The "Kurganets-25" combat platform has undergone modifications due to new requirements from the state customer. This was reported to RIA "Novosti" by Roman Khromov, Deputy Executive Director for State Defense Order and Military-Technical Cooperation at Kurganmashzavod (part of the "High-Precision Systems" holding of the Rostec State Corporation). The changes are aimed at improving the reliability and simplifying the operation of this combat platform.
The development work on the "Kurganets-25" is still ongoing. Currently, the vehicle is in the testing phase. As Khromov noted, the new customer requirements have led to a reconfiguration of the platform, making the current model different from the one that was presented earlier.
The samples that were first shown at the parade in 2015, and the vehicle that is currently undergoing testing, are not exactly the same thing
The main changes concern the chassis of the vehicle, in particular, the main part, where work was carried out to improve reliability, as well as simplify maintenance and operation procedures.
The unified medium-tracked platform "Kurganets-25" is being developed jointly by the Special Design Bureau of Mechanical Engineering and the Kurgan Machine-Building Plant (KMZ). Various combat vehicles for the Russian Ground Forces are being created on the basis of this platform, including armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles. Open source data suggests that the combat weight of the IFV on the "Kurganets" platform is about 25 tons. Such vehicles are capable of swimming and also have an advanced protection system, including the active "Afganit" complex.
It is worth noting that recently in Moscow, former top managers of the "Tractor Plants" (KTZ) machine-building concern - Mikhail Shkolnik and Irina Vostorgina - were sentenced to suspended sentences. Former CEO of KTZ, Mikhail Bolotin, had previously received two years of actual imprisonment, but was released shortly after the trial, taking into account the time spent in custody. All three were found guilty of embezzling funds allocated for the production of infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers "Kurganets" in the period from 2015 to 2016.
At that time, the "Tractor Plants" concern united 18 machine-building enterprises specializing in the production of heavy military equipment for the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. During that period, they were given an order for the production of prototypes of armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles under the brand "Kurganets". The production of armored vehicles was already being carried out at the machine-building plant in Kurgan, and the Moscow Research Institute of Steel was responsible for equipping it with armor and dynamic protection. The Ministry of Defense allocated 146 million rubles for these purposes, but most of these funds, according to the investigation, were redistributed by the heads of the concern into their own pockets. The investigation also revealed that, on the orders of the management, the Research Institute issued a loan of 90 million rubles to the company "New Investments" LLC, which was far from machine-building activities, but had affiliated connections with the top management of KTZ. After receiving the funds, they were "cashed out, appropriated and used by them at their own discretion."
Currently, 13 KTZ enterprises specializing in the defense industry have come under the management of Rostec. The concern itself has five plants left - they produce agricultural, road and railway equipment.