Army 2022: Krivoruchko hands contracts for drones and ships to Tatarstan citizens

Army 2022 Forum was attended by the military from 87 states

The Army 2022 international military-technical forum in Kubinka near Moscow has been not the first large-scale exhibition event since the beginning of the military special operation in Ukraine, which was ignored by representatives of unfriendly Western countries. Nevertheless, the international boycott did not threaten it at all, since representatives of the armed forces of the states of Southeast Asia, Africa, and CIS countries that have been acquiring Russian weapons for a long time have traditionally been regular guests of the forum. They keep a close eye on new products, pricing them at business meetings in Kubinka. This was confirmed by the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation.

According to the head of the Main Department of Innovative Development of the Ministry of Defence, Alexander Osadchuk, they continue to receive applications for participation of foreign delegations.

“If on the eve of the forum such confirmations were received from 72 states, then as of August 15, their number reached 87," he said in his welcoming speech.

For example, representatives of the military departments of Brunei, Bangladesh, Venezuela came to the forum. The Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation held bilateral meetings with the delegations of Armenia, Belarus, Burundi, Iran, and Uganda. Thirty-two companies from 6 foreign countries presented military products at the Army 2022 forum, Osadchuk said.

But the Russian defence industry enterprises presented the most extensive exhibition of 28 thousand samples of military and dual-use products. According to the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, 1,497 enterprises and organisations are taking part in the static exposition.

Naberezhnye Chelny's Akhmat will be assembled faster than Typhoon

An information hype has broken out around the Akhmat armored car, developed by the Remdiesel enterprise in Naberezhnye Chelny based on the experience of paratroopers during the special military operation in Ukraine. This machine with the code designation Z-STS has a wheel formula of 6x6 and it is designed for the rapid delivery of a group of soldiers.

“The car is made on a serial chassis in order to saturate the troops with protected equipment as much as possible now," said Igor Zarakhovich, the chief designer of Remdiesel.

According to him, the machine was developed in a very short time, in 25 days: “The concept is that we use a serial chassis and make a superstruction similar in protection class to Typhoon, we get a machine that can be manufactured quickly and that has a very high protection class.”

Why did the designers from Naberezhnye Chelny give the car the name “Akhmat”? As explained in the company, the car was named in honour of the first president of Chechnya in the Russian Federation, Akhmat Kadyrov. Its first buyer was his son Ramzan Kadyrov.

“He showed perseverance and high interest in receiving the first batch of cars. It was sent to Grozny back in June," Remdiesel said.

And the requirements for the car were formed by the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation itself. Akhmat will be produced in large batches in the interests of the Russian Armed Forces. “If Typhoons had a long manufacturing cycle, then these machines have it 7-10 times faster. Its task is to be produced quickly and a lot," Igor Zarakhovich clarified.

What Russian Defence Ministry buys

Against the background of the need to patrol the maritime borders in the Crimea, the exposition of the Ak Bars shipbuilding corporation aroused interest. For the first time, it included the Zelenodolsk Gorky Plant JSC, Zelenodolsk Design Bureau, and Zaliv Shipbuilding Plant PLC.

Tatarstan shipbuilders presented 9 new modifications of vessels of different classes, but the modification of the universal landing ship of the 23900 project came under the spotlight. The project was developed by the Zelenodolsk Design Bureau JSC, and their construction will be carried out in Kerch. The contract for the construction of the first two was signed two years ago.

According to the head of Ak Bars shipbuilding corporation, Renat Mistakhov, the Zelenodolsk Design Bureau (ZPKB) is loaded with orders until 2027. “Basically, these are military contracts," Zhirkov, the head of the ZPKB, clarified.

This means that the holding companies themselves are provided with work for the long term. On 16 August, the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation supplemented the order portfolio with new contracts. Deputy Defence Minister Aleksey Krivoruchko handed a new contract for the supply of 03182P project ships at the Army 2022 forum. We are talking about the construction of a new batch of research vessels for the Russian Navy. Before that, three vessels of this type had been laid at the Zelenodolsk plant.

At the peak of demand from the Russian army — drones. On 16 August, contracts were signed for the supply of Kazan drones Orlan-10 and Orlan-30 (the main contractor is the Special Technology Centre PLC in St. Petersburg).

Сomments from the Elektropribor enterprise in Kazan couldn't be obtained, since the current general director Shchatskykh is still under investigation, although he has already been released from jail.

Besides, a contract was signed with another Kazan manufacturer, Enix JSC, for the supply of the Eleron-3 UAV. Elerons are participating in the special operation in Ukraine. The Army 2022 Forum will last until August 21.