russianbridesprofiles

Some military equipment rises to the level of celebrity—and in Russia, tanks immediately spring to mind. At a military exposition held over the weekend at Zhukovsky, a russian soldier personal equipment just outside of Moscow, some lesser-known vehicles from the current Russian arsenal were on display. These trucks, missile launchers, communications systems and engineering vehicles are the real backbone of any modern land force.

Land battles are a priority here, thanks to Russia’s impossibly long land borders. The two-man crew inside the vehicle can breach tree entanglements, blaze an 8-mile trail in an hour and lift 2 tons with a telescoping arm that extends 10 yards. It’s also prepared to survive a fight, with thick armor, masking smoke and a machine-gun turret. Best of all, it’s mounted on the chassis of a T-90 main battle tank.

One hero of Russian history is the Katyusha, a wheeled vehicle from World War II that rained rockets on German troops and tanks. This modern version, a very lightweight rocket launcher mounted on a truck chassis, has a simple design but packs a wallop—the crew inside the cab fires 300-mm rockets with warheads that include incendiary, fuel-air explosive, cluster munitions or antitank mines. The Kasta is a great all-purpose radar system that can be used to track helicopters, cruise missiles and airplanes. Set this up for remote operation, and you’ve got a movable defense screen for virtually anything in the air or an air-traffic-control radar that can operate in any weather for up to 20 days. The radar here can cover about 90 miles, depending on the height of the antenna it is mounted on, and can be set up for action in 20 minutes.