FILE IMAGE: Mikhail Japaridze/TASS
The Russian state-run news agency TASS reports (source):
Russia’s Military Industrial Company is completing work on the new generation of Tigr armored vehicles capable of withstanding a blast of 2kg in TNT equivalent under its bottom instead of the current 0.6 kg, the company’s press office told TASS on Wednesday.
“The Tigr armored vehicle is being upgraded for the purpose of increasing its mine resistance to 2kg in TNT equivalent and raising its ballistic resistance to the class 6a under the GOST state technical standards and boosting the vehicle’s carrying capacity to 2 tonnes,” the company said.
The previous modification of the Tigr-M vehicle features class 5 armor and provides protection against explosives weighing up to 0.6 kg in TNT equivalent. Therefore, the upgraded vehicle’s mine resistance will grow more than three-fold. The vehicle’s increased carrying capacity will provide a possibility to mount new modules with heavy armament on it.
“The work on the heavy upgrade of the Tigr armored vehicle is being carried out in compliance with the schedule. So far, as we promised, we plan to offer the vehicle this year,” the defense manufacturer said.
According to open sources, Tigr armored vehicles are used by Special Forces and military police in the fight against terrorists in Syria. In such armed conflicts, a serious threat is posed by terrorists’ ambushes with the use of snipers and improvised explosives planted along the routes of military convoys.
