Russia Tests New Chemical Reconnaissance Armoured Vehicle

Russia Tests New Chemical Reconnaissance Armoured Vehicle

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The trials of the advanced Russian-made RKhM-5M chemical reconnaissance vehicle are in progress, Airborne Force spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Yevgeny Meshkov said on Friday, November 27, 2015. The armoured vehicle is furnished with special equipment to monitor the situation and search for radiation, chemical and biological threats to the Airborne Force’s NBC protection units, the spokesman added. “The prototypes of the advanced chemical reconnaissance vehicle designed for the Airborne Force are currently undergoing dynamic trials. The trials are being conducted to check whether the vehicle can be airdropped with all the equipment and the crew onboard with the use of special multi-canopy parachute systems,” Meshkov said.

According to the spokesman, the advanced vehicle will be able to determine the contamination level at various areas remotely and dupe precision weapon guidance systems, as well as detect biological threats quickly.

“The promising RKhM-5M vehicle will be designed to conduct chemical, radiation and biological reconnaissance within Airborne Force units and transmit reconnaissance data automatically,” Meshkov said.

The RKhM-5 Povozka-D-1 chemical reconnaissance vehicle is designed to conduct chemical, radiation and biological reconnaissance and transmit reconnaissance data to the troops control system.

The vehicle can monitor the situation at a radius of up to 6 kilometers (3.7 miles). The vehicle’s design provides protection for its crew from effects of mass destruction weapons.

The chemical reconnaissance vehicle can be airdropped with its crew onboard from transport aircraft with the use of rocket-assisted and multi-canopy parachute systems.

The vehicle has a weight of 13.2 tons, a length of 6 meters, a road speed of 70 km/h (43.5 mph), a water speed of 10 km/h (6.2 mph) and endurance of 500 kilometers (310.7 miles).

The RKhM-5 chemical reconnaissance vehicle is armed with the PKT 7.62mm machine gun with an ammunition load of 1440 rounds. The vehicle’s crew totals three.