The charitable organization Reactive Mail together with the Expla company created and presented a mobile maintenance station (MTO) and tire fitting for the 43rd separate artillery brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
One of the founders of Reactive Mail, IT specialist Dmitry Chukanov shared with Facts ICTV the features of modern MTO.
The main advantage of such a complex is its latest equipment, which allows you to quickly repair equipment near the front and not waste precious time transporting vehicles hundreds of kilometers away and then returning them.
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What is a mobile repair station
MTO consists of two modules located in sea containers: a workshop and a tire fitting complex. The workshop is equipped with several machines: a 20-ton press, a drilling and milling machine, a screw-cutting lathe, a high-pressure hose crimper, a compressor, a welding machine, and the like.
There are many hydraulic components in artillery equipment that are very vulnerable to shelling. MTO has the necessary machines that greatly facilitate the repair of such damage.
In the tire service center you can align wheels, bead them, and balance them. In addition, the tire service is completely independent from the tractor and is equipped with a 10 kW diesel generator.
Modern alternative to old repair stations
According to Dmitry Chukanov, the Ukrainian army is armed with mobile repair systems that were developed and created back in the days of the Union for Soviet equipment, and therefore are obsolete and ineffective in the modern realities of war.
— Now Ukraine has a wide range of Western weapons, which are much more demanding to maintain. That is, high-precision and speed must be paid for with quality service. And actually two complexes that our charitable organization created went to brigades where there is Western artillery in order to reduce the logistics burden. After all, when the equipment requires repair, then the story begins that it must be taken deep to the rear or loaded onto a train and transferred to the allies abroad, and this results in months of waiting, — noted by Dmitry.
Sometimes equipment does not require significant repairs, but only the manufacture of a certain element. For example, in the capsule from which an artillery shell flies, there is a small part that looks like a needle. Depending on the number of shots, this needle breaks. And there are two options for solving the problem: make it yourself or wait two to three months from your allies. And without such a small detail, the cannon won’t fire, notes co-founder BO.
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According to him, the ideal option would be if the state joined in the production of modern mobile workshops and provided all teams with them. Hundreds and hundreds of such mobile repair complexes are needed — ideally four per team. There are 12 artillery brigades in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and dozens of mechanized ones. That is, you need a lot of logistics.
— We are more managers of solving the problems that artillerymen have. We have a company that supplies equipment and a company that does installation. We purchase tractors separately and then assemble a mobile repair complex. By the way, the first such MTO went to the front in the summer. And recently – the second one, — Dmitry tells.
Tire workshop
Tire fitting at positions is no less important, because it is wheeled vehicles that pull guns, howitzers, transport supplies, and the like. Each tracked vehicle, such as the Pion, the German PzH 2000 or the American M270 MLRS, must be brought on a trawl, but they are wheeled.
In addition, tankers and vehicles carrying ammunition are also wheeled.
How much does MTO cost
Here, at least 75% of the cost depends on the equipment.
We bought the tractor and trailer used, because the price of a new one is 5-6 times higher. The main money went towards high-quality and reliable content.
— A tractor with an 8-ton manipulator and a trailer, maintenance and painting cost approximately 25-30 thousand dollars, and about 75-80 thousand dollars cost the equipment itself, installation work, — told by Dmitry Chukanov.
Sea containers can also be purchased used — for about 1,600-1,700 dollars. Their condition is normal, sealed, only requires painting.
The equipment installed in the MTO is universal, and therefore can easily serve self-propelled guns, guns, howitzers and the like.
As for financing the project, according to Dmitry, there is a company called Expla, which this year donated more than 100 thousand dollars for these purposes.
How modern mobile workshops help at the front
Those mobile repair shops that our Armed Forces have are developments of the 70s, notes a serviceman of the target brigade, artillery equipment repair specialist Yuri< in a commentary to Facts ICTV /strong>.
Under current conditions, it is impossible to use stationary repair stations, which are located directly in military units, due to the high danger of shelling by missiles or missiles. According to Yuri, 90% of all repairs are now carried out in mobile repair stations in the field.
The equipment on modern mobile stations is completely different from what we have from the Soviet heritage. For example, welding machines can now “cook” aluminum and other metals. MTO packages include plasma cutters to cut out blank parts. There is equipment for repairing rubber hoses — this was not the case in old repair stations.
In addition, the mobile repair station is equipped with a crane that allows you to lift loads of up to 8 tons. The Soviet equivalent can lift a maximum of one and a half tons. For example, in Western weapons there is a block system of power units — the engine is connected to the gearbox. And for maintenance (changing oil, filters, etc.) you need to remove the entire unit. And their weight in different cars is from three tons or more.
— It is the new MTOs that are capable of performing such manipulations without the involvement of additional cranes, which significantly speeds up the repair of equipment, — noted by Yuri.
Equally important are the qualifications of personnel and the availability of spare parts. It is worth noting here that the repair teams received appropriate training from the Allies using Western equipment.
By the way, the old Soviet workshops are now almost never used at the front.
About BO Reactive mail
This charitable organization is focused on the needs of the Ukrainian missile forces and artillery. The BO itself was founded by two IT specialists — Pavel Narozhny and Dmitry Chukanov back in 2014, when the Russian Federation annexed the Crimean Peninsula.
Charities are trying to provide for artillerymen from household and repair needs to projects to increase the combat effectiveness of units.
