it is undergoing flying and ground tests at an airfield located at 4,000+ meters above sea level. “This tour is a crucial element in promoting the An-148/158 families of airplanes in the Latin American market”, the press statement says.

Malta has proposed that Ukraine set up a servicing center for Antonov-series airplanes and related engines in that country, Vitaly Lukianenko, press officer for Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov reported on 4 September 2013. “During negotiations, Malta’s Prime Minister suggest-ed that Ukraine establish a servicing center for Antonov-series aircraft, aeroengines and helicopters [in Malta],” Lukianenko told the press, commenting on the outcomes of 4 September meeting between M. Azarov and his Maltese counterpart, Joseph Muskat in Kiev. He said such a center could be useful and logistically feasible in Malta, given that over two thousand Ukrainian-built aircraft and engines are cur-rently in operation in Northern Africa.

Ukraine’s SE Antonov of Kiev and PJSC Motor Sich of Zaporizhzhia signed an industrial partnership deal with the Cuban Airlines Corporation regarding an upgrade of the latter’s fleet of Antonov An2 aircraft, Antonov announced on 4 September 2013.The Cuban Airlines Corpora-tion is going to set up indus-trial facilities for upgrading its 140-aircraft fleet of An-2s to An-2-100 configuration equipped with Motor Sich MS-14 engine. Under a separate deal, SE Antonov will supply Cuba with required assemblies and components, which it will subcontract from man-ufacturing companies in Ukraine. The upgrade pack-age includes new engines and related components to

be supplied by Motor Sich, and AV-17 propeller systems to be provided by Russian OJSC “Aerosila”. “If necessary, Antonov will provide train-ing for pilot crews and tech-nicians, in addition to tech-nical oversight of the An-2-100 aircraft to be operat-ed in the Republic of Cuba”, Antonov said in a press statement. Earlier in 2013, Antonov built the first An-158 regional jet airliners in a 99-seat configu-ration, under a 2011 deal with Ilyushin Finance Co. (IFC), a Russian company that sup-plies the aircraft to Cubana de Aviacion Airline on leasing terms. Three aircraft have al-ready been delivered to the Cuban Customer, with one more scheduled for delivery by the end of this year and three more scheduled to be delivered in 2014.

UKRAINe, THAILANd CONsIdeRING jOINT UAV deVeLOPMeNT PROjeCT

AN-158 COMPLeTes TesTING IN eCUAdOR

ANTONOV AIRCRAfT seRVICe CeNTeR WILL Be seT UP IN MALTA

The first two productionstandard Oplot main battle tanks (MBTs), which have been built by Malyshev tank factory of Kharkiv under a contract from Thailand, have successfully passed running and firing trials at a proving range in the vi-cinity of Chuhuiv, Kharkiv

Region, Ukroboronprom’s press service reported cit-ing CEO Serhiy Gromov. At the initial stage of run-ning and firing trials, the tanks demonstrated their capability to run at differ-ent speeds while main-taining maneuverability. During live firing tests, both of the tanks performed fir-ing from their 125-mm can-

nons, 7.62-mm coaxial ma-chine guns and 12.7-mm an-ti-aircraft machine guns. All of the designated targets were successfully engaged and destroyed.“Overall, the tests per-formed on the MBT Oplot tanks validated the qualita-tive parameters and perfor-mance capabilities desig-nated to this combat vehi-

cle by its designers,” Gromov said, and added that testing of three more vehicles from the initial production run would begin any time soon. “Work on the contract with the Thai Customer pro-ceeds as scheduled, and the first five vehicles will be delivered to the Customer within the agreed time frame,” he said.

The CEO of Ukroboron-prom furthermore said that Ukraine seeks to step up cooperation in military technology with Thailand.Thailand agreed to buy 49 Oplot MBTs in a $200mn deal finalized in September 2011. Malyshev tank factory started pro-duction under the con-tract in the spring of 2012.

sUCCessfUL sTART Of OPLOT MBT’s PROdUCTION fOR THAILANd

landnews


PJSC AvtoKrAZ, complying with Tender terms and condition, has delivered a major quantity of KrAZ automobiles to the Royal Thai Army, the Company told Defense Express on 15 October 2013. These were all-terrain six-wheelers, each equipped with 330hp YaMZ-238-DE2-33 (Euro3) motor (manufactured by Russia’s Yaroslavl Motor Works), 9JS150TA-B transmission gearbox, MFZ-430 clutch and a right hand drive steering system. As required

by the Customer, the vehicles have been delivered equipped with air conditioners and carrying Swedish-supplied hydraulically controlled hoist system “Sepson”. The vehicles underwent a pre-delivery inspection held by Royal Thai Army officers. The inspection addressed completeness of equipment set, compliance with Contract specifications, as well as driving tests and trails on a KrAZ testing site. The inspecting officers noted high quality, rapidity and promptitude

with which the Contractor manufactured the vehicles. Following the inspection, the Thai team signed a relevant deed certifying that the vehicles have been manufactured in compliance with applicable terms and conditions of the Contract, which allowed KrAZ to begin shipping the vehicles to the Customer’s country. The contract award to Kremenchuk Automotive Plant was preceded by stringent comparative tests over a

protracted period, where KrAZ participated along with other manufacturers of similar vehicles. The vehicles competed in extremely difficult road, climatic and environmental conditions typical of that country. The Ukrainian truck achieved flawless victories in hard competitive struggle, continuously keeping ahead of its rivals and demonstrating the best results in trial. This was a crucial factor in selecting KrAZ as Contract winner.

AVTOKRAZ HAs sUPPLIed A NUMBeR Of VeHICLes fOR exPORT

SC Ukroboronprom has delivered the first two Konan750BR light armored boats to a customer from an undisclosed African country; Interfax reported citing a press officer at the State Concern. The light armored boat Konan-750BR has been developed and built by State-run firm “Skloplastyk” in Feodosia, under a contract from an African country, which details have not been disclosed yet. The Konan-750BR light armored boat has a hull made of composite materials. Having 7.5 meters in length and 2.7 meters in width, the boat benefits from all-round armor protection that withstands impacts of 7.62-mm bullets fired from 10 meters.

The Konkan-750BR compares favorably with similar boats available in the export market, particularly in terms of armor protection, sea-going performance, speed (max. 40 knots) and fuel consumption (40 liters per hour – several times less than the amount of fuel consumed by foreign-designed counterparts). The boat is unsinkable due to the presence of floatation inserts of foamed polyurethane. The boat carries a 12.7-mm machine gun and features a current-generation navigation system. The Konan-750BR is being considered for export to several other potential customers, according to Ukroboronprom.

UKROBORONPROM deLIVeRs ARMORed BOATs TO AfRICAN CUsTOMeR

seanewsUKRAINIAN sHIPBUILdING INdUsTRY exPeNds THe MARKeTs Officials of ST Ukrspecexport held a number of meetings while at «Naval & Defence 2013» International Naval and Defense Industry Exhibition in Busan, Korea, the Company said in a press statement released on October 22. In particular, negotiations were held with representatives of the Royal Cambodian Navy (RCN). The negotiations discussed different aspects of increasing cooperation in military technology between Ukraine and Cambodia, as well possible Ukrainian export of river and seagoing vessels to that country. The Ukrainian side came out with an initiative regarding a demonstration in Cambodia of products by Ukrainian defense industry companies, including those affiliated with SC Ukroboronprom. The Ukrainian side said it would be happy to receive a RCN delegation in Ukraine. Negotiations with representatives of the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) addressed matters relating to deepening bilateral military and technical cooperation between the two countries. Members of the Thai team expressed interest in products by Ukrainian shipbuilding industry companies such as Morye Shipyard of Feodosia and R&D Center for Shipbuilding of Mykolayiv.Negotiations with official representatives of Daewoo Shipbuilding &Marine Engineering Co. Ltd addressed potentialities for the Company’s technological and production cooperation with affiliated companies of State Concern Ukroboronprom, including ZoryaMashproekt.

The Ukrainian Naval Force is planning to add to its fleet the lead ship of the Corvetteclass (Project 58250) by 2017, Interfax reported citing Defense Minister Pavlo Lebedev. “Construction of the [Ukrainian Navy’s] Corvette-class (Project 58250) ships is included in the national defense-oriented shipbuilding program, which was approved and enacted by a Cabinet of Ministers’ resolution back in November

2011. Lebedev said that this program provides for funds for the construction of four Corvette-class ships in the period from 2011 through 2021. “The Corvette-class ship First-of-Class is currently under construction. The current Comprehensive State Program on the Ukrainian Armed Forces Reform and Development envisages that the lead ship will enter service [in the Ukrainian Navy] by 2017,” the Ukrainian Defense Minister said.

UKRAINIAN NAVY HOPes TO COMMIssION THe LeAd sHIP Of THe CORVeTTe-CLAss BY 2017


10 / Ukrainian DEFEnSE rEViEW / OCTOBEr 2013

[ partnership ]

UKrainian-PoliSh defenSe-indUSTrial

Tandem: Today and TomorroW

Militarytechnical cooperation between Ukraine and Poland is showing good momentum this year. Observers point to increased mutual interest from the defense industrial communities of the two countries in pushing ahead with mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields.

Valerii Riabykh

THe sUCCesses Of TOdAY

It should be noted that the interest in coopera-tion did not appear out of nowhere. Ukrainian arms dealers have been closely working with businesses and organizations in the Republic of Poland in the military-technical field during a long enough time pe-riod. Over the past few years, the Ukrainian export of goods and services for military and special purposes to Poland covered are-as such as aircraft, ar-mored military equip-ment as well as the de-velopment of preci-sion-guided weapons.

At this point, exam-ples of successful cooperation between Ukrainian and Polish arms makers are aplenty. Par-ticularly Antonov, the flagship company of Ukraine’s aeronau-tical industry, has a long and fruitful experience of cooper-ation with the Republic of Po-land. For example, the oldest of Antonov family of aircraft –

the An-2 – was produced in Po-land during a long production run. Not long ago, president and chief designer at Antonov, Dmytro Kiva was presented with Poland’s National Award of “Merit for the Machine-Building Industry”, in a cere-mony celebrating the 10,000th aircraft manufacture.

It was back in 1978 when PZL Mielec launch-ed production of an An-tonov-designed aircraft – the An-28. Afterwards, during the 1990s, Poland was building these air-craft on its own, under lo-cal designation M28. On a parallel track, the air-craft in its multirole ver-sion M28 “Bryza” had been manufactured to meet the requirements of the Polish Air Force, and also supplied for export, particularly to Venezuela. Incidentally, Antonov as-sisted in adaptating new Pratt & Whitney engines replacing Russian TMD-850s, whereupon coopera-

tion on An-28/M28 was ter-minated. But there are rea-

sons to expect that it will be re-sumed, since it can be of inter-

est to both sides. This example well

illustrates the fun-damental historical ground of technolog-ical cooperation that roots out from the ex-perience with oper-ating Soviet-vintage weapons and military equipment types.

Other examples il-lustrate that, today, there are new fac-tors driving military-

technical cooperation between our two countries, particulary with respect to new technolog-ical developments by Ukraini-an and Polish arms makers, not excluding their potential use in the development of products for the benefit of third countries.

For example, “NII Kvant” Sci-entific Research Institute deliv-

Ukrainian DEFEnSE rEViEW / OCTOBEr 2013 / 11

ered an electronic-optical control system for the naval gun AK-630 “Sarmat” on a landing ship built by Gdynia Naval Shipyard for the Yemenese Navy.

Private sector enterprise “R&D and Production Firm ‘Adron’” as well has good experi-ence of cooperation with Poland. Adron’s cooperation with Polish partners dates back to 2006 when the idea originated to employ “Adros” KT-01AV systems in the upgrade of W-3 family of helicop-ters produced by Poland’s PZL Świdnik. Helicopters equipped with the Ukrainian systems are currently in extensive use by the Polish Armed Forces during both in- and out-of-area operations.

OUTLOOK fOR THe fUTURe

Along with interest by Ukrai-ni an arms makers in the prom-ising Polish defense market, there is an interest from Polish businesses to diversify mutual-ly beneficial cooperation with defense industry enterprises in Ukraine. In particular, there is an interest shown by Poland in acquiring components and re-placement parts for Soviet-built aircraft as well as in carrying out cooperative research and development on precision-guid-ed weapons, radar technologies and protection equipment for ar-mored military vehicles.

According to the News & Con-sulting Company «DEFENSE EXPRESS», Ukraine and Poland could closely cooperate in the ar-eas as follows (among others):

further cooperation in repairs •and maintenance of aircraft and aeronautical equipment;

development and production •of multi-role radar systems;development and production •of armored military equip-ment and related maintenance and repair capabilities;supply by Ukraine of engines •and transmissions for ar-mored military vehicles;cooperation in armored mil-•itary equipment repairs and upgrades;supply of Polish Armed Forc-•es with active protection sys-tems and explosive reactive armor systems for armored military vehicles;cooperation in the manufac-•ture of stationary and float-ing composite docks.Particularly in the aeronau-

tical sector, mutually beneficial areas of cooperation could in-clude major overhaul/upgrad-ing of Mi-8 helicopters, drawing Polish businesses into the up-grade of Mi-2 helicopters, as well as employing the experience

Polish Mi-17-1V helicopter with optical-elec-

tronic jamming systems from

Ukrainian com-pany Adron

gained by Polish defense indus-try enterprises in development and production of Sokol-series helicopters. According to De-fense Express analysts, Ukraine could have a great interest in co-operation with Polish aeronau-tical industry companies in the development and production of a new helicopter to meet the re-quirements of Ukraine and oth-er countries. That effort could benefit extensively from the ex-pertise gathered by Polish com-panies with the development and manufacture of the PZL W-3 “Sokol” helicopter. This would give second lease of life to the “Sokol” helicopter (which has earned itself an excellent rep-utation among operators from around the globe), whilst giv-ing a real meaning to defense-industrial cooperation between Ukraine and Poland and bring-ing mutual benefit to both part-ners. This cooperative project could bring together Polish com-

12 / Ukrainian DEFEnSE rEViEW / OCTOBEr-DECEMBEr 2013

[ partnership ]

panies PZL-Świdnik SA (part of

AgustaWestland Group), WSK «PZL-Rzeszow SA» and Ukrainian companies Aircraft Repair Plant AVIAKON of Ko-notop, Aeronautical Company of Sevastopol and private JSC “Motor Sich”.

Significant accomplishments achieved by the two countries in the building of armored military equipment could contribute to bi-lateral technological enrichment. In this particular case, areas of cooperation could include co-de-velopment and co-production of new armored military equip-ment types and related mainte-nance/repair equipment, as well as the provision of Polish ar-mored military vehicle factories with Ukrainian-built 6TD-series engines, transmissions, reactive armor systems “Nizh” and ac-tive protection systems “Zaslon”. Much promise could be held in cooperative projects on upgrad-

tronic equipment and ships. Analysts at «DEFENSE EX-

PRESS» and the Center for Ar-my, Conversion and Disarma-ment Studies believe that the set-ting up of Ukraine’s national ex-hibition at the 22nd Defense In-dustrial Fair MSPO-2014, which is scheduled to take place in Po-land’s Kielce in early September 2014, would act as a powerful cat-alyst for the development of mu-tually beneficial defense-industri-al cooperation between Ukraine and the Republic of Poland. Dur-ing this event, Ukrainian defense industry companies could dem-onstrate all the competitive ad-vantages of their products, hop-ing, then, for a major adjustment of the Polish Ministry of National Defense’ plans regarding techni-cal modernization of the Republic of Poland Armed Forces, partic-ularly in favor of the Ukrainian proposals that offer the optimum between cost and effectiveness.

For their part, Polish arms mak-ers could demonstrate their capa-bilities in more detail during the “Weapons and Security 2014” ex-hibition in Kiev on September 24-28, 2014. Incidentally, Poland was the first foreign country to mount a major national display at the ex-hibition “Weapons and Security-2013”, which featured products by several companies from among members of the Polish Chamber of Defense Industry Producers.

The News & Consulting Com-pany DEFENSE EXPRESS, along with the lead non-governmental organization “Center for Army, Conversion and Disarmament Studies”, recognizing the promise and benefits of Ukrainian-Polish defense-industrial cooperation, particularly for Ukraine, have al-ready launched intensive efforts to create the necessary conditions for this to happen. At his point, DE-FENSE EXPRESS, with active sup-port from the Embassy of Poland in Ukraine, and acting in conjunction

Polish platform Anders with ac-tive protection system from

Ukrainian com-pany Microtec

ing the T-72 and PT-91 tanks by installing 6TD engines, replacing transmissions and adding “Nizh” or “Zaslon” protection systems, as well as up-dating BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles by integrating a weap-ons station (“Grim”, “Shkval” or “Parus), 400 hp engine 3TD and protection systems “Nizh” or “Zaslon”. Partners in this project could include Huta Stalowa Wo-la, Bumar Łabedy and Wojskowe Zakłady Mechaniczne SA [mili-tary equipment repair company] on the Polish side, and Morozov Design and Development Bureau for Machine-Building of Kharkiv and Engine Design and Develop-ment Bureau of Kharkiv on the Ukrainian side.

Further to this, great prom-ise is offered by cooperation be-tween Polish and Ukrainian de-signers and manufacturers of missiles and gun-launched rock-et projectiles, ammunition, elec-

Ukrainian DEFEnSE rEViEW / OCTOBEr-DECEMBEr 2013 / 13

with the Polish publishing group ALTAIR and specialized publi-cation RAPORT WTO, is work-ing on a special issue of the mag-azine, which will be released car-rying the slogan “Ukraine and Po-land: Partners in the Defense Sec-tor”. This issue will provide Polish and Ukrainian companies inter-ested in enhanced mutually benefi-cial cooperation an opportunity to present themselves and their pro-posals. For now, several Ukrain-ian defense industry companies expressed willingness to publish their proposals regarding further cooperation with Polish counter-parts. These particularly include State Concern “Ukroboronprom”, Malyshev [Tank Factory], Izyum Apparatus Factory, “NII Kvant”

Scientific-Research Institute, De-sign and Development Bureau “Luch” of Kiev, Machine-Build-ing Factory “FED” of Kharkiv, State Enterprise “Antonov”, Base Center for Critical Technologies (BCCT) “Microtech», JSC “Motor Sich”, Holding Company “Ukrs-petstekhnika” and R&D and Pro-duction Firm “Adron”.

Expectations regarding sus-tainable development of bilateral military-technical cooperation be-tween Ukraine and the Republic of Poland are reinforced further by the outputs of the Second In-ternational Conference “Ukrain-ian-Polish Forum on Defense-In-dustrial Cooperation” that took place in Kiev on November 13-15. During the event, defense indus-

try officials of the two countries discussed ways to intensifying and diversifying bilateral mili-tary-technical cooperation and identified areas of focus in such cooperation. These are: coopera-tion in helicopter repairs and up-grades; cooperative upgrade of Soviet-built fixed-wing aircraft; co-development of air defense ca-pabilities; co-development of new and upgrade of existing types of armored military equipment; de-militarization of surplus weap-ons and ammunition.

As seen from the above, there are plenty of ways to en-hanced cooperation. Just one small thing is all that is needed: the want and the will to develop them further. UdR

Polish company “Mista” be-gan licensed production of Ukrainian military ACV

“Dozor-B” with the wheel for-mula 4x4, enti-tled “Ocilla”

[ cooperation ]


indian VeCTorSerhiy ZGHURETS,

specially for UDR


indian VeCTorIt is not a secret that India, as well as China and Thailand, is a one of the

main partner for Ukraine in the Asian defense market. Onetime CEO of the

SE «Ukrspecexport», Valery Shmarov, set an ambitious objective to the Company

staff to expand presence in the Indian marketplace. This objective was not easy

to achieve, given the tradition of military cooperation with Pakistan, as well

as Russia’s covert counteraction against Ukrainian presence on the Indian market.

Defense Express proposes to consider the main aspects of the current state

and prospects of the UkrainianIndian militarytechnical cooperation.


[ cooperation ]

oday official Delhi focuses on the process

of national armed forc-es modernization as an integral part of the for-mation of the nation-al security policy. Al-most in every segment of weapons and mili-tary equipments, In-dia has a long-term na-tional development pro-

gram. In the medium term coun-try will continue to be the one of the world leaders in the sphere of funding for the weapons devel-opment and procurement. Indi-an government is extremely prag-matically in this issue. Along with multi-billion procurement of new weapons India does not abandon a weapon that has been in operation for many years. Country’s leader tries to find ways to life extension and modernization weapons, and choose the most cost-effective var-iants. Ukrainian – Indian coopera-tion mainly based on this sphere of military-technical cooperation.

Even with double effort, Ukraine could hardly go further than equipping Russian helicop-ters with motors, aircraft with air-to-air missiles and warships with gas turbine engines. The ice was broken in 2009. Of course, credit for

this goes not only to Government authorized arms dealers, although the biggest contract ever was se-cured just because of them. For example, in 2003, ANTK Antonov (now – SE «Antonov»), in conjunc-tion with Kiev’s «Aviant» aircraft building factory, «Progress» De-sign Bureau of Zaporizhzhia and OJSC «Motor Sich», developed three upgrade packages for the An-32 air-plane, particularly with an eye to attracting the interest of the Indian military. The USD 400 mil-lion deal, which provided for life-extension and re-equipment of 105 An-32 military transport aircraft in the Indian Air Force fleet, was signed between the Indian Min-istry of Defense and the SE Spet-stechnoexport in July 2009. Under the terms of the deal, 40 aircraft will undergo repairs and life-up-dates in Ukraine, while upgrades for the reminder 65 aircraft will be carried out at BDR 1 aviation plant of Indian Air Force in Kanpur (northern India). Ukrainian por-tion of the deal will be performed by SC Antonov and Civil Aircraft Maintenance Facility # 410 (both based in Kiev). The year 2010 saw the start of practical implementa-tion phase of that contract.

The planes have operated in In-dia for 25 years, despite being origi-nally purchased for only 15 years of

service life. They were used as cargo planes to make deliveries to airfields high in the mountains and operat-ed at over fifty degrees Centigrade. The Indian Air Force command es-timated it would be better to accept Ukraine’s proposal to extend this air-craft’s service life for 15 years rather than to start a new production line for this kind of mission.

This An-32 model was origi-nally designed, as commissioned by the Indian government, for flying missions at high temper-atures and landing on high al-titude (up to 4,500 meters above sea-level) airfields. At present, over 350 An-32 planes are be-ing effectively exploited by In-dia, Sri Lanka, Colombia, Peru, Mexico, Afghanistan, and the CIS and African countries.

«The initial cost of the contract between Ukraine and the Indian Air Force is USD 397.7 million, but this contract will evolve. An-other USD 110 million is already being added for the manufacture of 100 Motor Sich engines, and an-other addition of this kind is being considered. Moreover, a total of 350 An-32s were manufactured, so this contract for the upgrading of 105 Indian aircraft can serve as a basis for the modernization of oth-er aircraft», said at one time Facil-ity № 410’s Director General Ser-hii Podreza. He stressed that this is a unique facility, the only one equipped to repair AN-24, AN-26, AN-30, and AN-32 models.

The modernized planes pro-vide better crew conditions, up-graded aircraft protection sys-tems, reinforced wing mounting, higher maximum payload level, and a number of state-of-the-art onboard control systems. Moreo-ver, the AN-32’s on-board systems will be mainly European and American supplied. The upgrade package includes the installation of up-to-date equipment of the do-mestic and foreign manufacture to ensure higher level of flying

Indian military personnel dur-ing the trans-fer of batch of AN-32 to India Air Force af-ter repairs at

the Civil Aircraft Maintenance Facility #410


safety. This includes mid-air col-lision warning system, ground proximity warning system, sat-ellite navigation system, distance measuring equipment, upgrad-ed radio altimeters, new radar with two multifunctional indica-tors, new oxygen system and im-proved seats for crew members. The upgraded An-32 will be able to perform landings on ICAO II and III-category runways. As a total, 25 positions of new equip-ment will be installed.

It should be said that this deal is implemented by Ukraine with-out rough edges. In August 2013 Civil Aircraft Maintenance Fa-cility #410 transferred India next, sixth, batch light transport An-32, consisting of five machines. «25 planes An-32 from the 40 that should be upgraded in Ukraine, have been modernized and deliv-ered to the customer, five more are in the process of technical accept-ance and will be sent to India in the near future. The seventh batch of An-32 should be transferred to the India at end of the year. The eighth batch arrived for the moderniza-tion in Kiev in the middle of July 2013 and will be transfer to the cus-tomer at the beginning of 2014,» – said the source of Interfax-Ukraine Agency on September 1, 2013 .

It is significant that Indo-Ukrainian cooperation in military technology is gradually expand-ing. Particularly during AeroIn-dia-2011 International Exhibition, the Organization of Defense Re-search and Development of India and Spetstechnoexport of Ukraine were discussing the potentialities for technology transfers and co-de-velopment and co-production of military technologies. The nego-tiations particularly resulted in the signing of a contract for sup-ply of two-stroke engines for mod-ernization of India’s fleet of BMP-2 armored fighting vehicles. Ex-perts estimate the Indian market for Ukrainian-built diesel engines

for tanks and lightweight armored military vehicles at 1,500 units.

Another area of bilateral coop-eration concerns helicopter top-ic. At Aero India 2011 exhibition, Ukraine and India reached an agreement on repair and upgrade an additional number of Indian Air Force’s Mi-25/35 helicopters as well as to provide repairs for units of the «Kopyo-M» air-borne radar system installed on MiG-21 combat aircraft. Following the agreements reached by arms deal-ers, Konotop’s Aviakon expanded its presence on the market for re-pair of the helicopters Mi-17, Mi-24, Mi-35 and particularly the In-dian segment of that market.

In 2012, the Indian armed forc-es expressed interest in upgrading their fleet of MI family helicopters by equipping them with the ATGM system «Baryer-B» instead of the ATGM system «Shtorm», as well as installing Motor-Sich high-perform-ance engines with unique altitude performance capabilities. This pos-sibility was discussed by a Ukrain-ian expert team and the chief of transport and helicopter operations at Indian Air Force headquarters in New Delhi during the 7 th Interna-tional Land & Naval Defense Sys-tems Exhibition Defexpo 2012.

Furthermore, in the spring 2012 the Indian Defense Ministry signed a contract with SJSHC “Ar-tem” for supplying R-27-class air-launched missiles. The value of the deal is about $ 246 million. In Au-

gust 2013 General Director of SC “Ukroboronprom» Sergey Gromov said: «The first of missiles sent to the client. Next batch – in a process of preparing. Generally, two thirds of them are already assembled.”

Experts estimate that Ukraine also can supply for Indian armed forces passive radar systems, hel-icopter and turboprop aircraft electronic-optical protection sys-tems against infrared threats, parts and assemblies for future Indian airplanes and helicopters, engine transmission units for ar-mored military vehicles, tank-fired guided munitions and anti-tank guided missile weapons for installation on tanks and APCs. A separate area of cooperation con-cerns gas turbine for ships pro-duced by “Zorya-Mashproek”.

Today, India is still only looks closely at cooperation with Ukrai-ne in the issue of shipbuilding. Re-cently the Indian delegation ac-quainted with the capabilities of the Chernomorsky shipyard.

It is one more important mo-ment. If we talk about aviation seg-ment we should noted that the proc-ess of An-32 modernization can be a springboard for expansion of the Ukrainian-Indian military-techni-cal cooperation. For example, In-dia is interested in “Antonov’s” military transport aircraft An-178. Ukraine has offered India project of ramp An-178 as a medium military transport aircraft within the Indi-an national program MTA. In ad-dition, in February 2013 media be-came aware that “Antonov” plans to take part in the Indian tender on maritime patrol aircraft. The company will suggest own mari-time patrol aircraft An-148-300MP for the Indian Navy and Coast Guard. India plans to procure six maritime patrol aircraft within the framework of MRMR (Medium Range Maritime Reconnaissance) program. But that’s another story which UDR trying to tell in the next issue of the magazine… UdR

R-27- class air-launched missiles pro-duced by the

SJSHC «Artem» in Kiev

The seventh batch of an-32

should be trans-ferred to the

india at end of the year. The

eighth batch ar-rived for the

modernization in Kiev in the

middle of July 2013 and will be transfer to

the customer at the beginning

of 2014


[ new weapons ]

OLeG sLINKO: «THe UAG-40 GReNAde LAUNCHeR Is LIGHTeR WeIGHT WHILsT BeING MORe effeCTIVe THAN fOReIGN COMPeTITORs»

d espite the current diffi-culties faced by the de-fense-industrial com-plex in Ukraine, do-mestic enterprises

still manage to produce new models of weapons and military equipment, which rival, and in some respects are even superior to international coun-terparts. Most successful and prom-ising designs in recent years include general-purpose automatic UAG-40 grenade launcher, which was devel-oped by Zavod Leninska Kuznia. De-fense Express offers to the attention of its readers an interview with the de-signer of the UAG-40 grenade launch-er, Oleh Slinko, CEO at “KB Precision Mechanisms” Design Company.

Oleh Oleksandrovych, three years have passed since the UAG40 made its public debut in 2010. What is the current status of this project?

– In 2012, the UAG-40 made its interna-tional debut at an exhibition in India. In February 2013, we participated as exhib-itors in IDEX-2013 arms show. Following this inaugural international demonstra-tion, several renowned foreign publica-tions were full of praise about our devel-opment, noting excellent performances of the new item, which to some extent has fueled interest in us. A number of impor-tant and very productive meetings took place during and after the IDEX-2013 ex-hibition. The UAG– 40 generated inter-est on the part of members and top-rank officers of the armed forces and Army

staffs from countries in South-East Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Based on the results of those meetings, plans were outlined regarding [our] participation in several contract competitions in coun-tries where our products face competi-tion from counterparts such as the U.S. General Dynamics Armament and Tech-nical Products’ MK-19, Turkish MKEK AGL (Automatic Grenade Launcher), as well as the South Korean AGL Hanwa and Chinese grenade launchers.

Of course, the key feature of your launcher is its low weight. By what means did you achieve this? And what other distin guishing features does the UAG– 40 boast?


– Indeed, the UAG– 40 is much light-er weight than same-generation counterparts. The UAG-40 weighs 17-kg (including tripod – 33 kilograms) and is able to launch its grenade out to 2,200 meters. This was made possi-ble through the use of new current-generation technology and materi-als. We also produce a variant de-signed specifically for special opera-tions units. This weighs 15 kg, with a high content of titanium.More, the muzzle recoil compensator is designed such that – exploiting pow-der gases – to reduce recoil momen-tum, reduce upward barrel jump and reduce soil injection effects under the barrel. Another advantage is that it us-es friction-damped cantilever springs located in the receiver walls to help re-duce rearward bolt travel velocity. The UAG– 40 provides high accura-cy of fire due, inter alia, to a unitized design of the barrel and progressive-twist rifling, with the pitch commenc-ing at 1 turn in 8 calibres at the breech-end, through 1 turn in 16 at mid-bar-rel to 1 turn in 24 at the muzzle. This “know-how” solution proved to be ef-fective, and our grenade launcher was the first to have it applied.The weapon is fired using either a pair of handgrips at the rear of the weapon, or a single handgrip and ex-tended shoulder-rest. The grips can be installed in a vertical or horizon-tal position depending on operator preferences. The dual-mode Grenade release button, which is on the right-hand grip, supports single-shot and burst modes of firing. The Grenade release button and the bolt are both outfitted with safety locks to pre-clude any uncontrolled discharge as a result of the weapon being dropped or fell down, or subject to vibration, jolting or shock impacts from any direction. For reliability and opera-tor comfort, both of the safety locks share a common control handle.One more advantage is that the gre-nade launcher is compatible with any of NATO standard rounds of am-munition in 40 mm caliber, made in the U.S.A., SAR, France or Bulgaria.

This is what makes the UAG-40 truly versatile.

The 40 mm caliber is NATO’s standard caliber. It is not common in Ukraine, because its military relies on the existing inventory of 30mm AGS17 launchers. With the UAG40 entering service, there will be an acute requirement for 40mm ammunition. How this challenge is being handled now?

– Indeed, ammunition is the tightest bottleneck. Basically, it is ammunition that makes any weapon marketable. We are now engaged with “KB Luch” De-sign Bureau to create a 40 mm grenade. Now the situation is as follows: An inert training grenade has been created and test fired, but the situation is more com-plicated as regards the ball grenade.It is known that hollow charge, frag-mentation and high explosive dual purpose grenades are most demanded ammunition types on the global mar-

ket for weapons in the 40 mm caliber. With this in mind, we and KB Luch intend to focus precisely on grenades of these types. A little bit of patience is required. I hope that right next year it will be possible to speak that Ukraine has an in-digenous, fully functional 40 mm ammunition round, and that the whole [UAG-40] sys-tem is completed.

Who else in Ukraine attempted to make a 40 mm grenade?

– As far as I know, no one. This is an initiative of ours and KB Luch. You have to understand that this is about a huge amount of work that includes design and development, low-rate in-itial production, testing and subse-quent refining of the design, certifica-tion for service entry, pre-production works and setting up series produc-tion. For example, a seemingly sim-ple component such as connector re-quires a considerable amount of effort

Grenade launcher

is compati-ble with any of NATO standard

rounds of ammunition

in 40 mm caliber


to make. With our cooperative part-ners, we already have it done – picked up the appropriate metal and adapted it to the capabilities of our metallur-gists. This is not an easy challenge to handle, but it is one that simply needs funding and consistent effort.

What about the lifetime of the barrel?– [The barrel will last] 7,000 to 10,000 rounds. In the UAG-40, purpose made covering is applied to the barrel. In most of counterpart launcher types, including foreign designed, nickel-chromium is used to make the bar-rel more durable and corrosion-re-sistant. We did not go that way. Our barrel undergoes special chemical and thermal treatment in a gas en-vironment. This makes manufactur-ing process considerably far cheap-er whilst improving corrosion resist-ance of the barrel by a factor of two. Over that time, we have shot over 5,000 rounds of ammo out the barrel, which is all sufficient for having it certified in the West.

How much interest is there in your product on the part of the Ukrainian consumer?

– The interest is there indeed. Pro-fessionals are saying that the item is excellent, but for our military, the number-one issue is the availabili-ty of domestic capabilities to series produce compatible grenades here

in Ukraine. This requirement is ab-solutely reasonable. Then we demon-strate two grenades – one ‘ours’ and the other made by an international manufacturer. The important thing is that both are suitable for use with the UAG-40 grenade launcher.

What is the price of your product?– For export customers, the price tag will not differ too much from that of the existing international counter-parts. Here, it should be noted that ex-port pricing policy decision are up to the State Company “Ukrspecexport”. However, our key advantage is that, with technical/tactical performances almost identical [with those of inter-national counterparts], our design of-fers a substantial weight saving, and can fire all of the exiting high velocity grenade rounds in the 40 mm NATO standard caliber. This is beneficial in many respects. For example, when us-ing the grenade launcher for interna-tional peacekeeping missions, there is the ability to use ammunition stocks of the deployed peacekeeping force. This reduces logistic footprint, elim-inating the need to deliver the am-munition from Ukraine. In addition, thanks to lighter weight, the UAG-40 crew is reduced from three to two per-sonnel (one for carrying the 13-14-kg tripod, and the other the 15-17-kg gre-nade launcher), enabling a save of hu-man and financial resources.

Which of the equipment types can be used as host platforms for the UAG40 ?

– The grenade launcher is optimized for use on all kinds of military vehicles, in-cluding the BTR-3 and BTR-4 armored personnel carriers. Work has recent-ly been completed for the integration of the grenade launcher onto the “Kozak” armored fighting vehicle and the BRDM reconnaissance and observation vehicle. Plans for the near future include adapt-ing the launcher for installation on the BTR-4, which will require a certain rear-rangement of the vehicle’s interior.

What is your Company doing now with respect to the grenade launcher?

– At this point, Zavod Leninska Kuzn-ya, supported by our Design Compa-ny, has manufactured the initial pre-production quantity of UAG– 40 gre-nade launchers. There is already one contract signed with a customer from an African country, work on which has got underway. Furthermore, the Company now deals with integrating the launcher with an optical sight system. We are faced with a situation where a number of custom-ers urgently insist that the organic iron sight on the UAG-40 be complement-ed with an optical sight. A substantial amount of work has been done to re-solve the engineering and technical is-sues related to the installation of optics. In the upshot, after testing a number of compatible optical sights available on the global market, we picked the PAG-17, which we are now adjusting for in-tegration with the UAG-40. During this adaptation effort, we had to work out from scratch the firing table at ranges from 100 to 2,000 meters. Finally, we are working on a possibil-ity to use an optoelectronic sighting and fire control system on the UAG-40. Hopefully, it will not be too long be-fore our Company and Zavod Lenins-ka Kuznya jointly produce and demon-strate a new-type automatic grenade launcher system, the UAG-40. UdR

Interviewed by Anton Mikhnenko

[ new weapons ]

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high-tech materials, components and systems for defense and security applications for

more than 125 years. Proven products and solutions in the areas of window systems,

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IR and laser components, special filter glasses, optical components and sapphire safety windows

Flexible and fused fiber optic systems for image and data transmission, sensors and illumination as well as LED

Hermetic packages, connectors and battery covers for the pro-tection of sensitive electronics

210x285_defense_en.indd 1 22.10.13 15:51

UAG-40AUTOMATIC GRENADE AUTOMATIC GRENADE LAUNCHER

Automatic belt-fed grenade launcher UAG-40 was developed by CEO at “KB Precision Mechanisms” in cooperation with Zavod Leninska Kuznya, Kiev and State Design Bureau “Luch”, Kiev

240 m/s – muzzle velocity

400 mm – barrel length

960 mm – max length

Compatible types of ammunition rounds Development of the ammunition round for the UAG-40 is being dealt with by State Design Bureau “Luch”, Kiev.It will also be able to � re grenade rounds supplied by General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products, USA, and other ammo makers

М1001 Anti-personnel canister round NATO’s standards regarding 40mm grenade rounds set kill radius at

9 meters and wound radius at 15 meters.

М430 High-explosive dual-purpose (HEDP) round Is able to pierce

through 80mm-thick rolled homogenous armor protection of combat vehicles, in� icting

personnel casualties by blast wave and explosion fragments and debris in the area of impact

AMMUNITION ALLOWANCE

M430 High-Explosive Dual-Purpose (HEDP) round in cross-section 1 – cap; 2 – projectile body; 3 – rotating band; 4 – cartridge case; 5 – low pressure chamber; 6 – high pressure chamber; 7 – primer, 8 – liner; 9 – high to low pressure vent; 10 – propelling charge; 11 – shaped charge; 12 – blasting primer; 13 – ignition fuze.

53

85

40

113

212

311

410

59678

кг – full combat weight (tripod

mount included)

29кг – weight

without grenades

17

The grenade launcher:

can be mounted on self-propelled platforms such as lightly armored combat vehicles «Kozak» or «Dozor»

is carried by two personnel, one carrying the tripod mount and the other the launcher system and ammunition allowance

Muzzle recoil compensatorreduces recoil momentum and improves accuracy of � re

Iron sight doubles as carrying handle

The grenade launcher is � red using: either a pair of handgrips at the rear of the weapon, or a single handgrip and extended shoulder-rest

Grenades are belt-fedfrom M-16-type steel belts

Tripod mountis of a relatively non-sophisticated design

400 rpm rate of � re

2200 m – maximum range

1500 m – maximum e� ective range against pinpoint targets

Single-shot and burst modes of � ring are possible

The grenade launcher is suitable weapon for engaging enemy personnel in shelters or ground accidents; with the grenade air bursting above its target bursting above its target

15 m – most probable impact radius

15м

15 m –m – most probable probable impact radius impact radius

15мммммм

T he 40mm automatic belt-fed UAG-40 grenade launcher is a suitable weapon for engaging, at day or night, enemy personnel as well as hostile � ring positions, equipment and transports exposed in unshielded or poorly shielded locations – in open entrenchments, surface

depressions, ravines or on the back hillsides. It is able to engage its targets as far as 2,200 meters away. The UAG-40 made its public debut at the Defense Industry Forum in Kiev in August 2010.



tateowned “Izyum Apparatus Factory” (SE IAF) is the flagship enterprise of the Ukrainian defense

industry’s optoelectronics sector. Defense Express did not miss the opportunity to have a meaningful conversation with Valery Kovalenko, Chief Development Officer and Chief Designer ay SE IAF. That Company has managed to preserve and expand further its closedloop production cycle for optoelectronic systems whilst being closely engaged in several domestic as well as interna

tional projects. About this and more you will read in the interview below.

Valery Volodymyrovych, among other Ukrainian actors exhibiting separately at this fair, the SE IAF’s Stand is most substantive. Would you tell briefly about the Company as a whole and the range of products it offers both to international customers and the Ukrainian Armed Forces?

Our Company has a long and very rich history. It was back in 1923 when

[ capabilities ]

UKRAINe Is ABLe TO CReATe INdIGeNOUs GYRO sTABILIZed GUIdANCe PLATfORM

ValeriY KoValenKo

Chief DeVelopment offiCer, Chief Designer

at izYm apparatus faCtorY

S


it manufactured its first commercial optical glass. The SE IAF was set up as Optics Factory that manufactured nothing but optical glasses. After-wards, it outgrew into an optoelec-tronic apparatus factory in 1940. The Izym Apparatus Factory is the only enterprise in Ukraine to manufacture optical glasses. Nowadays, the Facto-ry is one of top-rank international suppliers of colored and colorless op-tical glasses. The Factory has tech-nology and equipment for the produc-tion of unique brands of optical glass-es. For now, we have developed pro-duction know-how for more than 240 brands of optical glass that are used by consumers on all continents of the globe. In addition to optical glasses, the Factory produces precision op-tical, optomechanical and optoelec-tronic instruments. Our optoelec-tronic apparatus engineering busi-ness, which we preserved and are ex-panding in every way, is focused on missile guidance systems and rele-vant components for anti-tank mis-sile (ATM) systems; sea-based sur-veillance systems, fire control sight-ing equipment, driver’s night vision devices for armored combat vehi-cles of all types, anti-aircraft sights, as well as a complete range of obser-vation instruments for armored com-bat vehicles, missile defense systems, target detection systems and missile guidance units. For now, Moscow has departed from the use of some of our systems that were targeted specifi-cally at the Russian market. Those include the Item 3Ts85 “Kortik” – part of the “Kashtan” system that previously equipped some of heavi-ly armed naval vessels. At the same time, we have preserved our princi-pal areas of expertise, which we are improving and upgrading to modern standards, supplying products, both to export customers and own Minis-try of Defense.

It is crucial that our Factory main-tains a full, closed-loop manufactur-ing cycle. We all do ourselves – melt optical glass, treat it and fabricate op-toelectronic instruments.

MORe COMPACT, Less exPeNsIVe, MORe effeCTIVe

Now let us run through your product range. As we understood, antitank missile systems are in a league of their own…

This is true. First of all, we should mention cooperation with the Rus-sian Federation on the “Metis” anti-tank missile (ATM) system. We have contracts signed with the Russians, who are actively and successfully supplying those systems for export. An international export contract for another, considerably large number has been signed recently. We must not let down our partners. “Metis” systems enjoy a demand in the in-ternational market, this is thanks to the range extension upgrades carried out by our Company, among other things. Particularly, the system has obtained a high precision capability and range of fire extended to 2,000 me-ters from 1,200 meters. The system’s missile and equipment module are, as before, Russia’s responsibility, whilst we provide the 9S816M guid-ance unit, including a sighting facil-ity and target coordinate extraction and transmission unit. The “Metis”

system is in serv-ice with the Russian Armed Forces.

Is missile guidance by laser beam riding?

No, it is still by wire. Key benefits here include cost effectiveness and high precision of guidance. A mis-sile guided by few command links is very cheap whilst being sufficient-ly accurate. We also produce the 9SH119M1 unit for the “Konkurs” antitank missile system, which is similar to that used for the “Metis”, but is designed for ranges of up to 4,000 meters. True enough, it is not in such demand [as the “Metis”], be-ing supplied in small quantities. As regards the “Metis”, even 20 years ago, it was thought that nobody will buy it any longer, but, as we see to-day, it continues to be in demand.

Does the work proceed regarding the new indigenous ATM system “Korsar”?

We have developed a new guidance unit specifically for the “Kosar”. The design and development phase has been effectively over so we proceed-ed to the prototyping phase. So far, as you may know, the “Korsar” features a Belarusian counterpart. Our device is less bulky and 2.5 kg lighter weight, which is significant for an ATM sys-tem in this particular category. There is no television channel; we use instead a regular sighting channel.

By request from KB “Luch”, we have also developed a very compact device for a grenade launcher, which integrates a laser rangefinder (com-pact and weighing a meager 100g) de-

Missile laser-guidance facility (LGF) has been integrated with a Chinese “ball” (gyro stabilized guidance platform)


signed for ranges of up to two kilom-eters, as well as a projection-type sys-tem for injecting service data into the sighting channel. The system for a grenade launcher uses techniques such as calculation of target velocity, calculation of the predicted point of impact, and the displaying of laying marks on the sight channel’s screen.

Are the “Metis” and “Korsar” competing with each other in the market?

Technically, they are competitors, although they have notable differenc-es from one another. The “Korsar” us-es laser beam riding instead of wire

link, and furthermore it was origi-nally designed to be shoulder-fired. I think that a number of upgrades need to be introduced into the “Korsar”’s design to make it more ergonomic for use precisely when shoulder fired. There is also need to “ruggerdize” the design of the weapon guidance unit etc. Moreover, the “Korsar” is rela-tively inexpensive to buy and, hope-fully, will gain its own niche market.

Of the products demonstrated at this exhibition I would also single out missile guidance units of vari-ous configurations. In particular, the PN-K device is designed to pro-vide the guidance for missiles fired from 100mm gum tubes. Previous-ly, this function was assigned to the 9Sh135 “Kastet” system that weighed 35 kg (plus about 150 kilograms of bat-teries) and was three times as bulky. Now we have a device weighing a mere 8 kg and a far more compact battery. We have passed all the tests with this device.

Is this the product for export? Are there any acquisitions on the part of the domestic defense department?

At this point, it is targeted exclu-sively at the export market.

We have one more item –

the PNT – which is optimized for use with the Luch “Skif” ATM sys-tem and already has entered series production. We equipped it with the Hawk thermal imaging sys-tem in a reduced-size configuration with a 150 mm focus. It is standard top mounted; we made relevant up-grades to the attachment hardware to enable it to accommodate the Hawk, although any other thermal imager supporting the needed range requirements would do.

However, the items are delivered for export equipped with the Belorussian device ...

Indeed, one time a quantity was ex-ported featuring a Belorussian coun-terpart unit. But I think that [the SE IAF’s] unit is superior in terms of per-formance capabilities (accuracy and others). When using the Belorussian device, you need to do alignments in preparation for each firing session, which takes a considerable amount of time. But our device comes with guarantee that set sighting marks will remain stable during ten years of operation! In case of an error, you just need to use console panel to align the sighting mark (if it failed) seen on the display unit with the mark be-

ing projected onto the television facility. This is a signifi-

The PNB device is used on light armored vehicles. In this case, some alignment is needed, but this is internal only. With the “alignment” mode on, we get a sight alignment mark, with which the sighting mark is aligned. The whole process takes about ten seconds

[ capabilities ]


cant competitive advantage, which is of crucial importance where our PNB device is used on a light armored ve-hicle. In this case, some alignment is also needed, but this is internal only (you need not to go out anywhere or do some specific body movements). That is, with the “alignment” mode on, we get a sight alignment mark, with which the sighting mark is aligned. The whole process takes about ten seconds.

Now what regards the use of thermal imager on a light armored vehicle… Are your sighting systems suitable for this or some others need to be used?

We have the 9Sh350I1 systing system. This is an electronic unit with wide/narrow television fields of view, a laser range finder plus a thermal imager. Importantly, any imager – French, Chinese or the herein mentioned Selex Galileo Hawk – can be installed, as struc-turally they all fit there.

Now let’s transition to helicopters. We cannot but ask you about your engagement with the Britons regarding upgrade of the Mi8 helicopter for Algeria, particularly with respect to integration of your laserguidance facility into the Titan 410 gyro stabilized platform…

Not only the Titan 410, or rath-er not only and not just, because we have not seen the 410 in a ‘material-ized form’ yet. They have a produc-tion-standard system, the so called “ball”, the Titan 385. It is precisely the latter for which our ATGM laser-guidance facility is optimized. It is al-so optimized for the Titan 410, as well as for the Chinese “ball” (LGF).

The same laser guidance facility is used for upgrading the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense’s Mi24 helicopters, isn’t it?

Yes, it is. Under that program, it is called LKK-V. As you may know, the upgrade is being carried out in coop-eration with Sagem of France. We up-graded our laser facility to the HOS-P410L1 configuration in France. At this point, we have had it tested in France. In a short time, the French partner will deliver it to Ukraine for further trials on the Mi-24.

Sometimes it is heard that your equipment is too big for accommodation on the French “ball”, that it lacks stabilization and energy…

This is not true. Our facility weighs 4.5 kg, which meets the ceiling set by the operational requirements docu-ment. It does not lack anything, which was proven during trials in France. I expect that the initial unit of the sys-tem will arrive in Ukraine right this year. As regards the contract, there is some protraction, indeed. We deliv-ered three equipment sets to France.

Don’t you think that the variant of the “ball” (be it the Titan 385 or Titan 410) that underwent test

ing on the Mi8 in Algeria is more suitable to us?

We are the wrong men to answer this question. The Anglo-Italian coun-terpart offers excellent performanc-es in stabilization terms, in particu-lar as regards the “410”, but , again, on paper only so far. We and KB Luch are ready to integrate our facility in-to any of the options under consider-ation. The design of the SE IAF’s de-vice has been upgraded for integra-tion with the Titan 385. The upgrad-ed version is 20 mm shorter than the LKK-V so it fits well into it. One time we had a joint project with the SAR which we did for Azerbaijan. Those helicopters are already flying and fir-ing missiles. When those from Az-erbaijan are asking questions like “why your module is so big”, I reply that the “ball” was the responsibility of the South African partner. This is a matter of design, this is it.

Is UKRAINe CAPABLe Of CReATING A “BALL” Of ITs OWN?

Are there capabilities in Ukraine to create an indigenous thermal imager and range finder, and to create a fully indigenous gyro stabilized platform?

Yes, there are. We several times ap-proached senior executive officers at SE Ukrspecexport with this proposal. Range finders can well be made here in Ukraine. A thermal imager will in-evitably have to be bought [from an international supplier], there is no shame in this. It can be purchased ei-ther ready-made or assembled under an international license; our inter-national partners are willing to sup-ply us with prefabricated integrated circuits, receivers etc. Our Company and Cherkassy’s Fotoprybor were al-ready approached with such propos-als. But this will not be economical-

Missile guidance device 9S816M for the upgraded Russian ATM system “Metis”


ly feasible unless the market is big enough to handle that.

Upgrading of our Mi24s (30 helicopters at the minimum) is proceeding too slowly. Can it be that the “ball” will be there right before completion of the joint project with the French partner?

To have a “ball” of our own we need money to design and develop it. For now, we, at the expense of SE IAF, have draw up design documents on the so called “ball” for integration on armored combat vehicles. Now we have to prove its performance with re-gard to stabilization. Once the whole amount of work on stabilization has been completed, it will be safe to pro-ceed to a helicopter’s “ball” having laser guidance facility and all of the other accessories, but this requires a substantial amount of money in fund-ing [which we cannot afford].

Tens of millions, hundreds of millions of dollars? What’s the order of magnitude?

We calculate that this will be in the region of 970,000 euros.

This is a negligible amount if you consider the entire cost of the contract…

Unfortunately, that cost is unsus-tainable to the SE IAF’s current as-sets. Production unit of Ukrainian version of the “ball” with a foreign supplied thermal imager would 100 percent be less expensive to buy than any of international counterparts.

Could a system of this kind be integrated, say, on an unmanned aerial platform with an assault capability?

Indeed it could, and we are work-ing on this already. Today, a family of “balls” needs to be developed, be-cause there is no point in developing

one “ball” “fitting all sizes”. Differ-ent configurations will be there for different missions and different plat-forms. For an UAV, for example, only one television facility, a laser range-finder and a thermal imager would suffice. This is one configuration. As-sault-type systems will not do with-out a laser-guidance facility and, pos-sibly, a frequency rangefinder illumi-nator. This is a different configura-tion and so on.

What would you single out among your designs for naval purposes? First, these include a guidance

unit and a sighting system for in-tegration with the shipboard Luch missile/gun weapons station. The latter uses our devices PN-VK and PN-AK. The former has a narrow-field-of-view television facility and a laser guidance facility for a 7.5-km-range missile. The latter, the PN-AK device, which is part of a short-range antiaircraft missile system, features two television fa-cilities for narrow and wide fields of view. Those two are current-gen-eration devices developed by the SE IAF for naval applications. Al-though, it is my belief that an all-in-one “ball” option integrating all capabilities – laser rangefinder, la-

ser missile guidance fa-cility, television facili-ty and thermal imager – would be more suitable for naval applications.

Again, you can bet on it that Ukraine will have to create an integrated “ball”, because any oth-er option will turn out to be too bulky, considering the presence of spaced-

apart units, plus the chal-lenge of having the thermal imag-er interfaced with all the facilities (misalignments occur at different temperatures, which is absolutely intolerable where firing to a seven-kilometer range is concerned). It is only an integrated single unit with which mechanical and temperature

The missile guidance device PN-K has passed all the trials; it is designed to provide the guidance for missiles fired from 100mm gum tubes

Upgrades have been made on night-vision facilities for the TKN-1SM, TPN-1M, TKN-3VМ (seen in this picture) and TVNE-4BM devices by way of integrating image converters of Generation 2+

[ capabilities ]


se IAf OPTOeLeCTRONIC APPARATUs eNGINeeRING BUsINess Is fOCUsed ON MIssILe GUIdANCe sYsTeMs ANd ReLeVANT COMPONeNTs fOR ANTI-TANK MIssILe sYsTeMs; seA-BAsed sURVeILLANCe sYsTeMs, fIRe CONTROL sIGHTING eQUIPMeNT, dRIVeR’s NIGHT VIsION deVICes fOR ARMORed COMBAT VeHICLes, ANTI-AIRCRAfT sIGHTs, As WeLL As A COMPLeTe RANGe Of OBseRVATION INsTRUMeNTs fOR ARMORed COMBAT VeHICLes, MIssILe defeNse sYsTeMs, TARGeT deTeCTION sYsTeMs ANd MIssILe GUIdANCe UNITs

stability can be ensured, which is a challenging task to accomplish.

Mechanical and temperature sta-bility is key advantage that makes our device compare favorably with com-petitors such as Belorussian counter-part for the “Skif” system, which in-itially was notorious for persistent misalignment between the rangefind-er and television facility due to tem-perature effects.

What are other novel designs by your Company which are worth mention?

All the novelties concern tank ap-plications. As of today, we have up-graded night-vision facilities for the TKN-1SM, TPN-1M and TVNE-4BM devices by way of integrating image converters of Generation 2+. The up-grade allows for installation of 3rd or 4th Generation image convertors de-pending on each customer’s needs and budget. More, we have upgraded tank driver’s device TVN-5M by add-ing image converter of Generation 2+. The TVN-5M is a configuration of the TVN-5 baseline device, upgraded with new options added and optical resolution and quality of image sig-nificantly improved. The upgraded device has four times longer night vi-

sion range than the baseline design, and it has had its range extended to up to 600 meters from 160 meters in the baseline configuration.

We forwarded our proposed up-grade package to the domestic de-fense department. We are talking about an upgrade that will be finan-cially affordable to our military. We take existing devices, upgrade them by adding new options and return

them back to owners, which will be far less expensive than purchasing new devices.

[The Ukrainian military] is facing the need for upgrading Shilka systems…

We know about that. A company in Balakleya intends to do the up-grade. Unfortunately, nobody ap-proached us with proposals regard-ing an upgrade of equipment with-in our area of expertise. However, during years prior to the collapse of the USSR, we mass manufactured a device for the Shilka, so we are no strangers to this theme. We could im-prove its performance capabilities as the upgraded system may require. At one time we were working on a R&D project that included the use of ger-manium optical components in a tar-get coordinate extractor. Prototypes were made and passed trials, but the project was terminated midway when the Soviet Union broke apart. No new proposals on this theme were coming forward ever since. UdR

Interviewed by Serhiy ZGHURETS,

Volodymyr KOPCHAK

The TVN-5M is a configuration of the TVN-5 baseline device, upgraded with new options added and optical resolution and quality of image significantly improved


[ trends ]

Anton Mikhnenko , Dmytro Bogdanov

Not so long ago, the “R&D and Production Association ‘Arsenal’” Corporation, who is intensively engaged in the new technology development and insertion domain, has developed a digital beamforming (DBF) array technology that has no equivalents on the postSoviet expanse and is designed for use in creating a wide range of currentgeneration radar systems. Ukrainian Defense Review decided to inform its readers about the progress achieved by domestic companies in the development of DBF array technologies that are becoming increasingly popular with every passing day.

UKRAINIAN ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF FUTURE

RADAR TECHNOLOGIES

diGiTal BeamforminG

(dBf) array radar-TeChnoloGy

of The fUTUre


WHAT’s IT ALL ABOUT?

To begin with it should be noted that conventional anten-na radar system generates one single beam which scans space by means of mechanical rota-tion of the antenna reflector or the horn in azimuth and eleva-tion. In a phased array antenna, multiple simultaneous beams can be formed. But it is impos-sible to implement for a number of technical reasons. In practice, a single beam, again, is formed, which scans the space electrical-ly, but not mechanically. What makes the DBF array technolo-gy different from other antenna array technologies is the imple-

mentation of spatial multi-chan-nel capability that allows for si-multaneous scanning of an en-tire segment of space, for exam-ple, of 30x60 degrees. That is, the radar receiver receives and proc-esses signals from the whole ar-ea of the space being scanned si-multaneously. In addition, the DBF array technology allows it to maximize the efficiency of spa-tial-temporal processing of radar signals in digital form.

Another feature of convention-al radar technologies is that fre-quency converted signal is imme-diately transmitted to an analog-to-digital converter. Processing of the signal further proceeds in a digital form and requires no fur-ther signal amplification. More, such signal processing method does not contribute to distortion of signals reflected from the tar-get, which commonly occurs with manifold amplification of signals at multiple amplifier stages.

The radar system operates in conjunction with inertial/GPS system. Target markers – white for stationary targets and red for moving targets -– are overlaid with digital map of the area un-der survey. If for any reason there is an input error of position coor-dinates provided by satellite nav-igation system, “intelligent” ra-dar, using its own target markers, will be able to detect the inconsist-ency and determine its own posi-tion location, which is important for platforms such as a ship or mo-bile air defense radar system.

One more important proper-ty of a DBF array system is its reliability. Suffice it to men-tion that a failure of up to sever-al tens of percent of the antenna curtain elements will not lead to disruption of task perform-ance and, due to high degree

of structural components’ har-monization and the availabili-ty of an internal control system, maintenance and repair will be by far easier to carry out.

In general, universality of the DBF array technology allows for creating various application ra-dar systems that will be able to scan a given sector of airspace or surface (ground or water); almost immediately detect moving tar-gets in intense clutter environ-ments; accurately determine an-gular coordinates, distance and range rate of the target detected; automatically perform tracking of each of the detected targets; perform target trajectory gener-ation and provide output data to authorized consumers – all this at one and the same time.

IN sTeP WITH THe TIMes

The relevance and promise of Ukrainian developments in the DBF array technology area be-ing dealt with by the R&D Cent-er for Electronic Systems (R&D CES) and “Skynet” Ltd (parts of the “Arsenal” Corporation), their advanced level of develop-ment compared with the designs by top-ranked international sup-pliers can be seen from a compar-ative evaluation of known con-tracts. As an evidence of superi-ority of Ukrainian developments, we would just note one fact. Prov-en first-line suppliers of radar technologies in the U.S., such as Raytheon and General Dynam-ics, in 2007 were awarded U.S. Na-vy contracts to initiate the devel-opment of a DBF array technol-ogy. In September 2007, Raythe-on was awarded a $14.951mn con-


[ trends ]tract for an X-band digital radar (Digital Array Radar X-Band sub-array) technology demonstra-tor. General Dynamics, for its part, was awarded a similar con-tract worth $9.734 million. Under the terms of the contracts, the re-search phase should be complet-ed in 2014. Although our develop-ers never dreamed of the amounts of funding like those mentioned herein, they are openly demon-strating their designs to potential customers.

For now, “Arsenal” corpo-ration has already created a number of technology demon-strators and prototypes of mul-ti-purpose radar systems. Proof-of-concept tests have been suc-cessfully carried out to prove in practice conceptual principles of multichannel signal analysis concept and prove the effective-ness of the proposed DBF array technology for a 128-channel L-band radar, 64-channel X-band radar, a 16-channel Ku-band ra-dar and a 16-channel L-band ra-dar. In terms of technical per-formances and capabilities, these radar designs are far su-perior over existing systems.

For example, during field tests of 64-channel DBF array radar system, where surface, ground and air objects were used as radar targets, the sys-tem successfully provided con-tinues surveillance and track-ing of almost all the surface tar-gets within its scan width (sea buoys, moving and anchored boats, sailing and motor yachts, ships and medium to large dis-placement vessels). Aerial tar-gets as well were automatically locked on and tracked with suc-cess. The results of the tests were subsequently used as basis for the development of DBF array radar designs for a variety of ap-plications, which did not differ from one another, other than in configuration of the array, com-

ponents of RF equipment and transmitting power, depending on the range and selected oper-ating frequency range.

Capabilities of DBF array radar systems were demonstrated to sen-ior executives and expert members of the State Space Agency, Minis-try of Defense, State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, many other or-ganizations, agencies and services. At this point, Ukrainian DBF array technology has generated interest on the part of international part-ners and potential customers.

During a demonstration at Or-shanets Training Center for Bor-der Guard operational level staff,

a sample of DBF array radar and its capabilities were demonstrated to the President of Ukraine. It may be argued that, due to R&D effort carried out by “Skynet” Ltd, there is a realistic possibility of creat-ing advanced DBF-array-technol-ogy-based multi-purpose radar de-signs, and, if necessary, upgrad-ing existing inventories in the in-terests of different customers.

For instance, in Ukraine, there is an urgent need for re-placement or extensive mod-ernization of a number of arma-ment assets used for homeland defense purposes. Relevant con-figurations of DBF array radars

For example, a 16-channel DBF array ra-

dar is able to al-most immediate-ly detect all the targets moving within that sec-

tor and automat-ically perform

tracking of each of the detected targets. The ra-dar is designed primarily for up-grades of air de-fense systems

such as the Shilka self-pro-pelled antiair-

craft gun, Strela-10 air defense missile system and Tunguska

antiaircraft mis-sile and gun

system.


Def

ense

Exp

ress

TABLe 1 TesT PROVeN PeRfORMANCe CAPABILITIes Of A 64-CHANNeL dBf ARRAY RAdARDetection ranges for:

Vessels 35 km

Motor boats, yachts 1520 km

Boats 1012 km

Fixed/rotarywing aircraft up to 15 km

Scan sectors:

In azimuth ±30 degrees

In elevation 0..20 degrees

Coordinate measurement errors:

Azimuth 0.06 degrees

Range 2.5 meters

Range rate 0.2 m/s

Dimensions of receiving antenna: 0.45x0.5 meters

Transmitting power: Pulse 40.0 W

Medium 0.8 W

Coverage sector scan time: 0.6 s

Power consumption 200 W

Mass 60 kg

could be successfully employed in the capacity of multifunction-al radars for purposes such as space surveillance; target detec-tion; the provision of target cue-ing and fire control support for mobile command centers of units and subunits of Air Defense, Mis-sile and Artillery Forces, coastal missile batteries etc.

Ukrainian border guards as well showed interest in the use of DBF array radar technology, not just on boats or coast guard ships, but also potential use on Os-triv Zmiinyy (or Serpent Island) and Cape Tarkhankut for guard-ing exclusive economic zone of Ukraine. R&D CES and “Sky-net” Ltd, with support from NDI Kvant Scientific Research Insti-tute, have asserted their right to participate in the Ukrainian Na-vy’s Corvette program.

In addition to military appli-cations, DBF array radars can find applications in civilian oper-ations. Particularly they can be used as weather radars, airport surveillance radars for flight safety as well as aircraft landing radars, whilst providing by far higher reliability than conven-tional array radars.

An important achievement was the fact that Arsenal won a State Space Agency of Ukraine’s contract to develop a prototype next-generation space surveil-lance radar based on the DBF array technology. Possible op-tions being considered as plat-forms for future radar systems include mobile platforms that previously accommodated out-dated “Orion» and “ADU-1000” systems located near the city of Evpatoria, Crimean Peninsula. Antenna-receiver component of the future radar suite will con-sist of 1024 radar receiver chan-nels and have a 16x18m array antenna. The radar suite as a whole will support the detec-tion of new objects in space and

assist in refining trajectories of already known objects. Depend-ing on the distance of space de-bris, today we are talking about objects with radar cross sec-tions of up to 0.1 sq. m.

Successful completion of this large-scale, costly project will ad-dress a major challenge of interna-tional proportions – it opens new dimensions for Ukraine’s interna-tional cooperation in the space sec-tor. This is not only about tracking newly deployed and operational satellites, but also tracking a huge amount of satellite debris that are in Earth orbit and have the po-tential to damage or destroy op-erational satellites. The planned space surveillance DBF array ra-dar will provide the ability to cal-culate the orbits of uncontrolled man-made space junk with high accuracy, triggering a warning if there is dangerous proximity of the orbits and providing an accu-rate assessment of the likelihood of a collision. Previously, these chal-lenges could not be handled other than through the use of purpose-built components of antimissile assault weapons systems. Howev-er, those did not have suitable ca-pabilities; particularly they had a limited cone in which they could scan the sky.

eNdNOTes In the end, it is safe to say that,

in the field of DBF array develop-ment, Ukrainian engineers have superiority over their foreign counterparts. Corporation “Ar-senal” successfully develops new technologies, caries out develop-ment and upgrade of armaments, military equipment and systems for military and dual-use purpos-es with the use of leading edge technologies. Testing and eval-uation of DBF array samples proved their effectiveness, ver-satility of design and operational

algorithms, and the possibility of applications in a broad range of science and technology areas.

Today, however, maintain-ing superiority in the field of science and technology is an ex-tremely difficult challenge to handle. It is only those coun-tries where domestic compa-nies are enjoying favorable en-vironments for full implemen-tation of their technological su-periority, which will be able to “remain in the mainstream” of technological advances, hence further economic development, and it is those countries which impose on the rest of the world convenient-to-them and self-ad-vantageous rules of internation-al economic cooperation. UdR

Suffice it to men-tion that a fail-

ure of up to sev-eral tens of per-cent of the an-

tenna curtain el-ements will not

lead to disruption of task perfor-

mance and, due to high degree of structural com-ponents’ harmo-nization and the availability of an internal control system, mainte-

nance and repair will be by far eas-

ier to carry out.


[ navigation ]

Anton Mikhnenko, UDR

GloBal

POsITIONINGUKRAINE IS

DEVELOPING UNIqUE SATELLITE NAVIGA-

TION EqUIPMENT AND HAS A RANGE

OF TECHNOLOGy INNOVATION

PROJECTS AIMED AT THE FUTURE

State Enterprise “OrizonNavigation” is undeniably the leadingedge supplier of satellite navigation equipment in Ukraine. Navigation equipment developed by OrizonNavigation is distinguishable by offering Multi System Capability – the ability to support multiple Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals, thus contributing to enhanced capabilities of both the soldier and military equipment in the field.


he core element of GPS naviga-tion device of

any kind is GNSS signal receiver (GPS re-ceiver, GLONASS re-ceiver or hybrid GPS/GLONASS receiver) – a chip set or a circuit board tasked to decode a signal received from a global navigation satel-lite system and to trans-

form it into the carrier’s position location coordinates in a certain user readable format.

GNSS receiver devices devel-oped by Orizon-Navigation are distinguishable by capability to accept GNSS signals from mul-tiple systems -- U.S.’ GPS, Rus-sia’s GLONASS and, eventual-ly, EU’s GALLILEO and PRC’s COMPASS, as well as their relat-ed augmentation systems – the EU’s EGNOS, U.S. WAAS and Ja-pan’s MSAS. The multi-frequen-cy GPS/GLONASS/GALILEO capability would allow for more sustained and more accurate nav-igation measurement data to be produced due to a greater number of satellite navigation sources available at a given time. This al-so improves GNSS signal avail-ability in difficult environments such as urban, mountainous or well wooded terrains. The design provides high resistance to noise and jamming interferences.

Orizon-Navigation is the sole company in Ukraine to design, develop and manufacture GPS/GLONASS GNSS signal receiv-er equipment for different appli-cations – aircraft, seaborne and ground-based platforms, purpose-built military equipment and railway vehicles – and severe operational environments. The Company operates a closed-loop production cy-cle, developing by itself schematic bloc diagrams and layout geometry of chip

components. The components are then custom-made by companies in the U.S., Germany and the U.K. and integrated by the Company it-self at its facilities in Ukraine. Ori-zon-Navigation has developed and brought into production over five dozen equipment designs for navi-gation satellite system users.

Orizon-Navigation has devel-oped the SN-3301 equipment suit which provides integrated capa-bilities for real-time position loca-tion, flight planning and piloting an aircraft in manual/automatic flight control modes. The SN-3301 is used on some of the Antonov-series aircraft such as the An-3, An-38, An-74, An-140, An-124 and An-225. Developed under a con-tract from State-owned Compa-ny MiGRemont of Zaporizhzhia, the SN-3307 equipment suit can be seen installed on Su-25, Su-27 and MiG-25 combat aircraft as well as helicopters. For applica-tion on new and upgraded fixed-wing aircraft, Orizon-Navigation developed multifunctional on-board piloting equipment suite -- the SN-3311 satellite naviga-tion suite that provides capabili-ties similar to those of the Flight Management System (FMS).

The Company’s range of most recent innovative products in-cludes the SN-4314 pilot display unit that allows for several stand-ard aircraft log books to be dis-played on an LCD color graph-ic screen. Another one is the SN-4307 multifunctional display unit

that is meant for use during large-scale major retrofit of the Sukhoi and MiG families of aircraft. The SN-4307 provides a number of ben-efits, the main being that it has the capability to display the whole set of relevant navigation data at once. The pilot has the ability to shift between the pre-installed log books as necessary. The SN-4307 is suitable for use in upgrading the Mi-2 and Mi-8 helicopters.

Further to this, the Compa-ny offers a range of products for ground vehicle applications. Par-ticularly it developed the SN-3210 “Bazalt-K” device for use on vehi-cles and operations control cent-ers. During several recent years, the devices, with minor modifi-cations, have been supplied to Morozov Design Bureau and Ma-lyshev Tank Factory in Kharkiv for installation onto vehicles built under export contracts.

A great achievement by Ori-zon-Navigation in recent years was the development of a combat soldier’s personal navigation sys-tem known as “Bazalt-M” or SN-3003M. It showed itself to be effec-tive when used both on mobile platforms or as part of Soldier’s individual equipment kit, and it is planned to be employed by Ori-zon-Navigation as base-line de-sign in developing a cell-phone-sized portable GPS receiver.

For naval platforms, GNSS receiving equipment suits SN-3101-02 and SN-3101-03 have been developed.


[ navigation ]

The Company has an extensive custom-er base: Aircraft equip-ment is supplied un-der a contract for up-grading India’s An-32 airplanes; the onboard satellite navigation sys-tem SN-3307 is includ-ed in Soviet-vintage Su and MiG-series air-craft upgrade packages being implemented in countries of the former Soviet Union as well as countries in Asia and Africa; vehicle-mount-ed satellite navigation systems are being sup-plied for equipping the BTR-4E APCs con-tracted by Iraq; GLO-NASS/GPS-aided posi-tion location sensors are part of a navigation equip-ment suite mounted on the Oplot MBTs being built for the export to Thailand. Vice-Chief Design-er at Orizon-Navigation, A. Vodi-anykh, speaking at international conference “Future directions in land armaments development” on September 26, 2013, said that his Company is currently work-ing on projects in several prom-ising areas. These include the development of an R-Theta nav-igation system designed for spa-tial orientation angle measure-ment of moving and stationary objects. At this point, a proto-type of the system has been con-structed and pretested. During the tests, the system’s three-an-tenna interferometer with a 1.5m baseline showed accuracy of ori-entation angle measurement of 8 minutes for heading, and 16 min-utes for each of roll and pitch.

Work is also underway for development of a multifunction-al command/control/ISR sys-tem with a set of capabilities as follows: determining position location coordinates of ground

targets and large-calib-er ammunition impact points; measuring tar-get distances; naviga-tion by cardinal direc-tions; determining tar-get direction; conduct-ing visual reconnais-sance; provision of sit-uational awareness and target selection support; vertical and horizontal angle meas-urements; photo/video image registration; re-cording of audio com-mentaries; wireless da-ta feeding to command centers.

Under a project com-missioned by Ukraini-an Armed Forces’ Air-borne Troops, a naviga-

tion information system for special operations sup-

port is being developed with ca-pabilities as follows: routing planning; provision of naviga-tion support during paradrop operations; provision of navi-gation information support in areas of landing; en-route nav-igation etc.

This system is planned to be developed by way of upgrading the SN-3210 “Bazalt-K” naviga-tion equipment suite to a config-

uration with performance capabilities conforming to

C2 (control and command) system requirements.

According to A. Vodianykh, the Company proposes that au-tonomous operational capabili-ty of positioning and navigation support systems be improved by means of further developing systems which will use a combi-nation of sensors based on dif-ferent physical and integration principles in order to produce a system supporting navigation and positioning functionalities.

One more area of focus which Orizon-Navigation regards to be highly promising is the develop-ment of a navigation local ar-ea network (NavLAN) to be de-ployed on Earth surface or in near-Earth space rather than in outer space, considering that few countries can afford build-ing and maintaining a global po-sitioning system of their own. Vodyanykh believes that this could be achieved by building a standalone system with a high-ly accurate position location ca-pability. Such system could re-ly on a constellation of so called “pseudo satellites” (PS) associ-ated with conventional means of surveying, which will be net-worked and provide navigation support for ground and airborne vehicles. This option could be implemented in locations where conventional GNSS assets are difficult to use due to jamming interferences, in enclosed spac-es or high-latitude areas.

High power output of such transmitting devices makes them extremely resistant to hostile jamming. A system of that kind would provide a high accuracy of position location (with an error budget not ex-ceeding 10 cm). Finally, and most importantly, a system im-plemented based on multiple “pseudo satellites” becomes an economically unfeasible target for enemy attacks.


The range of equipment types currently being devel-oped by Orizon-Navigation, combined with its existing R&D and production capaci-ty are sufficient to talk about a possibility of developing an in-tegrated wearable equipment

kit for “Future Ukrainian Sol-dier”. At least the navigation component of the equipment kit could be fully implemented with products of the domestic design and manufacture.

It matters most that Orizon-Navigation is fundamental-

ly changing its approaches to the development of navigation-al aids. Now it is not just about production of standalone receiv-ers but about the integration of the entire set of devices into net-work centric battlespace C4I ar-chitecture – a challenge which is handleable even today. Dis-mounted warriors of all force levels – from regular soldier to commander of a brigade-level unit – could be provided with personal GPS devices with ca-pabilities for obtaining carrier’s position location, displaying blue-force and red-force location maps, terrain maps of battlefield areas, minefield maps etc. As a result, enhanced, near-real time situational awareness will be delivered to commanders of all echelons, enabling missions to be accomplished in new, more effective and efficient ways.

Hopefully, co-operation with other Ukrainian companies will produce new solutions which will demonstrate full capabili-ties of domestic technologies. UdR

Prototype R-Theta naviga-tion system de-

signed for spatial orientation angle measurement of moving and sta-tionary objects.

GNss ReCeIVeR deVICes deVeLOPed BY ORIZON-NAVIGATION ARe dIsTINGUIsHABLe BY CAPABILITY TO ACCePT GNss sIGNALs fROM MULTIPLe sYsTeMs – U.s.’ GPs, RUssIA’s GLONAss ANd, eVeNTUALLY, eU’s GALLILeO ANd PRC’s COMPAss, As WeLL As THeIR ReLATed AUGMeNTATION sYsTeMs – THe eU’s eGNOs, U.s. WAAs ANd jAPAN’s MsAs. THe MULTI-fReQUeNCY GPs/GLONAss/GALILeO CAPABILITY WOULd ALLOW fOR MORe sUsTAINed ANd MORe ACCURATe NAVIGATION MeAsUReMeNT dATA TO Be PROdUCed dUe TO A GReATeR NUMBeR Of sATeLLITe NAVIGATION sOURCes AVAILABLe AT A GIVeN TIMe.


[ arsenal ]

recision-guided weapons is a key element in cre-ating new and improv-ing existing systems and weapons suites used by

combat units of modern armed forces. State-owned Company “State Design Bu-reau ‘Luch’ of Kiev” has in its possession all the necessary R&D, technological and manufacturing capacities for the develop-ment and mass production of precision-guided weapons systems and suites.

Today, Luch provides Ukrainian Armed Forces with a comprehensive set of anti-tank guided weapons (AT-GW) systems for short, medium and long-range engagements, and is actively marketing them for export. For improv-

ing the hitting power of armored combat vehicles and enabling the use from aeri-al and naval platforms, Ukrainian arms engineers developed a family of guided rocket weapons in 152, 130, 125, 120, 105, 100 and 90 mm calibers. The guided rock-et is a modular technology that allows for proven design solutions to be incor-porated in innovative weapons types with advanced performance capabilities. All the rockets are armed with a tandem shaped-charge warhead permitting first-round hit of targets protected with hy-brid, rolled homogenous or spaced ar-mor, including ERA protection.

Guided by a laser beam and repre-senting a relatively new type of pre-cision-guided weapons for land war-

fare, the rockets can be launched ei-ther from ready-to-fire launch canis-ters or the bore of a gun. When used as part of weapons systems on tanks, armored personnel carriers or gun mounts, the rockets are adaptable to existing rounds racks, barreled sys-tems, sighting and fire control sys-tems, launch systems and other at-tributes typical of armored combat vehicles and artillery equipment.

Efforts to develop and manufac-ture ATGW weapons and guided rockets have led to the establishment in Ukraine of new industrial partner-ship links within a R&D and produc-tion cluster of nearly 30 companies from the ammunition, precision me-

WITHOUT A MIsssTATe-OWNed desIGN BUReAU «LUCH» Of KIeV OffeRs AMPLe OPPORTUNITIes fOR INdUsTRIAL PARTNeRsHIP

P

Serhiy ZGHURETS


Oleg Korostelev, General Designer and Director General of the SKDB «Luch»

chanics and electronics sectors of the defense industry. The weapons are 90% domestically produced. Mean-while, the Ukrainian party is seeking to diversify its international coopera-tion under global projects.

Examples are new ATGW rockets Falarick 90, Falarick 105 and Falar-ick 120 (in 90mm, 105mm and 120m calibers, respectively), which are de-signed to launch from guns by Bel-gium’s CMI Defence (part of the CMI (Cockerill Maintenance & Ingenierie) international group).

Particularly the Gun Launched An-ti Tank Guided Missile (GLATGM) Falarick 105 is configured for launch from the Cockerill CT-CV 105HP gun turret. The Cockerill 105 mm high pres-sure gun provides a wide choice of am-munition to suit the tactical situation; it fires all standard 105mm ammuni-tion types in addition to the Falarick 105 GLATGM (ready-to-fire weight – 25.2 kg; the tandem shaped charge war-head provides armor piercing capabili-ty of 550mm of RHA behind ERA).

The 120mm high pressure Cockerill gun provides excellent lethality against a wide range of targets. The gun can fire all of the 120-mm smooth-bore NATO standard types of ammunition, as well as the Falarick 120 armor piercing pro-jectile which is fired from the bore of the gun to defeat heavy armored vehi-

cles at ranges of up to five kilometers. Elevating to +42°, this weapon delivers exceptional engagement capability in complex terrain, an indirect-fire HE ca-pability to 10km range, and the the use of the Falarick 120 GLATGM permits heavy armor to be enagaged at extend-ed ranges. As a matter of fact, the Falar-ick 120 projectile currently being pro-moted on the export market is a spin-off version of the Luch 120mm ATGW mis-sile “Konus” (ready-to-fire weight – 22.3 kg, armor piercing capability – 700mm of RHA behind ERA).

Both weapons are combat used em-ploying a common high performance, digital, fully-stabilised, day/night weap-on control system. Turret weight is kept low through the use of a bustle-mount-ed autoloader, which permits the tur-ret crew to be reduced to two (command-er and gunner). Due to the availabili-ty of current-generation target acquisi-tion and tracking capabilities, targets can be effectively engaged both in favo-rable and difficult weather conditions. The stabilized gun, combined with a PC-based day/night fire control system de-livers a high first-round hit probability on both stationary and vehicle targets.

The CT-CV turret mated with Ukrain-ian-supplied gun-launched anti-tank guided missile rounds is compatible with lightly armored vehicle chassis of all types. It is being offered to manufactur-ers of armored military vehicles seeking to improve firepower capability of their vehicles. One such is the Rosomak ar-

mored personnel carrier – a Polish var-iant of the Finnish-designed Patria APC being license-built by WZM S.A. (Wo-jskowe Zaklady Mechaniczne). As is well known, by 2019, the Polish Army is about to take delivery of 307 Rosomak APCs to be supplied by WZM S.A. under a con-tract from Poland’s National Defense Ministry. The Rosomak family of APCs includes the Wilk (or “wolf”) – a fire sup-port vehicle that is configured to accom-modate either a 105mm gun or a 120mm gun on a CMI Defense’s CT-CV turret. At Kielce 2013 defense industry fair in Po-land, the Wilk APC was displayed inte-grated with a CT-CV turret configured for the Falarick 105 round.

Luch is also seeking to employ its pre-cision-guided rounds in a Polish self-pro-pelled mortar project. The Ukrainian com-pany designed and developed a new 120mm semi-active laser-beam guided 16.8kg mor-tar projectile. This is armed with a shaped charge warhead offering 0.75-0.8 first-round hit capability against a comprehensive set of targets at launch distances of up to eight kilometers. With an additional rocket mo-tor in place, effective engagement range can be extended to 12 kilometers. Huta Sta-lowa Wola (HSW) of Poland is reported to be working on the development and pro-duction of a 120mm mortar turret to be known as “Rak”. The mortar turret will be distinguishable by the presence of mecha-nized rounds racks and an autoloader, and will be able to deliver 10 to 12 rounds per minute, according to the Designer. The tur-ret can be elevated from -3 degrees to +85 degrees and traversed through +360 de-grees. The Rak turret armed with a 120mm mortar system is compatible with armor protected chassis (including the Rosomak APC), both wheeled or tracked, providing shoot-and-scoot capability and allowing targets to be defeated with minimum time and ammunition budgets or – if armed with Ukrainian mortar projectiles -- even with first-round hit probability.

The Ukrainian-Polish alliance, ce-mented by the use of innovative ap-proaches and current-generation Luch technologies, will yield highly capa-ble, multifunctional weapons systems conforming to the operational require-ments of today and tomorrow. UdR

Armed with tandem shaped charge warheads and guided by semi-active laser homing, the ATG Luch missiles feature a construction of modular architecture, re� ecting the latest trends in the development of ammunition. For the production of ATG missiles, Luch has set up a cluster of domestic companies from the ammunition, precision mechanics and electronics sectors.

State-owned Design and Development Bureau “Luch” of Kiev has developed a family of precision-guided weapons. The missiles are designed for attacks against stationary and armored vehicle targets protected with current-generation hybrid armor or explosive reactive armor systemsATGM ANTI�TANK GUIDED

�ATG� MISSILES AND GUIDED MISSILE ROUNDS

� kmKOMBAT | GUIDED MISSILE ROUND

24,7kg

1013mm

750 mm

125mm

Jet stream Upon impact, high explosive content of the warhead detonates, producing a molted metal jet stream that travels at speeds up to 15 km/s, burning through the target tank’s armor. The jet then pierces inside the vehicle, killing the crew, damaging equipment, and detonating fuel and ordnance payloads.

GuidanceFor target acquisition and aiming, optical and IR sighting devices are used to enable 24-h operation in all weathers. Once the target is designated and locked on, it is tracked automatically without further operator’s inter ven-tion. Luch missiles carry tandem shaped charge warheads capable of de-feating ERA protection of current-generation tanks.

Type of carrier platformMissile mass

Missile lengthMissile diameter Armor penetration capability

� kmFALARICK 105 | 105 MM GUIDED MISSILE ROUND

550 mm25,2

kg

1015mm 105mm

�,� kmBARYER V | EXTENDED RANGE ATG MISSILE AND LAUNCHER OPTIMIZED FOR USE FROM AERIAL PLATFORMS

800 mm25kg

1609mm 130mm1609 130

�,� kmType of carrier platform

KORSAR | MAN-PORTABLE ATG MISSILE AND LAUNCHER

13,5kg

1000mm

550 mm

107mm13,5kg

13,5kg

13,5

MAN-PORTABLE ATG MISSILE AND LAUNCHERMAN-PORTABLE ATG MISSILE AND LAUNCHER

13,5

700 mm� km

FALARICK 105 | 105 MM GUIDED MISSILE ROUND

KONUS | GUIDED MISSILE ROUND

22,3kg

923mm 120mm223 923mm 120

550 mm� km

STUGNA | GUIDED MISSILE ROUND

19,3kg

100mm1136 mm 100mm1136 mm

� km15,7kg

1091mm 130mm

KOMBAT | GUIDED MISSILE ROUNDKOMBATKOMBAT || GUIDED MISSILE ROUNDGUIDED MISSILE ROUND

15,7 1091mm

BARYER | VEHICLE-CARRIED LOG-RANGE ATG MISSILE SYSTEM

800 mm


550 mm20,5

kg

977mm 90mm


Armed with tandem shaped charge warheads and guided by semi-active laser homing, the ATG Luch missiles feature a construction of modular architecture, re� ecting the latest trends in the development of ammunition. For the production of ATG missiles, Luch has set up a cluster of domestic companies from the ammunition, precision mechanics and electronics sectors.

State-owned Design and Development Bureau “Luch” of Kiev has developed a family of precision-guided weapons. The missiles are designed for attacks against stationary and armored vehicle targets protected with current-generation hybrid armor or explosive reactive armor systemsATGM ANTI�TANK GUIDED

�ATG� MISSILES AND GUIDED MISSILE ROUNDS

� kmKOMBAT | GUIDED MISSILE ROUND

24,7kg

1013mm

750 mm

125mm

Jet stream Upon impact, high explosive content of the warhead detonates, producing a molted metal jet stream that travels at speeds up to 15 km/s, burning through the target tank’s armor. The jet then pierces inside the vehicle, killing the crew, damaging equipment, and detonating fuel and ordnance payloads.

GuidanceFor target acquisition and aiming, optical and IR sighting devices are used to enable 24-h operation in all weathers. Once the target is designated and locked on, it is tracked automatically without further operator’s inter ven-tion. Luch missiles carry tandem shaped charge warheads capable of de-feating ERA protection of current-generation tanks.

Type of carrier platformMissile mass

Missile lengthMissile diameter Armor penetration capability


550 mm25,2

kg

1015mm 105mm

�,� kmBARYER V | EXTENDED RANGE ATG MISSILE AND LAUNCHER OPTIMIZED FOR USE FROM AERIAL PLATFORMS

800 mm25kg

1609mm 130mm1609 130

�,� kmType of carrier platform

KORSAR | MAN-PORTABLE ATG MISSILE AND LAUNCHER

13,5kg

1000mm

550 mm

107mm13,5kg

13,5kg

13,5

MAN-PORTABLE ATG MISSILE AND LAUNCHERMAN-PORTABLE ATG MISSILE AND LAUNCHER

13,5

700 mm� km

FALARICK 105 | 105 MM GUIDED MISSILE ROUND

KONUS | GUIDED MISSILE ROUND

22,3kg

923mm 120mm223 923mm 120

550 mm� km

STUGNA | GUIDED MISSILE ROUND

19,3kg

100mm1136 mm 100mm1136 mm

� km15,7kg

1091mm 130mm

KOMBAT | GUIDED MISSILE ROUNDKOMBATKOMBAT || GUIDED MISSILE ROUNDGUIDED MISSILE ROUND

15,7 1091mm

BARYER | VEHICLE-CARRIED LOG-RANGE ATG MISSILE SYSTEM

800 mm


550 mm20,5

kg

977mm 90mm



OUR PROdUCTs ARe desIGNed TO seCURe CIVILIAN LIVes ANd sOLdIeRs

YURIY StoRonSkY

CEO, ChiEf DEsignEr, r&D anD PrODuCtiOn COmPany

«sParing-Vist CEntEr»

a ccidents at nuclear pow-er plants in Chernobyl and Fukusima showed that the world can never be safe from major disas-

ters that leave their footprint not only in people’s minds, but also health of many generations to come. With this challenge in mind, radiation safety issues are be-coming more relevant than ever before. Defense Express recommends to your at-tention an interview with Yuriy Storon-sky, PhD, the CEO and Chief Designer at “Sparing-Vist Center”, a privatetly-owned R&D and Production company in Lviv, Western Ukraine.

This private company is one of Ukraine’s proven first line suppliers of radiological monitoring equipment (in addition to a few companies from the apparatus engineering domain). Sparing-Vist Center supplies its prod-ucts to civilian and military custom-ers in Ukraine and elsewhere.

– What are major areas of specialization of your Company?

– During more than two decades now, our Company has been design-ing, developing and manufacturing ra-diological monitoring equipment that is now marketed under the ECOTEST

[ devices ]


trademark. What drew us into this business was the radiological con-tamination situation worldwide. Ac-cidents in Japan and other countries have shown that, at this point, special attention needs to be addressed to the issues of environmental control and anti-radiation protection for individ-uals. For this reason, we have devel-oped more than three dozen devices and radiological monitoring systems that have been qualified for incorpo-ration into the State Register of meas-uring equipment in Ukraine and simi-lar registries in other countries.

– What achievements and what products does your Company boast first?

– Our products are well known to consumers worldwide. We are work-ing intensively to expand our market reach further still, and continue to participate in exhibitions and various forums. Given the urgency of the chal-lenge, we aim to create at least one or two new products every year. A lot of people are interested in new devic-es that are compact without compro-mising versatility. We well know that among people concerned about their safety there are VIP’s who would pre-fer having a personal radiation meas-uring and warning device of their own. For now, there is a series of ap-pliances that we created precisely for the purpose of individual use.

– Are you considering an option of integrating your products with currentgeneration means of communication that are now widely used in everyday life?

– We all see how rapidly production and sales of various smartphones based on the Android platform or the Apple operating system are growing now. A similar device is carried in the pocket of every other individual today, open-ing up broad opportunities in terms of access to different information types. Stepping up to date, we, like many other companies, have got engaged in devel-oping our own gadget for smartphones.

As a result, we have created a com-pact device called “Gamma Sapiens” –

i.e. “Gamma smart” – that uses “Blue-tooth” technology for wireless com-munication with a smartphone. All measurements occur with this device. Within ten meters range, it can trans-mit all received data to a smartphone. However, while a radiation measur-ing and warning device is somewhat limited in its functionality, the “Gam-ma Sapiens” integrated with a smart-phone provides broad opportunities for visualization of obtained data and reporting it to the user. For example, you can see in color the status of ra-diological environment around you, where each color corresponds to a cer-tain level of contamination. In addi-tion, for the convenience of the user, there are four different modes provid-ed for displaying output data of radi-ation measurement. The availability of a GPS-navigator in smartphone en-ables the user, who is out in the coun-try, on vacation or on business mat-ters, to fix his (or her) position and radiation level of the environment,

record and add output data to a da-tabase, photograph the landscape or even make an audio comment.

– Basically, it provides opportunities to disseminate that data throughout the globe within a short time ...

– Yes, indeed. In foreseeable future, we expect that individuals will be able to share that kind of data and get timely information on radiation levels in any part of the world where communica-tion via mobile phone is possible. It is not unlikely that even a special online resource will be set up to enable own-ers of our gadgets to get access to in-formation on radiation levels at differ-ent points of the globe using resources such as Google Maps, for example.

– Is there any feedback from consumers regarding the design and the use of “Gamma Sapiens”? Do you feel that you are proceeding in the right direction, and that the pricing policy that you pursue is consistent with the situation on the Ukrainian and global markets?

– The feedback is mostly “good” or “excellent.” Just the other day we re-ceived a feedback from one Kievan, who was not too lazy to write a whole page about his experience using our product. But it is necessary to empha-size that the product is brand new, which we announced for release in the fall of last year. We are currently looking at the dynamics of interest in the product using “Google Play”, a re-source where our software is availa-ble for download online for free so far. At this point, we have thousands of downloads by Smartphone owners.

– Is there national monitoring system for radiation environment existing in Ukraine?

– As far as I know, the government has set the task of establishing national radiological monitoring system known as “ASKRO”. I think our “Gamma Sa-piens” is appropriate candidate for be-coming an element of the ASKRO sys-tem. Development of the [ASKRO] pro-gram is just at the initial phase, and

The device, encased in a fully dustproof and wa-tertight housing, is easy-to-operate and reliable. The MKS-U has been introduced into service with the Ukrainian Armed Forces and is now be-ing supplied to regular army units to eventual-ly replace all of the technically obsolescent dose rate meters DP-5 currently in use. MKS-U devices were used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ 19th Detached Radiation/Chemi-cal/Biological Protection Battalion that served on UN-sponsored peace support missions in Kuwait and Iraq. The new radiation measur-ing and warning device is compliant with NATO standards, which was proven during testing carried out in Poland by local experts.The MKS-U provides a wide measuring range, and can operate from a battery as well as a solar generator or vehicle battery.


we are a party to discussion of the pro-gram. Hopefully, we as well will be tak-ing part in the practical implementa-tion phase. For now, we have all the el-ements necessary for building this sys-tem. However, as ten different agencies are involved, speedy implementation will be quite a challenge given the diffi-culties of interagency coordination.

It should be noted that we have estab-lished good relations with the Ukraini-an nuclear power industry. Specifi-cally for that industry we have devel-oped a proprietary intelligent detector, which was selected to be template for the ASKRO detector. It has been in use for about ten years now and proved it-self efficient. Our detector units are ex-ported to France, Canada and South Korea who use them as patterns in cre-ating own monitoring systems for radi-ation environment.

– Given the ecological situation in Ukraine, your Company goes further with its design and development projects. The new devices that you created began to be used for monitoring not only radiation levels, but other human health threatening factors, including radioisotopes. Would you tell a little more about it ...

– Developments in Japan in 2011 forced us to change approach and en-ter some areas which were new to us to a degree, but have relation to en-gineering of radiological monitor-ing apparatus. One such area is mon-itoring low-level contents of harm-ful radioactive isotopes of cesium,

primarily in food. This will be espe-cially relevant for countries and re-gions with contaminated areas as a result of different nuclear accidents. As seen from accidents at Chernobyl and Fukushima, radioactive isotopes of cesium can be found within dozens or even hundreds of kilometers from the epicenter of the radiation explo-sion. This isotope is extremely vola-tile, easily getting into food and accu-mulating in the human body, which potentially can lead to various diseas-es over time. Therefore, levels of ra-dioactive cesium need to effectively monitored to prevent it from entering human body, especially in children.

– What is the complexity of technical solutions needed for handling this challenge?

– A regular radiation meter is useless for measuring harmful levels of radio-active cesium in foodstuffs. In this par-ticular case, a spectrometric approach would work. Japanese customers re-quested us to create a compact low-cost device that would allow for time effec-tive detection of radioactive cesium con-tamination of food. We have made such a device and called it “FoodTester-G”.

While on numerous visits to Japan, we saw that country shaping a nation-al program aimed to have at-risk popu-lations be engaged in decontamination efforts. We know that in Japan there is a severe shortage of land areas. People

have to go back to their homes on lands which were affected by the disaster at Fukushima. In order to enable them to live there, they need to have the means for detecting and measuring radioac-tive soil contamination. We have im-proved our “FoodTester-G”, adding ca-pabilities to detect radionuclide con-tents not only in food but in soils as well. This enables you to determine whether the soil is safe for non-com-mercial food growing.

– But this is no less relevant for Ukraine, isn’t it?

– Yes, indeed. Prior to delivering “FoodTester-G” to Japan, we tested it here in Ukraine in the exclusion area around Chernobyl. It was found that this equipment is also useful for our country. Today in Ukraine, there are villages within a 50-100-kilometer radi-us from Chernobyl, where populations do not buy anything but, instead, con-sume what they cultivate on the soils they have. However, we conducted a study to find out that Becquerel levels of radiation in food are times above per-missible limits, which is fairly a lot.

Compact device “Gamma Sapiens” – i.e. “Gamma smart” uses “Bluetooth” technology for wireless communication with a smartphone

Encased in a water/dust-proof highly rug ger-dized housing, the DKG-21M is designed for use by military forces, emergency and civil defense services – under extreme conditions of severe temperature changes and high concentrations of dust in the air

aGent-R is suitable for integration with a battlefield soldier survival package

[ devices ]


Ukraine is now witnessing a surge in private home construction. People buy land plots, then measure radiation level to make sure the property is safe for living. Afterwards, they proceed to checking building materials etc. But this may not be enough. A “FoodTest-er-G”-type device allows you to assess whether your garden, vegetable or flower beds are safe to use. You just put it on the ground and assess the re-sults of measuring outcomes....

– What is the cost of your new device?– A «Gamma Sapiens»-type item

carries a price-tag of about $200, while “FoodTester-G” is by an order of mag-nitude more expensive to buy. The difference in prices is due to the fact that the latter incorporates high tech-nology, including a highly sensitive scintillation detector, which requires a relatively long production cycle to manufacture.

– Which components do you use in your devices?

– Let’s just say that it is no secret that Ukrainian microelectronics is no longer there. So, unfortunately, most of electronic components that we use are imported from Europe, Ameri-ca, Taiwan etc., yet some components are bought from Ukrainian suppliers. Particularly, Institute of Single Crys-tals, Kharkiv, manufactures its own detectors which we use in sophisti-cated, highly sensitive devices.

– Which of TM “ECOTEST” devices are in military use?

– Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has known us for long. But what pushed up interest in our products was the be-ginning of the Iraq campaign and sub-sequent deployment of a Ukrainian

peacekeeping force there. The Ukrain-ian battalion was fully stocked with “TERRA” and MKS-U devices supplied by “Sparing-Vist Center”. The very first year of their intense operation in severe desert environments proved ex-tremely high technical performanc-es and durability of our instruments, none of which had failed.

In the period from 2004 until to date, we have offered and supplied five equipment types for different purposes to Ukraine’s defense department. Those included ra-diological detection instruments, person-al radiation meters etc. Under the “Cor-vette” program, we have been assigned the task of developing a ship-wide mul-ti-level radiological monitoring system. Specifically for naval use, we have devel-oped a modified version of our personal radiation meter, which is resistant to the effects of sea water and salt fog.

By request from Morozov Design Bu-reau, Kharkiv, we created a radiologi-cal detection system for integration on-to the BTR– 4E armored personnel car-rier. It must be noted for that matter that the vehicles being exported to Iraq are all equipped with such systems al-ready. Now there is the question of the export of our devices to the defense de-partment of Thailand. It is expected that our products would be included into next packages of armored equip-ment to be exported to that country.

However, the military theme does not end there for us, but, instead, it is expanding. For many years we have been engaged in the NBC protection do-main. In collaboration with NVP “Kit-va”, who at one time upgraded the tank-mounted radiation and chemical detec-tion and identification system GEO -27 to the PRHR-M standard, we have de-veloped a more current-generation ver-sion, which we designated as PRHR-ME. It is an effectively new device con-sisting of only two units. We have com-pletely replaced all the “stuffing” and electronic components, integrated mod-ern digital data processing solutions and added new functional capabilities.

Another area of concern is the up-grade of Ukraine’s NBC reconnais-sance vehicles. Here, we are closely working with German firm Bruker – an international leader in creating vehi-cles in this particular category. It high-ly commended our designs and decid-ed to consolidate our efforts in order to jointly create a product that could shut down the NBC protection issue for the Ukrainian military inasmuch as it con-cerns the detection and identification of chemical warfare agents. UdR

Interviewed by Serhiy ZGHURETS, Defense Express

MINIsTRY Of defeNse Of UKRAINe HAs KNOWN Us fOR LONG. BUT WHAT PUsHed UP INTeResT IN OUR PROdUCTs WAs THe BeGINNING Of THe IRAQ CAMPAIGN ANd sUBseQUeNT dePLOYMeNT Of A UKRAINIAN PeACeKeePING fORCe THeRe. THe UKRAINIAN BATTALION WAs fULLY sTOCKed WITH “TeRRA” ANd MKs-U deVICes sUPPLIed BY “sPARING-VIsT CeNTeR”

The DRG-T is designed to be installed onto purpose-built vehicles for continuous monitoring and measuring exposure dose rate of gamma and X-ray radiation. If dangerously high levels of radiation are detected, the device gives audio and visual alarm and generates commands to start the actuators of protection equipment. The device is designed for integration onto special-purpose vehicles, particularly those used by military NBC units.


[ individual protection ]


SAVINGLIVES

ABOUT LATesT TReNds

Technology assessment over recent years suggests that progress in the development of personal protective equipment has made a huge leap forward. Body armor vests are current-ly categorized into six different classes of protection based on

the level of threats being coun-tered -– bullets, fragments or grenades. User-specific vests have been created for military personnel, police and private ci-vilian users. Ballistic vests are divided into categories depend-ing on attributes such as the probability of success (or sta-tistical confidence), level of pro-tection, materials used, size and load weight.

In an age of dynamic, rapid progress in the development of science, new technology has a heavy impact on the quality of prod

ucts being crafted both for military and civilian markets. This is particularly true for products such as personal protective

gear. Firstline supplier of personal body armor equipment in Ukraine, R&D and Production Enterprise “Temp3000”, step

ping up with the time, is actively introducing into practice the latest approaches and manufacturing techniques for personal body armor technologies. It has already released a complete range of bulletresistant vests and ballistic

helmets that are conforming to international standards.

Anton Mikhnenko

UDR


“Korsar-M” bullet-resistant

vest provides an overall ballistic

coverage of 80.0 sq dm

Modern bullet-resistant vests are a dramatic departure from previous designs. Currently most common types of body armor con-sist of spinal and heart/sternum sections that are attached to each other by shoulder and side straps for optimal distribution of armor load weight and making the vest conform closely to the wearer’s body shape. Most of modern ar-mor vests have a modular design. They are differentiated not only in protection level standards and the area of ballistic coverage but also in the design of the carrier. The carrier may include pockets for a bullet-resistant collar, groin plate and side plates. Also includ-ed may be ballistic shoulder pro-tection armor components and shock absorbing pads.

Ballistic plates are still a cen-tral component of any military body armor. Today manufactur-ers make a wide use of ceram-ics, ultra-high-molecular-weight (UHMW) polyethylene, metal (steel or titanium) as well as oth-er materials in various combi-nations. Textile-metal, metal-ce-ramic, and other ceramic/organ-ic/plastic and composite materi-als gave a new lease of life to the development of personal protec-tive gear and are already used ex-tensively throughout the world.

UKRAINIAN ACCeNT Ukraine tries to keep pace

with global trends. It was back in the late 1990s when domestic manufacturer of personal protec-tive equipment – Temp-3000 – be-gan setting up production of per-sonal protective systems such as body armor vests, firemen’s clothing, ballistic helmets and specialist protective clothing for explosive ordnance disposal per-sonnel, and today it is actively introducing new processes and technologies into products.

Nowadays the Company’s competencies and expertise are well known to the Ukrainian se-curity sector community. Temp-3000 has a domestic customer base that includes Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Internal Af-fairs, other security sector agen-cies and manned guarding serv-ices. Moreover, the Сompany has experience in developing equip-ment tailored to specific custom-er needs of different ministries and organizations.

Dramatic changes have taken place at the Company ever since. Now Temp-3000 manufactures ceramics by itself, carries out molding and vitrification treat-ment, and produces carrier mate-rial. While the Company initially focused on the use of steel plates and ceramics in the production of personal protective gear, now-adays it more concentrates on the introduction of new technol-ogy and materials. Old materials basically have exhausted them-selves in terms of weight per-formance. Temp-3000 is experi-menting extensively with metal-ceramics, ceramics and a materi-al such as polyethylene.

Thus, for in-stance, the

C o m -

pany has developed two new bal-listic helmet models – the “Kaska-2M” and “Kaska-2MA” – which both use UHMW polyethylene as the main helmet shell material. The two are differentiated from each other by way of external ear protection. The basic design of the “Kaska-2M” and “Kaska-2-MA” helmets was patterned on the ECH (Enhanced Combat Hel-met), ACH (Advanced Combat Helmet) and Ops-core FAST Car-bon Helmet by Emerson. A range of innovative solutions have been implemented in the two helmet designs to make the Ukrainian products more “westernized”.

The helmets have adjusta-ble strap harness system. The harness consists of four straps, a chin cup and a fastener, and is fully adjustable for the wear-er’s head size using a nut adjust-er in the lower back helmet. In-ternal shell is layered with two soft damping moisture-retentive pads providing additional com-fort and security of wear.

In both models, the helmet shell has a four-layer design. The cover layer is a textured miner-al filler-polymer anti-termal/IR coating. The second is molded ballistic heat-tolerant composite. The third is UHMW polyethyl-ene ballistic-resistant layer offer-ing protection from shrapnel and fragments at V50-750 m/s. The fourth and last layer is impact-proof acrylonitrile-butadiene-sty-rene (ABS) plastic.

The helmet is lightweight with-out compromising protection lev-el. For example, the “Kaska 2M”, weighing 1.25±0.1kg, withstands impacts by 7.62mm TT pistol rounds. The design of the new helmet models allows for the ad-dition of night-vision equipment and other accessories a dismount-ed soldier requires in the field.

For increased ignition resist-ance, the UHMW polyethylene layer is covered with a para-Ar-

[ individual protection ]


amid-base material reinforced with Kevlar fibers -– a technol-ogy which was adopted from designs by German, U.S. and French counterparts.

One more achievement by Temp-300 which is worth men-tion is an upgraded configu-ration of the “Korsar-M” military ballistic vest, which was originally de-signed to requirements of Ukraine’s Security Service and Ministry of Defense and was combat tested by Ukrainian soldiers during international peace-keeping operations. The upgrad-ed “Korsar-M” is a substantial improvement over the baseline design in terms of the protective ballistic material and the overall principle of building the personal protective package.

The upgraded “Korsar-M” us-es ballistic plates made of UHMW polyethylene and metal-ceram-ics. Using this type of hybrid ar-mor protection allows for optimiz-ing the vital weight-to-protection trade off. A UHMW polyethylene ballistic plate provides Type III ar-mor protection level (as defined by National State Standards (NSS or GOST)) of Ukraine and Russia), meaning it withstands impact by a 5.45mm AK-74 rifle’s ball round fired from 10 meters. Metal-ceram-ic plates are available with Type IV (Ukraine’s GOST) or Type V (Rus-sia’s GOST) protection levels at 2.8±0.2kg, and Type ІІІ (Ukraine’s GOST) or Type ІІІ (Russia’s GOST) protection levels at 2.2±0.2kg.

The Type II (Ukraine) or Type +III-A NIJ (U.S.) “Korsar-M” up-garde, with protective ballistic package made of a UHMW poly-ethylene-base material and offer-ing an overall ballistic coverage of 55-60 sq. dm., weighs 5.3kg±0.2kg and provides protection from TT-type pistol rounds. With extra ballistic protection added (met-al-ceramic, UHMW polyethylene

or ceramic ballis-tic plates) as re-

quired by Cus-tomer to Type VI (Ukraine) or Type IV NIJ (U.S.), the overall

weight of the vest may increase to 9-10

kg instead of 12.5 kg in the baseline configuration.

With this extra protection in place, the vest will provide resist-ance to SVD sniper rifle rounds or 7.62x51mm M61-AP ammunition.

One more significant advan-tage aimed to benefit the Custom-er is that enhanced protection package and accessories -– extra ballistic plates, ballistic collar, groin plates, side plates or shoul-der plates -– can be added to the previously procured baseline fit when the Customer finds it ap-propriate or affordable. Further to this, the end ballistic package can be configured to specific user requirements. For example, Type II heart/sternum protection can be used with Type III spinal pro-tection in one and the same vest.

The “Korsar M-3” vest, which has gained recognition among the Ukrainian security sector community and was used by Ukrainian Army units during peacekeeping operations in Iraq, Sierra-Leone and the Balkans, has had its load weight reduced by a few kilograms to 9 kg.

As a result, while previous-ly Ukrainian vests were heavi-er than US-made counterparts whilst providing a greater area under protection and offering rel-atively high resistance to the ef-

fects of highly lethal weapons, then today the Ukrainian vest is safe to compete with internation-al counterparts in weight per-formance as well.

While potential customers in Ukraine are expressing interest in buying ballistic vests of indig-enous make, the financial situa-tion currently experienced by se-curity sector agencies, including the Ministry of Defense and Min-istry of Internal Affairs, has effec-tively brought the domestic mar-ket to a standstill – special-oper-ations forces are stocked to the full, while the Ministry of Defense cannot afford money for this.

So Temp-3000 is seeking oppor-tunities to bring its products to markets in Asia, Africa and coun-tries of the former Soviet Union. Thus, earlier in 2013 the Company won a Kazakh National Guards’ contract competition to supply a number of new-type ballistic vests and helmets. In this competition, the Ukrainian company faced ri-valry with Russian counterparts who were surprised to see that Ukraine has been able to accept and absorb new technology and craft a high quality product.

eNdNOTesIn general we can conclude

that both international and do-mestic developers of body armor and other elements of soldier sys-tems place a premium on im-proving armor protection levels and enhancing ergonomic per-formance, operational proper-ties, aesthetic and other charac-teristics of new designs. Ukraini-an actors in this market segment keep pace with their counter-parts in the West, offering con-sumers products that meet inter-national standards and are able to compete with products by the established international brand-name companies. UdR

Design of the “Kaska 2M” bal-listic helmet was patterned on the ECH (Enhanced Combat Helmet), ACH (Advanced Combat Helmet) and Ops-core FAST Carbon

Helmet by Emerson.

[ sea technologies ]


floaTinG ComPoSiTe

drydoCKS from UKraine: SimPle

anSWer To diffiCUlT QUeSTion


floaTinG ComPoSiTe

drydoCKS from UKraine: SimPle

anSWer To diffiCUlT QUeSTion

Dmytro Bogdanov,exclusively for UDR



To maintain ships for various purposes in a proper operating condition and to ensure that warships and submarines are readily available at all times, a welldeveloped shiprepair infrastructure is needed. Ship repair process has its specific nature which distinguishes it from the shipbuilding process. While shipbuilding companies tend to use stationary docks for building their ships, a rational organization of the ship repair process requires the employment of floating drydock structures. In Ukraine, there is a company – State Plant “Pallada” of Kherson – which creates docks that have no equivalents in the international practice of dockbuilding.

ACCOMPLIsHMeNTs Of TOdAY

With the introduction of steel-hull ships in naval fleets, the use of steel drydocks be-came a frequent practice. How-ever, Ukrainian engineers from the Central Design Bu-reau “Izumrud” and State Plant “Pallada” of Kherson went fur-ther and launched a new float-ing dock construction process using heavy marine reinforced concrete (RC). Beginning in the late 1950s, construction of all-RC drydock structures in the Soviet Union gave way to struc-tures of so-called “composite construction”. In Ukraine, con-struction of composite type dry-docks is speciality of State Plant “Pallada” of Kherson. In 2011, State Plant “Pallada” of Kher-son became part of State Con-cern “Ukroboronprom”. Palla-da is lead manufacturer of float-ing drydocks in Ukraine. Over-all, floating repair docks make a substantial percentage of the

product types being manufac-tured and successfully exported by Ukraine.

Floating composite type RC docks built by State Plant “Pal-lada” of Kherson are operated with success in countries with different climatic conditions. The Company has among its customers countries with tradi-tionally strong, well-developed shipbuilding and shipping in-dustries such as Russia, Japan, South Korea, Finland, Bulgaria, Turkey, Algeria and Croatia.

During its years of existence, SP “Pallada” of Kherson has built over four dozen drydocks, which are still in operation in almost all regions of the globe. Pallada’s drydocks were used in an operation to recover the sunken Russian nuclear subma-rine “Kursk”, and they are cur-rently employed in the removal of spent nuclear fuel from nucle-ar-powered icebreakers and sub-marines of Russia and France.

In addition to floating dry-docks of composite construction, Pallada is building conventional docks of steel. In 2005, SP “Pal-

lada”, with the KB “Izumrud”’s input, developed a new drydock (Project 1760KR) with 8500-t lift-ing capacity. This is a highly efficient drydock, with an ex-panded technological capability range and all costs kept to a min-imum. The Project 1760KR dry-dock fully conforms to all appli-cable requirements and the Rus-sian Maritime Register of Ship-ping’s Rules and Regulations for the Construction and Classifica-tion of Sea-going Vessels as well as Rules and Regulations for the Construction of Sea-Going Ship Hulls and Structures of Rein-forced Concrete. The Project 1760KR drydock offers an extend-ed internal clear between tow-ers, allowing docking of almost all ships with docking weights of up to 8,500 tons. The drydock is designed with a lifespin of fifty years. In 2006, the lead drydock of Project 1760KR type was de-livered to the Customer and has been successfully operated in Qatar (Port of Doha).

In 2010, SP “Palada” and Cen-tral Design Bureau “Izumrud” jointly developed a new drydock

Recovered from the Barents Sea bottom, Russian nuclear subma-rine “Kursk” is seen here in a

floating drydock manufactured by “Pallada” Plant


construction process allowing for a 10-15% reduction in the con-struction cost and time budgets. A new metalworking line was launched, permitting cutting time to be reduced by 3-5 times. The introduction of a new proc-ess for in-water vertical/horizon-tal gluing of precast modules in the construction of high-capac-ity docks gave Pallada the capa-bility to build floating drydocks with lifting capacities of up to 50,000 tons. In this case, integra-tion works for floating drydocks with lifting capacities in excess of 30,000 tons, using modules pre-fabricated by Pallada, can be per-formed in waters of the Custom-er’s country. In 2012, Pallada was contracted by a Kazakh customer to build a composite 8,500-t float-ing drydock for operation in the Caspian Sea. The drydock will be constructed from two halves, which will be towed through the Volga-Don Canal to the Caspian Sea and glued together in water without the help of caissons. The drydock is scheduled to be ready for operation in the third quar-ter of 2014.

THe BeNefITs ANd OPPORTUNITIes

Composite type drydocks have a number of advantages over conventional steel docks in terms of operation and mainte-nance. A floating composite type drydock consists of a reinforced concrete pontoon and steel tow-ers. The use of heavy shipbuild-ing concretes based on sul-phate resisting Portland cement makes underwater part of the drydock extremely resistant to corrosion. The bottom, external sides, berth-deck and bulkheads of such a dock are well protect-ed from the corrosive effects of salt water. This eliminates the necessity of putting the drydock out of service when underwater maintenance works are need-ed (docks of steel require reg-ular dry-docking for painting), resulting in benefits such as re-duced maintenance cost and lowered cost of ship repair at the dock. Despite having its steel structures protected from rust and corrosion, steel docks quick-

ly corrode in water. For this rea-son, to ensure that a steel dock serves its full life, engineers have to provide for a compensa-tion for corrosion by increasing the thickness of steel elements in addition to their effective thick-ness. As a result, effective thick-ness of steel elements increas-es by an average 30 to 50%, lead-ing to excessive consumption of steel in structural members and also excessive labor consump-tion. To slow down corrosion in docks of metal, its steel mem-bers are covered with protective coatings. During service life of a floating drydock of steel, main-tenance works should be per-formed on its submerged struc-tures at some regular intervals of time, requiring dry-docking of the dock itself or some of its individual parts, which causes considerable difficulties. Dur-ing the period when a steel dock is undergoing maintenance, its intended use becomes impossi-ble in part or in full. The advan-tage offered by Ukrainian en-gineers of composite drydocks is that reinforced concrete, of which part of the drydock’s pon-toon is made, works well in com-pression, while its work in ten-sion is ensured by reinforcing steel, which is shielded from cor-rosion by a protective layer of concrete. So, less rolled steel is consumed than in the case with a dock of steel. In addition, re-inforcing steel bars are cheaper to buy than profiled bars or flat steel. Because concrete is not corroded in seawater, the com-posite drydocks’ pontoon does not require to be dry-docked or painted. Steel towers of the dry-dock, if necessary, can be paint-ed and maintained without the need to put the dock out of serv-ice, which brings significant economic benefits to owners throughout the long life of the structure. In a composite type

MSC Mirella in a floating Project

1760KR dry-dock in Croatia, 2012 (Photo courtesy of Victor Lenac).


drydock, elements of its rein-forced concrete pontoon can be of considerable thickness, thus contributing greatly to its per-formance potential. Such a dry-dock can hold ships that lost their longitudinal strength or, for example, it can be used for cutting a ship into pieces with-out worrying about the dock be-ing got damaged by shock load-ing, or a vessel can be placed on the dock slipway at any place without any damage risk for the dock or the vessel.

The unique process developed by Ukrainian engineers for inte-grating a floating drydock from precast modules while the dock is in water, which does not re-quire the use of caissons, makes it possible to build structures of almost any size meeting specif-ic customer requirements and the requirements of all Regis-tries of Shipping. Such docks have strength characteristics that enable transportation to an-ywhere in the world. Among the

contracts recently completed by SP “Pallada”, there are compos-ite drydocks with lifting capaci-ties ranging from 8,500 to 25,000 tons – enough for accommodat-ing, for example, Panamax-size ships that can have 245.5 meters in length and up to 43.7 meters in width. Moreover, mobility and sustainability are what distin-guishes composite type drydocks favorably from graving docks or syncrolifts. In contrast to coast-al hydraulic structures, they are wholly at the disposal of the own-er, are out а reach of local author-ities and can be quickly relocated to the right place.

At their own time, Soviet Un-ion’s Naval Forces were pur-chasing unique dockyards which Western media dubbed “the mira-cle of the twentieth century”. The covered dockyard “Sever” (or “North”) was intended for main-tenance and repair of Soviet sub-marines in the Far North envi-ronments. At thirty-degree frost, the dock, protected from the el-

ements by a roof and doors, cre-ated its own microclimate with temperatures of plus 15 ... 18° C.

Covered dockyards allow ships to be maintained and repaired re-gardless of the ambient tempera-ture or humidity of the outside en-vironment, or weather conditions in their base locations. Docks of this type can also be useful in very hot and humid climates.

Selecting between a “conven-tional” dock of steel – which is more commonly used but requires a greater amount of maintenance and substantial investment dur-ing its lifecycle – and a compos-ite type drydock which offers an array of clear advantageous in many aspects – is a question to be answered by potential custom-ers for products by CDB “Izum-rud” and SP “Pallada”. Ukrainian dock-builders and those foreign companies that have many years of successful experience operat-ing these products are sure they know the correct answer to this key question. UdR

Pallada is cur-rently building a composite type 8,500-t floating drydock for op-eration in the Caspian Sea. The dock will

be constructed from two halves,

which will be towed through the Volga-Don Canal to the

Caspian Sea and glued together

in water without the help of cais-sons. The dock is scheduled to be ready for oper-ation in the third quarter of 2014.


Ukrainian Defense Review №4 за 2013 год

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Transcript of Ukrainian Defense Review №4 за 2013 год