Posted 6 ноября 2009,, 08:08

Published 6 ноября 2009,, 08:08

Modified 17 сентября 2022,, 13:32

Updated 17 сентября 2022,, 13:32

China Shows Keen Interest in Russian "Tigers"

6 ноября 2009, 08:08
China Police officials have announced their intention to purchase 600 armored vehicles.

VLADIVOSTOK. November 6. VOSTOK-MEDIA – It seems that Tiger armored cars are gaining increased popularity among Russia’s security agencies. These vehicles achieved a strong position in special units of Russia Ministry of Internal Affairs and Interior Ministry troops.


Airborne troopers too show interest in the armored vehicles. But the largest order for Tigers came from overseas: China Police officials have announced their intention to purchase 600 armored units.


All military off-road vehicles are inevitably compared with Hummer, the most famous combat vehicle. According to the Tiger designers, the domestic vehicle outstrips its western counterparts in manoeuvrability and performance. And it is no surprise, because the Tiger was initially designed as an alternative to Hummer. The United Arab Emirates armed forces set out to create their own off-road vehicle that would deliver excellent performance in severe operating conditions of heat and desert. Experts from Gorky Automobile Plant (Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod) participated in the project engineering. As a result, the Arabs created their own offroadster called Nimir (translated as “tiger”). Its exterior is looks very much like the Russian Tiger. But, as is often the case, the Arab vehicle turned out to be less capable in performance. That’s why the countries of Middle East show increased interest in the Russian military vehicles, reported Rosbalt.ru website.


Tigers gained a particular respect in the North Caucasus. “Thanks to these vehicles, we managed to reduced personal losses and expanded range and quality of our service,” says Sergey Suvorov, a spokesman for Military Industrial Company. The vehicle has some minor technical deficiencies but they will be removed in the near future.


Tiger armored vehicles are designed for armed conflicts. The vehicle can withstand extreme temperatures from -50 to 50 degrees Celsius. The armored shell secures crew protection from small arms, shell fragments and bombs. The windows are made of bullet-resistant glass. The Tiger is capable to remain on the move even after an explosion in close proximity to the vehicle. Inside the hull is a dedicated spall liner protecting the crew against armor fragmentation (spalling) resulting the impact of small arms fire and preventing ricocheting off the opposite side of the hull when the armor is penetrated.Tiger is capable of carrying up to 9 soldiers.


Though, the armored vehicles high-performance characteristics impact its cost. The minimum price for a Tiger is RUR 3 mio, which is slightly cheaper than its U.S. counterpart. Yet, Russia security agencies purchase more and more Tigers.

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