Ukrainian-Belgian BTR presented at IDEX 2013
KYIV, February 20 /UKRINFORM/. A prototype of the armored vehicle created on the basis of the Ukrainian BTR-3E1 and Belgian turret CSE 90LP has been first presented at the international exhibition IDEX 2013. This project is a result of cooperation between Ukraine's SE Ukroboronservis and SMI (Belgium), and was presented among the exposition of the Belgian company Cockerill, Ukroboronservis Director Yevhen Holubenko said.
According to him, a bilateral memorandum on cooperation with the Belgian company was signed in 2012. The purpose of the document is joint development and mass production of armored vehicles adapted to NATO standards, as well as search for new promising markets. Yevhen Holubenko noted that BTR-3E1 produced by Kyiv's armor factory served as a basis for the joint project.
Specialists of Ukroboronservis and Kyiv's armor factory adapted the basic BTR-3E1 for installing the Belgian turret. He stressed that this combat module allows the use of 90-mm-caliber military projectiles meeting the NATO standards. The project also provides for the possibility to use guided missiles of Ukrainian origin.
"The purpose of the adaptation is the creation of a joint with the European manufacturer product and entry into new markets where European manufacturers are traditionally strong, for example, in South America and the Middle East. Serial production must be launched at the Kyiv armor factory," Yevhen Holubenko said.
He stressed that the project was implemented at the cost of the working capital of Ukroboronservis without use of budget funds.
In turn, the director of the Kyiv armor factory, Vadym Shkavro noted that this example of effective cooperation between Ukrainian enterprises and the leading European companies indicates a high level of design ideas of Ukrainian developers and potential manufacturers, which meets the most stringent international standards. "The Belgian side highly appreciated the performance characteristics of the basic model BTR-3E1, and prospects for its joint promotion in the international market," Shkavro said.
