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I asked the "political leader" of the 161st school of technicians of the Strategic Missile Forces, where I went for two days to master the materiel and control of huge multi-axle missile carriers: "From whom are we protecting the country?" Roman grinned: "As if you yourself do not know, you do not follow the news."
Well, I remember both the American “humanitarian” fleet in the Black Sea, which rushed to help Georgia during the conflict with South Ossetia, and last year’s urgent Chinese demands to move our border in Altai inland. Therefore, he did not begin to disturb the major anymore, but asked me to send me to the barracks as soon as possible in order to actually strengthen the country's defense.
UNDER THE CONTRACT
Kapustin Yar training ground: in 40 kilometers of Astrakhan, in five - the river Akhtuba. Behind the fence is the 161st school of technicians of the Strategic Missile Forces
Kapustin Yar training ground: in 40 kilometers of Astrakhan, in five - the river Akhtuba. Behind the fence is the 161st school of technicians of the Strategic Missile Forces. Kapustin Yar training ground: in 40 kilometers of Astrakhan, in five - the river Akhtuba. Behind the fence is the 161st school of technicians of the Strategic Missile Forces.
The journalist was not assigned to conscripts, but to contract soldiers. The school is famous for them, it is the only country in the country that has trained top-notch specialists for decades capable of handling super-powerful unique machines for transporting nuclear batons - Topol-M missiles.
The guys have been nibbling science for almost three years, at the end they receive a diploma of graduation from a secondary technical educational institution and go to serve in the troops, to military tractors. Crazy cadets are recruited from civilian teachers. Here and in-depth study of a foreign language, and term papers on heat engineering and design of internal combustion engines. In a word, there are no less subjects than in a civil college, or even more. Try to learn. If you don’t have time, they will be expelled.
Time moves fast. Almost every cadet has their own laptop and smartphone; they study “applied” nuclear physics. But the correct course is still indicated by Ilyich
Time moves fast. Almost every cadet has their own laptop and smartphone; they study “applied” nuclear physics. But the correct course is still indicated by Ilyich. Time moves fast. Almost every cadet has their own laptop and smartphone; they study “applied” nuclear physics. But the correct course is still indicated by Ilyich.
There is something to hold on to. Scholarship of 20 thousand. They feed, water and shelter at the expense of the establishment. Yes, you have to live in the barracks (if with your family, then in the military town of Znamensk) and bear the hardships of army service. But such income and conditions of education in a civilian still look.
My first army friend of the castle platoon Vitya Dynnikov (artist, children's teacher from the Volgograd region) now receives 22 thousand, and there will be even more. Plus 75% of the salary when he passes the army sports standard. For him, nothing, because in two years he has become an athlete.
By the way, I was delighted with the complex of not only cadets, but school officers. Not a single punch - strong, handsome. It turns out, and they must pass a sports exam. For example, a kilometer of cross-country in 3 minutes 15 seconds. I didn’t meet it - the report was on the table and in the rear. I even doubted whether I could be on a par with the military. When was the last time you did push-ups? I forgot. I was hoping only in the audience not to let us down: I also remember the device of the car, sopromat and termeh.
Cadets have long changed their boots to “berets”. They gave me comfortable ones - soft, already worn out
Cadets have long changed their boots to “berets”. They gave me comfortable ones - soft, already worn out. Cadets have long changed their boots to “berets”. They gave me comfortable ones - soft, already worn out.
From the uniform I liked fleece underwear, a hat, a sword belt and gloves. The rest was not impressive. Who invented a model of a tunic with a shoulder strap on his stomach? When I saw the company assembly, I could not determine where the captain, where the sergeant, where the lieutenant. A glance glanced over his shoulders, and there it was empty. To find out the title, you need to run ahead and poke your nose into the colleague’s chest. No other way.
I remember in the press criticized pea jacket. Say, cold, blowing. I confirm: true. At the steppe training ground, the breeze easily struck a thick jacket in appearance and reached its ribs. That's where I ran in.
With a hungry young fighter, colleagues shared their rations. Oil is not regretted, thank you
With a hungry young fighter, colleagues shared their rations. Oil is not regretted, thank you. With a hungry young fighter, colleagues shared their rations. Oil is not regretted, thank you.
SOLDIERS GET UP
In the evening he joined the company, was greeted cordially, albeit with restraint. Then everything is on schedule. View news on the verified channel "Vesti 24". Lecture on the dangers of drugs and smoking, evening walk with songs and a drum, verification. End at 21:30. I thought, after it everything freezes, as in a kindergarten: on the right side and handles under the cheek. No, the barracks is full of nightlife, albeit quiet, measured. Someone constantly dives back and forth. The creaking beds. Nevertheless, sleeping on a well-stretched bench is comfortable. The distance between the beds is 2 meters, and in the warm barracks there are only 44 non-snoring fighters. I went to Morpheus almost immediately.
The wake-up at six in the morning was not taken by surprise. Half an hour before her, they moved in the hall, and I woke up. To the loud “company, rise!” Already dressed. Today, until the end, I do everything together with cadets, without discounts and concessions. At 6:10 already on the parade ground, on exercise.
It's dark - the eye is gouged out. Lanterns and bulbs are now taken care of by an outside organization hired by the Ministry of Defense. Construction of buildings, repairs, cleaning of the territory, finally, food is also outsourced. The idea is true: a cadet must comprehend military science, not peel potatoes - but the results of the work of these companies are not very visible, although the customer regularly transfers money. I really didn’t think that I would be directly confronted with the infamous Slavyanka and Oboronservis.
MAZ-543M. Four-axle shafts are mainly used as missile support vehicles. Carry on their hump "hotels" - headquarters, control center, location
MAZ-543M. Four-axle shafts are mainly used as missile support vehicles. Carry on their hump "hotels" - headquarters, control center, location. MAZ-543M. Four-axle shafts are mainly used as missile support vehicles. Carry on their hump "hotels" - headquarters, control center, location.
RUN - MARCH
A soldier should look good even in a bad light. Therefore, no one complains, but the cross is running. I have not lagged behind yet, I only envy the company commander, who manages to talk on the mobile on the run. What health must have! An hour of maximum load, but this is not charging - training. If, at the end, they had suggested once again shaking the press on the horizontal bar, he would have retreated - his strength was exhausted.
But there are still two more “in-depth” sports classes after lessons. There is specialization, and I signed up for the fight. This is better than bench press. Grabbed an opponent by the jacket and you can relax while he tries to drop you on the carpet. But without sports, a cadet cannot. The rocket carrier, on which I will soon race, requires strong hands and excellent physical shape.
We are building for breakfast. There we build everywhere. Out of habit, I still don’t get in the foot, turn late or bump into the backs of my comrades, which causes a good laugh not only of the platoon, but of the whole company. All the same, I am pleased: I see the guys are trying to help. I already feel the elbow of a comrade - and I'm proud of it.
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Breakfast, lunch, dinner plunged into gloom. Although everything by weight (checked) and calories corresponded to the norm. But you won’t be fed up with it. Cabbage soup without a single spangle of fat, porridge - rice on the water. Gained fat - I thought to fill up the balance. In vain. This is not a mouth-watering product. It resembles a kirsu with an acute-salty taste. Well, there is plenty of butter and bread. Fellow students shared their rations with me.
True, a couple of days later, when he left the school’s location, Vitya Dynnikov wrote off that he had a good meal - they changed the supplier. The new one carries high-quality products in single-use packaging. Say, butter, cheese, juice in an individual packaging. Put five boxes of 200 grams - get it. Well done unit commander, got his way!
The cabin is fiberglass, not armored. Yes and to nothing. There should be so much security around the rocket carrier so that the mouse does not slip
The cabin is fiberglass, not armored. Yes and to nothing. There should be so much security around the rocket carrier so that the mouse does not slip. The cabin is fiberglass, not armored. Yes and to nothing. There should be so much security around the rocket carrier so that the mouse does not slip.
LEARNING - LIGHT
I was very worried that there is no leather tablet: everyone has it, but I do not. Summaries have nowhere to add, and the view without it, like a truant. Issued - I settled down and went to class. For me, this is the most fascinating part of the service. The equipment of the classes is striking. In the training rooms, not small models, but real missile carriers MAZ-543, -7917 - entirely and split. Want to see how the suspension works? Here it is in the details, and in the collection. Study. Moreover, all this moves, rotates.
In a practical lesson, my friend and I changed the wheel. At the MAZ, a jack is not needed: thanks to the independent suspension of all wheels, any one can be hung directly on the ground. Everything is very fast. The car will not roll, there are 13 more wheels. There is no need for spare wheel; to replace a broken one on a loaded axle, you can remove the wheel from the middle. We did not meet the standard, and thank God: if I were to hurry, I would definitely crush someone with a wheel. And it has 270 kilograms.
While changing the wheel, sweated more than once. It weighs 270 kg. From improvised means only mounts and socket wrenches
While changing the wheel, sweated more than once. It weighs 270 kg. From improvised means only mounts and socket wrenches. While changing the wheel, sweated more than once. It weighs 270 kg. From improvised means only mounts and socket wrenches.
In theory, I managed to argue with the teacher about the shoulder for running the steered wheels and the advisability of pumping nitrogen into the air suspension of a rocket carrier. They did not expel or even condemn. Inquiring minds are welcome at school. And I was extremely pleased to once again listen to a lecture on the design of the car. It was as if he had again visited the department in his native MADI.
I liked studying on simulators. Yes, this is not a study at all, but a game for adult uncles. In the 161st school recently mounted the most modern stands for practicing the actions of mechanics driving real tractors. You sit in the cockpit of a real missile carrier - and go. Outside the battle: jet aircraft rushing noise, tanks are burning, explosions are booming, funnels are from them, just dodge. The cabin is shaken by blast waves, the car rolls on descents, ascents, twitches during stops and acceleration. The headphone sounds the voice of the commander, looking from the side behind your tricks. The feeling is very close to reality.
The simulator for virtual pokatushek. More than a dozen levels. You need to overcome everything, bring the car to a position and defeat the enemy. Then they will be allowed to live tractors
The simulator for virtual pokatushek. More than a dozen levels. You need to overcome everything, bring the car to a position and defeat the enemy. Then they will be allowed to live tractors. The simulator for virtual pokatushek. More than a dozen levels. You need to overcome everything, bring the car to a position and defeat the enemy. Then they will be allowed to live tractors.
If not for the schedule, I would ride until the evening, so exciting. Probably only pilots have such simulators. You can’t meet such people in any gaming center, even in Las Vegas it’s easier.
Before driving a live tractor, each cadet must spend at least 10 hours in virtual reality. And it is justified. The algorithm of actions here can be perfected to automatism, and although the rocket carrier is uncomplicated in control, before you move off, you need to press a dozen levers, like in an airplane. And then, in the "back" is not a bag of potatoes. What a responsibility!
The sixth level of "battle" passed satisfactorily. To get to the next one, you need to practice a detour of the funnels: a couple of times I nearly turned over a heavy colossus.
Selector machine without leather and silk stitches. But everything works on the envy of other passenger cars with automatic transmission. Switches on time. And start without jerking
Selector machine without leather and silk stitches. But everything works on the envy of other passenger cars with automatic transmission. Switches on time. And start without jerking. Selector machine without leather and silk stitches. But everything works on the envy of other passenger cars with automatic transmission. Switches on time. And start without jerking.
TUMBLEWEED
If it were not for the instructor from behind, in life he would not have started the engine and had not started. I remember from yesterday that you must first blow out the huge battery compartment. There are four of them. Everyone emits hydrogen, he didn’t ventilate the room - he could explode. Then it was cut off: either pump out the oil, then turn on the pump of the right tank, or vice versa.
The engine roared, threw out a club of smoke and purred confidently at idle. “Touch, dear, the enemy does not sleep,” I hear the peppy voice of instructor Dmitry Duyunov. - Went with a gun? Here it is about the same. It's simple, the selector in position 1 - and went. " The MAZ-7917 gearbox is automatic, with a torque converter, six drive axles (all except the middle one). The wheels on the first four axles are swivel. The radius is 27 meters.
I didn’t even get used to the brake and gas pedals. They are like on a map. You brake the left, throw the right “burn”. Conveniently
I didn’t even get used to the brake and gas pedals. They are like on a map. You brake the left, throw the right “burn”. Conveniently. I didn’t even get used to the brake and gas pedals. They are like on a map. You brake the left, throw the right “burn”. Conveniently.
The words of the senior ensign inspire confidence in me, and I disperse the 100-ton unit (34 ton machine plus a launcher with a 63 ton rocket). How easy the tractor is! He pressed, and he quickly accelerates. Still, under the hood, a tank 700-horsepower diesel V12. I like this power.
The large steering wheel rotates easily, but I feel the reaction of the road. I quickly get used to the huge dimensions of the car. Although I always look behind the tail: the hour is uneven, I will demolish some building at the training ground. After all, the length of the train is about 20 meters.
He was afraid that the review would be useless, - he was mistaken: it was clearly visible. This is in the four-axle MAZ-543, sitting right down, you see only 20 meters in front, the rest eats the roof canopy. And here is expanse. But not a car or even a truck. However, there is nothing to look around, a huge car has all the obstacles on the wheel. If crushed what - the war will write off.
The suspension of each wheel is independent. Hydropneumatic shock absorber is good and reliable. It was even used in racing cars on the Dakar
The suspension of each wheel is independent. Hydropneumatic shock absorber is good and reliable. It was even used in racing cars on the Dakar. The suspension of each wheel is independent. Hydropneumatic shock absorber is good and reliable. It was even used in racing cars on the Dakar.
I drive along concrete paths perfectly, I am good at coping with exercises on the site. Now the roads. This is for me! Here the car is like a frog in its swamp. The independent suspension of each wheel licks any unevenness, the centipede clings to each tubercle and quickly rushes along the gully. Ride that in a limousine.
The officers claim that the combat routes were laid mainly on the roads and that they would not have to travel outside. They are cunning. Keep military secrets. Minsk residents built the car precisely as the most outstanding all-terrain vehicle in the world. Otherwise, why is there a ground clearance of half a meter, axle locks, four-wheel drive, powerful pumping of wheels and wide toothed tires?
The hub has a planetary gear. The wheel is smoky. I thought I broke a knot. No, the pads are much spread
The hub has a planetary gear. The wheel is smoky. I thought I broke a knot. No, the pads are very diluted. The hub has a planetary gear. The wheel is smoky. I thought I broke a knot. No, the pads are very diluted.
In the steppe, the vehicle was easily dispersed to a permitted 40 km / h. I even wanted to add, but Dmitry recalled: “Comrade cadet, do not get carried away! Imagine that the top is not a barrel of water, as it is now, but a nuclear warhead: turned the car over - felt sorry for the enemy.” To the enemies we are merciless, I slowed down.
FAREWELL "SLAVANKA"
Colleagues who served in the units were distrustful of the stories about the cadets' good combat training, about life, and service. Say, it doesn’t happen so well, they showed the Potemkin village. I admit, there was a moment hidden by colleagues. In the morning, it was not three laid kilometers, but one and a half kilometers that fled. You can’t hide the rest. You can't drape buildings.
Under the START-3 treaty, Americans are destroying their own missile carriers, and we are our missile carriers. We saw off the frame where the launcher is mounted
Under the START-3 treaty, Americans are destroying their own missile carriers, and we are our missile carriers. We saw off the frame where the launcher is mounted. Under the START-3 treaty, Americans are destroying their own missile carriers, and we are our missile carriers. We saw off the frame where the launcher is mounted.
This school of technicians is truly a first-class and unique institution. And the cadets well done. I saw how they drive cars at the training ground - no worse than ensign Dmitry. And the knowledge that is needed, it is not for nothing that the demand for graduates of the school is not only in the army, but also in civilian life. Each of them has more than one proposal from interested employers. Guys are confident in their future. And I - that the ballistic missile will be delivered where necessary, exactly on schedule.
Parting with a company that sheltered me was touching. For two short and busy days, I stuck to these guys. Smart, educated, and also strong and sensitive. With each photo as a keepsake. Now I also have a demobilization album and army friends.
Roman, Victor, I promise not to stoop, tighten my stomach, straighten my hairline on my hair, don’t sit on a made-up bed and walk with my left foot. Follow the news and the machinations of potential enemies. And I will be proud of you.
NUCLEAR SHIELD
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Topol-M (in NATO SS-27) is the first Russian intercontinental ballistic missile. Adopted in 2000. Three-stage, solid fuel, range of 11, 000 km, weight 47.2 tons, thermonuclear charge power 550 kt. Length 21 m, diameter 1.86 m. Almost all launches are successful. The latter was produced in 2005. Since 2011, the Ministry of Defense has been purchasing new-generation ICBM RS-24 Yars missiles. They are cooler than "Poplar".
Today, the main missile carrier in the army is the eight-axis MZKT-79221. Wheel formula 16 × 16. The swivel wheels are twelve: three axles in the front and three in the rear. Turning radius 18 m. Curb weight 44 t, load capacity 80 t. Cruising range 500 km, maximum speed 45 km / h. Diesel YaMZ-847.10, V12, 800 h.p. Soon, such machines will go to school 161.
161st SCHOOL OF TECHNICIANS RVSN
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The school was created at the Kapustin Yar training ground in 1983. It trained driver mechanics for MAZ-547 tractors carrying the RSD-10 Pioneer missile system. In 1985, the school was transferred to Latvia, to Jelgava. In the same year, the first specialists with the rank of ensign came out. In the Baltic states, 13 issues were prepared, which is almost one and a half thousand mechanics.
In 1991, the school was relocated to Ukraine, in Vinnitsa. There they mastered with might and main the new MAZ-7912 tractor, which was carrying the fourth-generation Topol missile systems.
