MOSCOW, May 25. /TASS/. Russia’s Military Industrial Company has delivered over 2,000 Tigr armored vehicles to domestic and foreign customers since 2005, company CEO Alexander Krasovitsky told TASS on Monday.
"Since the serial production of Tigr armored vehicles started at the Arzamas Machine-Building Plant [part of the Military Industrial Company] in 2005, over 2,000 vehicles have been built in various configuration and delivered to Russia and 16 foreign countries," the chief executive said.
The Tigr family of armored vehicles currently includes the Tigr-M multi-purpose vehicle, the Tigr-M SpN special-purpose vehicle, the Tigr automotive armored chassis and the Tigr special armored vehicle. In addition to ready-made armored vehicles, the Military Industrial Company also delivers the Tigr self-propelled armored chassis for creating wheeled hardware on its basis, Krasovitsky added.
A wide range of various remote-controlled combat modules can also be mounted on Tigr armored vehicles, the chief executive said.
"We installed the Israeli combat module with a large-caliber machine-gun, the French station with a 20mm gun and several Russian modules, including those with a 30mm automatic gun. However, only one remote-controlled combat module has been accepted in the Russian Army, specifically, the Arbalet-DM. The Tigr with this module has been officially accepted for its delivery to the Russian Armed Forces and is being delivered to the troops," Krasovitsky said.
Tigr armored vehicles in hotspots
Russian-made Tigr armored vehicles have been employed in various hotspots for over ten years, the company’s chief executive said.
"Throughout all this time, the vehicles’ high performance characteristics have made it possible to successfully carry out a lot of special operations and save hundreds of lives of Russian soldiers and officers," he said.
There were cases when the Tigr vehicles returned after accomplishing combat assignments with dozens of bullet marks on their armored hull and glass, without halting a single time in the route and bringing back all the personnel alive, Krasovitsky said.
"Thanks to their high speed characteristics, the enemy never succeeded in hitting Tigr vehicles from grenade launchers," the company’s head added.
The Tigr armored vehicle has been further improved, taking into account the results of its combat operation, Krasovitsky said.
"The improvements were based on the analysis of suggestions and wishes of Russian servicemen who employed the vehicle in combat conditions," the chief executive said.