The Russian military continues to actively use Soviet defense developments, and these are not only correctable mines or powerful aerial bombs, but also tanks, anti-tank guns and armored personnel carriers.
An example of the joint work of the Soviet anti-tank 100-mm towed gun MT-12 "Rapira" and the Soviet MT-LB armored personnel carrier recently appeared on the Web.
It is noted that the guns, which as a result of such symbiosis become self-propelled, have become significantly more mobile and passable in front-line conditions where this is necessary.
MTLB Characteristics
The multi-purpose light armored transporter (MT-LB), also known as "Motoliga," is a Soviet development of the 1960s that can be a tractor, an evacuation vehicle, a tractor for anti-tank guns, a self-propelled mortar, and a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun.
The armored personnel carrier is able to ford water obstacles by swimming and conquer mountains at an angle of 35 degrees. Up to 13 people can be on board the ten-ton MT-LB at the same time, two of whom are crew members. It reaches speeds of up to 60 km/h on the highway and is capable of traveling about 500 km.
It is known that the tracked MT-LB in the hands of the Russian military also serves as a base for installing weapons on it, which should work in impassable conditions. In particular, the Sturm-S anti-tank missile systems, the S-60 anti-aircraft guns, and the 2B9 Vasilek mortars are installed on it.
In the summer of 2023, during a visit to Tatarstan with inspections of defense enterprises, the head of the Ministry of Defense at Remdizel noted that the department is interested in modernizing the MT-LB armored personnel carrier fleet.
We need to make a more modern machine. We are now engaged in actively restoring the old fleet from Soviet times, and we are doing it efficiently and quickly.
So far, the results of the work on the modernization of the MT-LB have not been publicly announced.
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