"Bringing fuel to the front lines in secrecy and camouflage mode."
Ural-based buggies and armored refueling trucks have begun to be used to supply troops with fuel on the line of contact. These vehicles are equipped with electronic warfare equipment that protects them from UAV attacks. Colonel Vladimir Demirov, head of the department (rocket fuel and fuel) of the Department of Resource Support of the Russian Ministry of Defense, told Izvestia in an exclusive interview about why storage facilities for gasoline and diesel fuel made of polymer materials are needed at the front, why fuel pipelines are being built, and the great importance of small containers on the front line.
"Takes the challenge of a highly passable buggy with a trailer"
- Vladimir Ivanovich, in Afghanistan, Chechnya and now in Ukraine, gasoline tankers and fuel and lubricant (POL) bases are priority targets for the enemy. How is the supply of fuel and lubricants to the front now?
- The scheme of providing troops with fuel is a multi-stage transfer of fuel: from the supplier to protected warehouses, from warehouses to operational transport, from operational transport to troop transport, from troop transport to units. The volume of fuel transferred at each stage is dispersed, and the capacity of the supply transport is reduced down to small-sized, highly passable, protected refueling trucks. Every day, fuel service specialists travel hundreds of kilometers under the watchful eye of enemy reconnaissance, drone attacks, artillery strikes and precision weapons.
- How has the emergence of drones, cluster munitions, long-range HIMARS and Storm Shadow missiles, and ATACMS affected the work of fuel and lubricant troops? How have supply schemes and tactics changed?
- In an attempt to hold back the advance of our troops, the enemy is trying to actively influence the facilities of the country's fuel and energy complex. In particular, on vehicle refueling trucks and field fuel depots. Of course, this affects the volume of tasks performed by military units and units of the fuel service. It has become correspondingly larger. Experience has also shown that it is more expedient to use low-tonnage refueling trucks to refuel weapons and military equipment at the front line.
- What kind of equipment did logistical support units acquire in the course of the special military operation?
- The experience of the ongoing special military operation dictated new requirements for supply transportation. Undoubtedly, armored refueling tankers are the key to preserving the life and health of the personnel. Therefore, as a result of joint work with industrial enterprises, a new protected model of fuel tanker was developed - ATZ-8 based on the Ural vehicle. It is capable of withstanding direct fire from small arms, as well as saving people and fuel from MLRS shrapnel.
- What other vehicles are used for refueling?
- Also in the troops have found widespread use of vehicle refuelers ATZ-1.5-236022 with a capacity of 1.5 cubic meters, capable of covertly and quickly refuel up to three units of weapons and military equipment. This model has positively proved itself due to such characteristics as maneuverability, small size and stealth. In addition, support units also use adapted refueling vehicles such as buggies. Where even a small-sized, one-and-a-half-cubic-inch refueling vehicle cannot pass, a high-capacity buggy with a trailer can be used to stealthily and quickly refuel several vehicles at once.
"We also use improvised means - logs, braziers, camouflage tents"
- Are drones a big problem for supply units now? How do you fight them, how do you cover warehouses, equipment on the march and at refueling points?
- We place vehicles for refueling and transportation of fuel with the troops' supplies at a safe distance from the line of contact - out of the enemy's fire range. Directly on the front line, fuel stocks are kept in small containers to ensure mobility and safety. Fuel transportation is carried out with secrecy and camouflage using non-functional technical means. We also organize interaction with special services that protect, guard and defend the fuel supply. And we equip the front-line fuel tankers themselves with means of detection and electronic warfare against the impact of enemy UAVs.
- Have the fuel tankers of the Logistics Department received so-called braziers and other protection against drones? Do they have any special features?
- The method of protection is always individual and is applied depending on the nature of combat operations and terrain conditions. But one of the peculiarities is protection of the fuel tank, damage to which can lead to irreversible consequences. To fulfill this purpose, they are equipped with additional protection from polymer or metal materials both in the factory and in the field. Based on the experience of the personnel, additional means such as logs, braziers, camouflage tents are also used. All this is aimed at preserving the cargo, the ignition of which should not be allowed in any way.
- How have mobile field fuel depots with polymer tanks performed? How are they better than metal tanks and tanks that were used before?
- Today, the troops are increasingly using flexible tanks made of polymer materials for accumulating, receiving and dispensing fuel in field storage facilities . Their mobility, the ability to maneuver fuel stocks without demasking them, and their ease of use have already proven their effectiveness. To provide and work with them, special units equipped with mobile storage kits with a capacity of 1,200 cubic meters each have been created within the logistics brigades. The personnel of field fuel depots pay special attention to camouflage of the depot facilities, as well as their protection from enemy air attack means.
- Are fuel pipelines used to deliver fuel to combat areas? What tasks do they help to solve?
- The experience of the NWO has again proved that the use of pipeline transportation is most effective for supplying fuel to troops in hard-to-reach terrain, as well as in conditions of constant enemy impact on other modes of transportation. Pipeline units were repeatedly used to supply fuel to troops on the right bank of the Dnieper River, to supply fuel to field depots and airfields. The stealth and maneuverability of field pipelines made it possible to supply troops with more than one thousand tons of fuel per day in a timely manner. The use of flat-wrapped pipelines made of polymer materials, developed at the request of the Rocket Fuel and Fuels Directorate, made it possible to overcome the water barrier and pump fuel without technological losses.
- How is the quality of fuel that is delivered to the troops checked?
- The fuel is tested for compliance with the quality requirements at each stage of receipt and transfer, including the use of fuel field laboratories adopted for supply in 2024. During production at refineries, quality control is performed by military offices. When accepting incoming fuels and lubricants from manufacturing companies - by accredited fuel laboratories equipped with modern equipment that allows testing for the entire established list of quality indicators. Also, inspection control of fuel quality assurance in the troops is carried out by a mobile mobile fuel laboratory from the 25th State Research Institute of Chemotology of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
- In winter, most fuels and lubricants thicken, change their properties, diesel fuel can freeze. Tell us about the peculiarities of winter work.
- In the fall and winter period, winter grade fuels and lubricants are used. Stockpiling of low-freezing coolants is organized in warehouses. Special attention is paid to the provision of oils and lubricants when weapons and military equipment are converted to seasonal modes of operation, during which oils and special liquids are changed to ensure the quality and failure-free operation of equipment.
- In the reports of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, we constantly see the names of soldiers who have accomplished a task at the risk of their lives. What is the most risky combat job? Have many Logistics soldiers and commanders received awards during the SSO?
- The personnel of the fuel service, supplying the troops with fuel on a daily basis, risking their lives, successfully perform the most important support tasks, bringing closer the achievement of the goals of the special military operation. Among them, more than 300 soldiers and officers have been awarded the Order of Courage alone.
February 17 is the Day of the Fuel Service of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. This is one of the youngest rear services of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The main and most important task of this service is to supply the troops with fuel and lubricants and rocket fuel, to ensure the functioning of military equipment and weapons both in peacetime and in combat conditions.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
