During a ceremony held on December 21 at Ozerne Air Base, the Armed Forces of Ukraine received new heavy armoured vehicles designed for mine clearing.
New Ukrainian T-64A-based armoured mine clearing vehicle fitted with KMT-7 mine roller (Picture source: Ukroboronprom)
Developed at the Kharkiv Armoured Plant, part of Ukroboronprom, the vehicles are based on the second-generation T-64A armoured battle tank, and are fitted with a KMT-7 mine roller and an integrated mine protection system.
The T-64A is a main battle tank designed for the first time in Russia in 1962 and improved later on. The tank is armed with a 125mm 2A46 gun, which has been removed from the mine clearing version. On the other hand, the 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun is still mounted on the turret.
The KMT-7 is equipped with frames that allow a vertical movement, weakening the impact of a blast on the rollers. The mine clearing device is designed to clear two tracks of a 1.65-meter width at a speed of 6 to 12km per hour.
“The new vehicles are heavy armoured mine clearing vehicles that can meet the technical and tactical needs of modern-day armed forces,” the former deputy chief of Engineer Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Andrey Kulchitsky, said.
Despite being an inexpensive alternative, the new tanks are thought to provide major improvements compared to the BMR-2 and BMR-3 vehicles.
